Isospin violation in α-induced reactions

A study has been made of the reactions ¹²C(α, α')¹²C and ¹⁰B(α, d)¹²C which lead to the 12.71 MeV T = 0 and the 15.11 MeV T = 1 levels in ¹²C. Significant structure is observed in the yield curves of the reactions ¹²C(α, α') ¹²C for both the isospin allowed and forbidden reactions up to the maximum available α-energy of 27 MeV; this structure is attributed to compound nucleus formation. No significant structure is observed in the reaction ¹⁰B(α, d)¹²C.     

Search for sub-eV mass solar axions by the CERN Axion Solar Telescope with 3He buffer gas

The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) has extended its search for solar axions by using (3)He as a buffer gas. At T=1.8 K this allows for larger pressure settings and hence sensitivity to higher axion masses than our previous measurements with (4)He. With about 1 h of data taking at each of 252 different pressure settings we have scanned the axion mass range 0.39 eV?m(a)?0.64 eV. From the absence of excess x rays when the magnet was pointing to the Sun we set a typical upper limit on the axion-photon coupling of g(aγ)?2.3×10(-10) GeV(-1) at 95% C.L., the exact value depending on the pressure setting. Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov axions are excluded at the upper end of our mass range, the first time ever for any solar axion search. In the future we will extend our search to m(a)?1.15 eV, comfortably overlapping with cosmological hot dark matter bounds.     

Observation of double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen

We report the first observation of double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen. The experiment was conducted at the TRIUMF cyclotron using the RMC spectrometer and detected gamma-ray coincidences following pi(-) stops in liquid hydrogen. We found the branching ratio for double radiative capture to be [3.05+/-0.27(stat)+/-0.31(syst)]x10(-5). The measured branching ratio and angle-energy distributions support the theoretical prediction of a dominant contribution from the pipi-->gammagamma annihilation mechanism.     

Neutrons produced by 1.22 GeV antiproton interactions with nuclei

Inclusive neutron energy spectra were measured by time of flight using 1.22 GeV antiprotons from LEAR, CERN, as projectiles and targets from natural Al, Cu, Ag, Ho, Ta, Au, Pb, Bi, U. The sum of two Maxwellian distributions was fitted to the spectra obtained at several forward and backward angles yielding neutron multiplicities M_i and slope or temperature parameters T _i for the low-energy (evaporative, i=1) and high-energy (pre-equilibrium,i=2) parts, respectively. M ₁ increases with A, proportional to the nuclear volume, and M ₂ is growing with A , proportional to the nuclear radius. The T parameters are nearly independent of A. The results are compared with previous multiplicity measurements with a neutron detector, intranuclear cascade calculations and neutron spectra from stopped antiproton annihilation on nuclei. With the measured proton spectra also the ratio of emitted neutrons to protons was determined for Au. Received: 25 February 2000 / Accepted: 19 May 2000     

Total synthesis of isoprekinamycin: structural evidence for enhanced diazonium ion character and growth inhibitory activity toward cancer cells

The structurally novel diazobenzo[a]fluorene antibiotic isoprekinamycin (IPK) has been synthesized for the first time employing a Suzuki coupling of a brominated AB ring synthon with a boronate ester representing the D ring, followed by anionic cyclization and appropriate functional group manipulations. The first indication that the diazobenzo[a]fluorene system exhibits in vitro anticancer activity is provided and X-ray crystallographic evidence for enhancement of diazonium ion character as a consequence of intramolecular H-bonding is described.     

Test of exotic scalar and tensor interactions in K e3 decay using stopped positive kaons

The form factors of the decay K ⁺ → π ⁰ e ⁺ ν _e (K _e3) have been determined from the comparison of the experimental and Monte Carlo Dalitz distributions containing about 10⁵ K _e3 events. The following values of the parameters were obtained: λ ₊=0.0278±0.0017 (stat.)±0.0015 (syst.), |f _S/f ₊(0)|=0.0040±0.0160 (stat.)±0.0067 (syst.), and |f _T/f ₊(0)|=0.019±0.080 (stat.)±0.038 (syst.). Both scalar f _S and tensor f _T form factors are consistent with the Standard Model predictions of zero values.     

