N \bar N Annihilation creates two mesons

N \(\bar N\) annihilation is assumed to occur exclusively via two-meson production, with nearest threshold dominance. A phenomenological expression for the branching ratios, implementing the rule, contains two parameters. The set ofs- andp-wave (q \(\bar q\) ) mesons is used. Reasonable results are obtained for rates measured inp \(\bar p\) annihilation at rest. The numerous channels are projected into the multipion and kaon final states for comparison with in-flight experiments. A good overall agreement is reached up top _lab～3 GeV/c; beyond, more mesons should be included to provide new thresholds.     

Structure and dynamics of self-assembled poly(ethylene glycol) based coiled-coil nano-objects.

Herein we describe the structure and dynamics of self-assembled nano-objects generated from poly(ethylene glycol) based (PEG-ylated) coiled-coil hybrid block copolymers. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments on spin-labeled samples provided a strong indication for a parallel alignment of the peptide helices in at least the dimeric coiled-coil nano-object and indicated that the PEG chains are folded rather closely around the peptide core of the nano-objects. The EPR results were supported by AFM studies, which revealed the presence of discrete nanosized objects in thin, spin cast films of the block copolymers on mica substrates. Since their size and structure may be engineered via directed mutations in the amino acid sequence, these nano-objects may be interesting building blocks for the development of supramolecular materials with various potential applications.     

Shape of pion multiplicity in antineutron-proton annihilation at very low momentum

The relation between the amount ofp-wave in antineutron-proton annihilation into pions at very low momenta (≦ 0.3 GeV/c) and the even or odd character of the produced pion number is underlined. A simple calculation of the magnitude of the effect suggests the possible interest of measurements.     

Pion production in central high energy nuclear collisions

A model for pion production is studied in the context of a cascade calculation. The pions are produced through Δ-resonances which are allowed to decay. The emitted pions are assumed to interact with the other nucleons by forming new Δ -resonances. The time evolution of the pion and Δ-population is studied; it is found that Δs are always more numerous than pions during the sequence of baryon-baryon collisions. The spectrum of the pions is in considerably better agreement with experiment than the one obtained with frozen Δ-isobars. The presence of Δ-resonances appears to be important for the cooling of the pion system. The pion multiplicity is found to deviate from a Poisson distribution. The pion yield is overestimated by at least 25%; this result is discussed within the framework of conventional dynamics.     

Low-energy antiproton annihilation in nuclei

The annihilation of 100 MeV antiprotons in atomic nuclei is studied in the frame of an intranuclear cascade model. It is found that the antiproton is annihilated about 1 fm inside the nucleus on the average. The energy released by the annihilation is carried by an average of 5 pions, which cascade throughout the nucleus. About 5% (10%) of the primordial pions are absorbed by the ⁴⁰Ca (¹⁰⁸Ag) target. The pions transfer around 5̃50 MeV (7̃00 MeV) to the nucleons and eject about one-fifth of the nucleons. The pion and proton cross sections are calculated. In particular, the relative transparency of the nucleus to high-energy pions (and not to pions in the Δ-resonance region) gives rise to a peculiar pion emission pattern. The time evolution of the baryon density and of the spectrum of the participant nucleons is investigated. It turns out that the cascade does not generate high energy density.     

Excitation of theΔ (1232)-resonance in proton-nucleus collisions

The excitation of theΔ resonance is observed in proton collisions on C, Nb and Pb targets at 0.8 and 1.6 GeV incident energies. The mass E₀ and widthΓ of the resonance are determined from the invariant mass spectra of correlated (p, π^±)-pairs in the final state of the collision: The mass E₀ is smaller than that of the free resonance, however by comparing to intra-nuclear cascade calculations, this reduction is traced back to the effects of Fermi motion, NN scattering and pion reabsorption in nuclear matter.     

The neutron/proton ratio of fast nucleon emission in antiproton annihilation on nuclei

The measurement of fast protons and neutrons emitted after antiproton annihilation at rest on²³⁸U and⁶³Cu reveals a large neutron/proton ratioR. Its value for⁶³Cu is larger than expected from the conventional model of intranuclear pion rescattering. A value ofR essentially constant over the whole range of mass number, from¹²C up to²³⁸U, is also announced by the experimentalists. It is shown that, on the contrary, the conventional scheme predicts a regular increase ofR with mass number. Alternative explanations of the effect are looked for. Within the usual scheme, an excess of negative pions, leading to more emitted neutrons, is not compatible with final pion multiplicities. The influence of meson resonances on the neutron/proton ratio is considered, as well as the possible occurrence of annihilations on two nucleons. They cannot warrant an increase ofR at low mass targets sufficient to explain a constant value over the whole range of target masses.     

Exclusive measurements of mean pion multiplicities in 4He-nucleus reactions from 200 to 800 MeV/nucleon

Mean multiplicities of pi+ and pi- in 4He collisions with C, Cu, and Pb at 200, 600, and 800 MeV/u, and with C and Pb at 400 MeV/u have been measured using the large solid angle detector Diogene. The independence of pion multiplicity on projectile incident energy, target mass and proton multiplicity is studied in comparison with intra-nuclear cascade predictions. The discrepancy between experimental results and theory is pointed out and discussed.