Neutrino energy loss by electron capture on strongly screened iron group nuclei

The influences on the neutrino energy loss rates in iron group nuclei at the same density are investigated in the presence of strong electron screening and in the absence of electron screening. The results show that at a temperature of $15\ti10^9$\,K, the neutrino energy loss rates which come from the electron capture process for most iron group nuclei decrease no more than 2 orders of magnitude but for the others (such as $^{53,55,56,57,58,59,60}$Co, $^{56,59}$Ni) they can decrease about 3 orders of magnitude due to strong electron screening (SES), whereas, at a temperature of $10^9K$ the neutrino energy loss rates of the most iron group nuclei can be diminished greatly due to the SES. For example, $^{61}$Fe, $^{60}$Fe, and $^{62}$Ni the neutrino energy loss rates decrease about 4, 15 and 16 orders of magnitude and for $^{57}$Cr, $^{58}$Cr, and $^{60}$Cr decrease about 18, 12, and 10 orders of magnitude respectively. According to our calculations the neutrino energy loss rates of nuclei $^{58}$Mn, $^{59}$Mn, $^{60}$Mn, and $^{62}$Mn may decrease about 13 orders of magnitude at a temperature of $10^9$\,K due to the SES.     

Effect of strong magnetic field on electron capture of iron group nuclei in crusts of neutron stars

In this paper electron capture on iron group nuclei in crusts of neutron stars in a strong magnetic field is investigated. The results show that the magnetic fields have only a slight effect on electron capture rates in a range of 10$^{8}-10^{13}$G on surfaces of most neutron stars, whereas for some magnetars the magnetic fields range from 10$^{13}$ to 10$^{18}$~G. The electron capture rates of most iron group nuclei are greatly decreased, reduced by even four orders of magnitude due to the strong magnetic field.     

Factorization theorems for exclusive heavy-quarkonium production

We outline the proofs of the factorization theorems for exclusive two-body charmonium production in B-meson decay and e;{+}e;{-} annihilation to all orders in perturbation theory in quantum chromodynamics. We find that factorized expressions hold up to corrections of order m_{c}/m_{b} in B-meson decay and corrections of order m_{c};{2}/s in e;{+}e;{-} annihilation, where m_{c} is the charm-quark mass, m_{b} is the bottom-quark mass, and sqrt[s] is the e;{+}e;{-} center-of-momentum energy.     

Giant Nernst effect and bipolarity in the quasi-one-dimensional metal Li0.9Mo6O17

The Nernst coefficient for the quasi-one-dimensional metal, Li{0.9}Mo{6}O{17}, is found to be among the largest known for metals (ν?500 μV/KT at T～20 K), and is enhanced in a broad range of temperature by orders of magnitude over the value expected from Boltzmann theory for carrier diffusion. A comparatively small Seebeck coefficient implies that Li{0.9}Mo{6}O{17} is bipolar with large, partial Seebeck coefficients of opposite sign. A very large thermomagnetic figure of merit, ZT～0.5, is found at high field in the range T≈35-50 K.     

Surface origin of high conductivities in undoped In2O3 thin films

The microscopic cause of conductivity in transparent conducting oxides like ZnO, In{2}O{3}, and SnO{2} is generally considered to be a point defect mechanism in the bulk, involving intrinsic lattice defects, extrinsic dopants, or unintentional impurities like hydrogen. We confirm here that the defect theory for O-vacancies can quantitatively account for the rather moderate conductivity and off-stoichiometry observed in bulk In{2}O{3} samples under high-temperature equilibrium conditions. However, nominally undoped thin-films of In{2}O{3} can exhibit surprisingly high conductivities exceeding by 4-5 orders of magnitude that of bulk samples under identical conditions (temperature and O{2} partial pressure). Employing surface calculations and thickness-dependent Hall measurements, we demonstrate that surface donors rather than bulk defects dominate the conductivity of In{2}O{3} thin films.     

Effects of Si and Ti impurities on electrical properties of sol–gel-derived amorphous SrTa2O6 thin films by UV/O3 treatment

Sol–gel-derived SrTa₂O₆ thin films were fabricated at a low temperature of 500 °C. To improve their leakage current properties, additional UV/O₃-assisted annealing was performed from room temperature to 290 °C. UV/O₃ treatment at 290 °C gave a very low leakage current that was six orders of magnitude lower than that of an untreated thin film. During UV/O₃-assisted annealing, Si and Ti ions diffused from the substrates into the SrTa₂O₆ thin films and occupied the Ta⁵⁺ sites, subsequently generating Si^? and Ti^?. At a heating temperature of 290 °C, large amounts of Ti ions diffused throughout the SrTa₂O₆ thin film. These Ti ions contributed to the generation of inactive combinations of $(\mathrm{Si}^{-}\mbox{--}\mathrm{V}_{\mathrm{o}}^{+})^{+}\mbox{--}\mathrm{Ti}^{-}$ and $(\mathrm{Ti}^{-}\mbox{--}\mathrm{V}_{\mathrm{o}}^{+})^{+}\mbox{--}\mathrm{Ti}^{-}$ , which greatly reduced oxygen vacancies (V_o). Thus, the leakage current was significantly reduced.     