A structure-based 3D-QSAR study of anthrapyrazole analogues of the anticancer agents losoxantrone and piroxantrone

A series of 13 anthrapyrazole compounds that are analogues of piroxantrone and losoxantrone were synthesized, and their cell growth inhibitory effects, DNA binding, topoisomerase IIalpha mediated (EC 5.99.1.3) cleavage of DNA, and inhibition of DNA topoisomerase IIalpha decatenation catalytic activities were determined. Cell growth inhibitory activity was well-correlated with DNA binding, suggesting that these compounds may act by targeting DNA. However, cell growth inhibition was not well-correlated with the inhibition of topoisomerase IIalpha catalytic activity, suggesting that these anthrapyrazoles did not act solely by inhibiting the catalytic activity of topoisomerase II. Most of the analogues were able to induce DNA cleavage, and thus, it was concluded that they acted, at least in part, as topoisomerase II poisons. Structure-based three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity analyses (3D-QSAR) were carried out on the aligned structures of the anthrapyrazoles docked into DNA using comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity index (CoMSIA) analyses in order to determine the structural features responsible for their activity. Both CoMFA and CoMSIA yielded statistically significant models upon partial least-squares analyses. The 3D-QSAR analyses showed that hydrogen-bond donor interactions and electrostatic interactions with the protonated amino side chains of the anthrapyrazoles led to high cell growth inhibitory activity.     

Proton-antiproton annihilations at rest into π0ω, π0η, π0γ, π0π0, and π0η′

Proton-antiproton annihilations at rest in liquid hydrogen were investigated through the inclusive γ spectrum, related to the annihilation. The high-energy part of the spectrum was used to deduce branching ratios for the so far unobserved annihilation channels: $\text{R(}\text{p}\text{p}\text{→π}{}^0\text{ω) = (2.38 ± 0.65)\%}$, $\text{R(}\text{p}\text{p}\text{→ π}{}^0\text{η) = (0.82 ± 0.10\%}$, $\text{R}\text{p}\text{p}\text{→π}{}^{\mathrm{0\gamma )}}\text{= (0.015 ± 0.007)\%}$, and $\text{R(}\text{p}\text{p}\text{→ π}{}^0\text{π}{}^0\text{= (0.06 ± 0.04)\%}$. An upper limit for the π⁰η^′ channel was deduced to be $\text{R(}\text{p}\text{p}\text{→ π}{}^0\text{η}{}^{\mathrm{\prime }}\text{) < 1.1\%}$.     

Branching ratios for stopped pions in deuterium

The ratios $\text{S =}\text{ω(π}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{d}\text{→}\text{nn}\text{)}\text{ω(π}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{d}\text{→}\text{nn}\text{γ)}$ has been measured for negative pions stopping in deuterium gas at pressures up to 100 atm. The result is S = 2.83 ± 0.04 which is a factor of two more accurate than previous measurements.     

First results from the CERN axion solar telescope

Hypothetical axionlike particles with a two-photon interaction would be produced in the sun by the Primakoff process. In a laboratory magnetic field ("axion helioscope"), they would be transformed into x-rays with energies of a few keV. Using a decommissioned Large Hadron Collider test magnet, the CERN Axion Solar Telescope ran for about 6 months during 2003. The first results from the analysis of these data are presented here. No signal above background was observed, implying an upper limit to the axion-photon coupling g(agamma)<1.16x10(-10) GeV-1 at 95% C.L. for m(a) less, similar 0.02 eV. This limit, assumption-free, is comparable to the limit from stellar energy-loss arguments and considerably more restrictive than any previous experiment over a broad range of axion masses.