Observation of anomalous upsilon(1S)pi+pi(-) and upsilon(2S)pi+pi(-) production near the upsilon(5S) resonance

We report the first observation of e;{+}e;{-}-->Upsilon(1S)pi;{+}pi;{-}, Upsilon(2S)pi;{+}pi;{-}, and first evidence for e;{+}e;{-}-->Upsilon(3S)pi;{+}pi;{-}, Upsilon(1S)K+K-, near the peak of the Upsilon(5S) resonance at sqrt[s] approximately 10.87 GeV. The results are based on a data sample of 21.7 fb;{-1} collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e;{+}e;{-} collider. Attributing the signals to the Upsilon(5S) resonance, the partial widths Gamma(Upsilon(5S)-->Upsilon(1S)pi;{+}pi;{-})=0.59+/-0.04(stat)+/-0.09(syst) MeV and Gamma(Upsilon(5S)-->Upsilon(2S)pi;{+}pi;{-})=0.85+/-0.07(stat)+/-0.16(syst) MeV are obtained from the observed cross sections. These values exceed by more than 2 orders of magnitude the previously measured partial widths for dipion transitions between lower Upsilon resonances.     

Investigation of transport properties of perovskite single crystals by pulsed and DC bias transient current technique

Time-of-flight (ToF) transient current method is an important technique to study the transport characteristics of semiconductors. Here, both the direct current (DC) and pulsed bias ToF transient current method are employed to investigate the transport properties and electric field distribution inside the MAPbI$_{3}$ single crystal detector. Owing to the almost homogeneous electric field built inside the detector during pulsed bias ToF measurement, the free hole mobility can be directly calculated to be about 22 cm$^{2}\cdot$V$^{-1}\cdot$s$^{-1}$, and the hole lifetime is around 6.5 μs-17.5 μs. Hence, the mobility-lifetime product can be derived to be $1.4\times 10^{-4}$ cm$^{2}\cdot$V$^{-1}$-$3.9\times 10^{-4}$ cm$^{2}\cdot$V$^{-1}$. The transit time measured under the DC bias deviates with increasing voltage compared with that under the pulsed bias, which arises mainly from the inhomogeneous electric field distribution inside the perovskite. The positive space charge density can then be deduced to increase from 3.1$\times10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$ to 6.89$\times 10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$ in a bias range of 50 V-150 V. The ToF measurement can provide us with a facile way to accurately measure the transport properties of the perovskite single crystals, and is also helpful in obtaining a rough picture of the internal electric field distribution.     

Observation of B(0)-->D(*-)tau(+)nu(tau) decay at Belle

We report an observation of the decay B{0}-->D{*-}tau{+}nu{tau} in a data sample containing 535x10{6} BB pairs collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e{+}e{-} collider. We find a signal with a significance of 5.2sigma and measure the branching fraction B(B{0}-->D{*-}tau{+}nu{tau})=(2.02{-0.37}{+0.40}(stat)+/-0.37(syst))%. This is the first observation of an exclusive B decay with a b-->ctaunu{tau} transition.     

Beyond antihydrogen: testing CPT with the molecular antihydrogen ion

Measurements of Zeeman, Zeeman-hyperfine and ro-vibrational transitions in \(\bar {H}_{2}^{-}(\bar {p}e^{+}\bar {p})\) compared to \(H_{2}^{+}\) have the potential for more precise tests of CPT than can be obtained from antiprotons and antihydrogen. In particular, measurements of ro-vibrational transitions have a potential sensitivity to a difference between antiproton and proton mass three orders of magnitude higher than antihydrogen/hydrogen. Methods are outlined for precision measurements on a single \(\bar {H}_{2}^{-}\) or \({H}_{2}^{+}\) ion in a cryogenic Penning trap, with non-destructive state identification using the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect or changes in mass. \(\bar {H}_{2}^{-}\) can be produced using the \(\bar {H}^{+}+\bar {p} \rightarrow \bar {H}_{2}^{-} + e^{+}\) reaction.     

First observation of K{L}-->pi{+/-}e{-/+}nue{+}e{-}

This Letter is the first report of the K{L}-->pi{+/-}e{-/+}nue{+}e{-} decay. Based on 19 208+/-144 events, we determine the branching fraction, B(K{L}-->pi{+/-}e{-/+}nue{+}e{-}M_{e{+}e{-}}>5 MeV/c{2},E{e{+}e{-}}{*}>30 MeV)=(1.285+/-0.041)x10{-5}, and Gamma(K{e3ee}M{e{+}e{-}}>5 MeV/c{2})/Gamma(K{e3})=[4.57+/-0.04(stat)+/-0.14(syst)]x10{-5}. This ratio agrees with a theoretical prediction based on chiral perturbation theory (ChPT) calculated to O(p{4}). The measured kinematical distributions agree with those predicted by just ChPT O(p{4}), but show significant disagreement with ones predicted by leading-order ChPT.     

Decay of the positronium molecule into a positronium atom and photons

Decays of the positronium molecule Ps₂ into para- or orthopositronium Ps in the ground state and photons are investigated. The differential probabilities of the decays are determined. The total probabilitiesw _2γ ^(Ps2) andw _3γ ^(Ps2) of Ps₂ annihilation with the production of two and three photons and positronium are calculated to be $$w_{2\gamma }^{(P_{S_2 } )} = 1.6 \cdot 10^{10} \sec ^{ - 1} ,w_{3\gamma }^{(P_{S_2 } )} = 0.43 \cdot 10^8 \sec ^{ - 1} $$ . The curve of the angular correlation of the γ rays on the decay of Ps₂ into two photons and parapositronium is studied. The width of this curve is Δ¦P¦=0.128 a.u. (¦P¦ is the total photon momentum), which corresponds to a deviation of the emission angle of the γ rays from π: θ ? 0.934 mrad. The maximum in the distribution of the photons with respect to the momenta ¦P¦ in the center of mass of the annihilating pair is attained at ¦P¦=0.175 a.u. The calculations were made on an M-222 computer, and their accuracy is determined by the choice of the wave function of the positronium molecule and the accuracy in the computer calculation of the integrals.     

Determination of the structure of {31}ne by a fully microscopic framework

We perform the first quantitative analysis of the reaction cross sections of {28-32}Ne by {12}C at 240 MeV/nucleon, using the double-folding model with the Melbourne g matrix and the deformed projectile density calculated by antisymmetrized molecular dynamics. To describe the tail of the last neutron of {31}Ne, we adopt the resonating group method combined with antisymmetrized molecular dynamics. The theoretical prediction excellently reproduces the measured cross sections of {28-32}Ne with no adjustable parameters. The ground state properties of {31}Ne, i.e., strong deformation and a halo structure with spin parity 3/2{-}, are clarified.     

New constraints on short-range forces coupling mass to intrinsic spin

A new device that we refer to as the spherical superconducting torsion balance has been used to search for a new force coupling mass to intrinsic spin. Our experimental approach also employs a novel spin-source geometry that allows unprecedented sensitivity in the range 100 mum10 mm at 1sigma confidence. At a range of 1 mm our most relaxed limit is g_{p};{e}g_{s}<1.5x10;{-24}.     

Evidence for the decay D0-->K(-)pi(+)pi(-)e(+)nu(e)

Using a 281 pb{-1} data sample collected at the psi(3770) with the CLEO-c detector, we present the first absolute branching fraction measurement of the decay D0-->K(-)pi(+)pi(-)e(+)nu(e) at a statistical significance of about 4.0 standard deviations. We find 10 candidates consistent with the decay D0-->K(-)pi(+)pi(-)e(+)nu(e). The probability that a background fluctuation accounts for this signal is less than 4.1 x 10{-5}. We find B(D0-->K(-)pi(+)pi(-)e(+)nu(e)) = [2.8{-1.1}{+1.4}(stat)+/-0.3(syst)]x10{-4}. By restricting the invariant mass of the hadronic system to be consistent with K1(1270), we obtain the product of branching fractions B(D{0}-->K{1}{-}(1270)e{+}nu{e})xB(K1-(1270)-->K{-}pi{+}pi{-})=[2.5{-1.0}{+1.3}(stat)+/-0.2(syst)]x10{-4}. Using B(K1-(1270)-->K{-}pi{+}pi{-})=(33+/-3)%, we obtain B(D{0}-->K{1}{-}(1270)e{+}nu{e})=[7.6{-3.0}{+4.1}(stat)+/-0.6(syst)+/-0.7]x10{-4}. The last error accounts for the uncertainties in the measured K1-(1270)-->K{-}pi{+}pi{-} branching fractions.     

Study of the decays D0-->pi{-}e{+}nu{e}, D{0}-->K{-}e{+}nu{e}, D{+}-->pi{0}e{+}nu{e}, and D{+}-->K0e{+}nu{e}

By using 1.8x10{6} DDpairs, we have measured B(D{0}-->pi{-}e{+}nu{e})=0.299(11)(9)%, B(D{+}-->pi{0}e{+}nu{e})=0.373(22)(13)%, B(D{0}-->K{-}e{+}nu{e})=3.56(3)(9)%, and B(D{+}-->K{0}e{+}nu{e})=8.53(13)(23)% and have studied the q;{2} dependence of the form factors. By combining our results with recent lattice calculations, we obtain |V{cd}|=0.217(9)(4)(23) and |V{cs}|=1.015(10)(11)(106).     

Strong constraints on Lorentz violation using new γ-ray observations around PeV

The tiny modification of dispersion relation induced by Lorentz violation (LV) is an essential topic in quantum gravity (QG) theories, which can be magnified into significant effects when dealing with astrophysical observations at high energies and long propagation distances. LV would lead to photon decay at high energies; therefore, observations of high-energy photons could constrain LV or even QG theories. The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) is the most sensitive gamma-array instrument currently operating above 100 TeV. Recently, LHAASO reported the detection of 12 sources above 100 TeV with maximum photon energy exceeding 1 PeV. According to these observations, the most stringent restriction is achieved in this study, i.e., limiting the LV energy scale to \begin{document}$1.7\times10^{33} $\end{document} eV, which is over 139,000 times that of the Planck energy, and achieving an improvement of approximately 1.9 orders of magnitude over previous limits.     

Measurement of CP violation parameters with a Dalitz plot analysis of B{+/-}-->D{pi{+}pi{-}pi{0}}K{+/-}

We report the results of a CP violation analysis of the decay B{+/-}-->D{pi{+}pi{-}pi;{0}}K{+/-}, where D{pi{+}pi{-}pi{0}} indicates a neutral D meson detected in the final state pi{+}pi{-}pi{0}, excluding K{S}{0}pi{0}. The analysis makes use of 324 x 10{6}e{+}e{-}-->BB[over ] events recorded by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II e;{+}e;{-} storage ring. Analyzing the pi;{+}pi;{-}pi;{0} Dalitz plot distribution and the B{+/-}-->D{pi{+}pi{-}pi{0}}K{+/-} branching fraction and decay rate asymmetry, we find the following one-standard-deviation constraints on the amplitude ratio and on the weak and strong phases: 0.06pi{+}pi{-}pi{0} decay amplitude.     

Indirect optical crosstalk reduction by highly-doped backside layer in single-photon avalanche diode arrays

A method of reducing indirect optical crosstalk in single-photon avalanche diode arrays is investigated by TCAD simulations. The reduction is accomplished by taking advantage of an enhanced optical absorption in a highly-doped Si layer on the backside of the wafer. A simulation environment was developed to give information about optical crosstalk by incorporating the experimental optical constants of the materials constituting the crosstalk-reduction layer. It is shown that the indirect optical crosstalk is greatly reduced by increasing the thickness and doping of the layer. A crosstalk reduction of 5 orders of magnitude is gained with addition of 1-μm-thick \(\hbox {PureB}/\upalpha \hbox {-Si}\) stack for the array processed on a p-type substrate, while the same reduction is achieved with a 1-μm-thick highly-doped Si layer (As, \(1.1\times 10^{20}\, \hbox {cm}^{-3}\)) for an array processed on an n-type substrate.     

Observation of B_(s)(0)-->phigamma and search for B_(s)(0)-->gammagamma decays at Belle

We search for the radiative penguin decays B_{s}{0}-->varphigamma and B_{s}{0}-->gammagamma in a 23.6 fb{-1} data sample collected at the Upsilon(5S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB e{+}e{-} asymmetric-energy collider. We observe for the first time a radiative penguin decay of the B_{s}{0} meson in the B_{s}{0}-->varphigamma mode and we measure B(B_{s}{0}-->varphigamma)=(57_{-15}{+18}(stat)-11+12(syst))x10{-6}. No significant B_{s}{0}-->gammagamma signal is observed and we set a 90% confidence level upper limit of B(B_{s}{0}-->gammagamma)<8.7x10{-6}.