Gamma-ray spectra in the positron-annihilation process of molecules at room temperature

In this study, a fully self-consistent method was developed to obtain the wave functions of the positron and electrons in molecules simultaneously. The wave function of a positron at room temperature, with a characteristic energy of approximately 0.04 eV [1], was used to analyse the experimental results of its annihilation in helium, neon, hydrogen, and methane molecules. The interactions between the positron and molecule provide a significant correction in the gamma-ray spectra of the annihilating electron–positron pairs. It was also observed that high-order correlations offered almost no correction in the spectra, as the interaction between the low-energy positron and electrons cannot drive the electrons into excited electronic states. More accurate studies, which consider the coupling of the positron–electron pair states and vibration states of nuclei, must be undertaken.     

超短超强激光产生正电子的蒙特卡罗模拟

通过理论分析,建立了超短超强激光与固体靶作用产生正电子的蒙特卡罗模拟模型及Geant4模拟程序。模拟研究了靶材料、靶厚度及超热电子温度等对正电子产额的影响,结果表明:对铝、铜、锡、钽、金、铅6种靶材料,金靶的正电子产额最高,是优秀的正电子产生靶;不同超热电子温度下存在不同的最佳靶厚度,在最佳靶厚度以下,正电子产额随靶厚度增长而增大,靶厚度取3 mm较为合适;超热电子温度越高,正电子产额也越高,提高激光强度是增加正电子产额的有效途径。模拟研究给出了正电子角分布及其能谱,结果显示,正电子发射明显前倾,从大于90方向范围发射的正电子数量极少,且超热电子温度越高前倾特点越明显,能量呈类麦克斯韦分布,靶背法线方向出射的正电子的温度随超热电子温度升高而升高。     

THE INTERFERENCE EFFECTS BETWEEN ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR PROCESSES-FLUCTUATION PHENOMENA IN POSITRON SPECTRUM PRODUCED BY VERY HEAVY ION COLLISIONS

The positron spectra produced by very heavy ion collisions have been measured in GSI. The fluctuation phenomena occured in the positron spectra should be explained in terms of the theory on the interference effects between atomic and nuclear processes, i.e. the origin of this kind of fluctuation essentially comes from the stochastic property of compound ,nucleus.This paper shows the theoretical framework.     

Antineutrino energy spectrum unfolding based on the Daya Bay measurement and its applications

The prediction of reactor antineutrino spectra will play a crucial role as reactor experiments enter the precision era.The positron energy spectrum of 3.5 million antineutrino inverse beta decay reactions observed by the Day a Bay experiment,in combination with the fission rates of fissile isotopes in the reactor,is used to extract the positron energy spectra resulting from the fission of specific isotopes.This information can be used to produce a precise,data-based prediction of the antineutrino energy spectrum in other reactor antineutrino experiments with different fission fractions than Day a Bay.The positron energy spectra are unfolded to obtain the antineutrino energy spectra by removing the contribution from detector response with the Wiener-SVD unfolding method.Consistent results are obtained with other unfolding methods.A technique to construct a data-based prediction of the reactor antineutrino energy spectrum is proposed and investigated.Given the reactor fission fractions,the technique can predict the energy spectrum to a 2% precision.In addition,we illustrate how to perform a rigorous comparison between the unfolded antineutrino spectrum and a theoretical model prediction that avoids the input model bias of the unfolding method.     

Positron annihilation in large polyatomic molecules. The role of vibrational Feshbach resonances and binding

We analyse the process of rapid positron annihilation in large polyatomic molecules due to positron capture into vibrational Feshbach resonances. Resonant annihilation occurs in molecules which can bind positrons, and we analyse positron binding to alkanes using zero-range potentials. Related questions of spectra of annihilation gamma quanta and molecular fragmentation following annihilation, are discussed briefly.     

真空电子偶素原子的产生

用慢正电子束入射固体靶表面,通过测量湮没光子能谱随靶温度和入射慢正电子能量的变化,用“峰法”确定慢正电子产生电子偶素原子的转换率。转换率依赖于靶材料、靶温度和入射慢正电子能量。对材料锗转换率可达80％。 关键词：     

正电子湮没寿命谱的傅里叶变换分析法

本文提出了一种通过傅里叶变换在频域内进行正电子湮没寿命谱分析的方法。文中对正电子湮没寿命谱的傅里叶变换谱的基本特性和该方法的潜在优点进行了若干讨论。 关键词：     

Relevance of slow positron beam research to astrophysical studies of positron interactions and annihilation in the interstellar medium

The processes undergone by positrons in the interstellar medium (ISM) from the moments of their birth to their annihilation are examined. Both the physics of the positron interactions with gases and solids (dust grains), and the physical conditions and characteristics of the environments where the processes of energy loss, positronium formation, and annihilation taking place, are reviewed. An explanation is given as to how all the relevant physical information are taken into account in order to calculate annihilation rates and spectra of the 511 keV emission for the various phases of the ISM; special attention is paid to positron interactions with dust and with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. An attempt is made to show to what extent the interactions between positrons and interstellar dust grains are similar to laboratory experiments in which beams of slow positrons impinge upon solids and surfaces. Sample results are shown for the effect of dust grains on positron annihilation spectra in some phases of the ISM which, together with high resolution spectra measured by satellites, can be used to infer useful knowledge about the environment where the annihilation is predominantly taking place and ultimately about the birth place and history of positrons in the Galaxy. The important complementarity between work done by the astrophysical and the solid-state positron communities is strongly emphasized and specific experimental work is suggested which could assist the modeling of the interaction and annihilation of positrons in the ISM.     

The application of artificial neural networks to the inversion of the positron lifetime spectrum

A new method of processing positron annihilation lifetime spectra is proposed.It is based on an artificial neural network(ANN)-back propagation network(BPN).By using data from simulated positron lifetime spectra which are generated by a simulation program and tested by other analysis programs,the BPN can be trained to extract lifetime and intensity from a positron annihilation lifetime spectrum as an input.In principle,the method has the potential to unfold an unknown number of lifetimes and their intensities from a measured spectrum.So far,only a proof-of-principle type preliminary investigation was made by unfolding three or four discrete lifetimes.The present study aims to design the network.Besides,the performance of this method requires both the accurate design of the BPN structure and a long training time.In addition,the performance of the method in practical applications is dependent on the quality of the simulation model.However,the chances of satisfying the above criteria appear to be high.When appropriately developed,a trained network could be a very efficient alternative to the existing methods,with a very short identification time.We have used the artificial neural network codes to analyze data such as the positron lifetime spectra for single crystal materials and monocrystalline silicon.Some meaningful results are obtained.     

非晶离子导体B2O3-0.7Li2O-0.7LiCl-xAl2O3晶化过程的正电子湮没寿命谱和扫描电子显微镜研究

传统的粉末压片样品严重影响了正电子湮没寿命谱及电子显微镜测量的准确性和重复性。本文克服了以上困难,制出大片非晶离子导体样品,得到了晶化过程正电子湮没寿命谱及扫描电子显微镜研究的新结果。非晶离子导体B₂O₃-0.7Li₂O-0.7LiCl-xAl₂O₃的实验结果发现:Al₂O₃组分不同对非晶态样品在室温下的正电子平均寿命无较大影响。完全晶化后,正电子平均寿 关键词：     

Lifetime measurements with a scanning positron microscope

First lifetime results obtained with a scanning positron microscope will be presented. A pulsed positron beam with a variable energy from 0.5 to 20 keV, with a spot diameter of 2 microm, can be electronically scanned over an area of 0.6x0.6 mm(2). This beam is formed after a double-stage stochastic cooling (moderation) of positrons emitted from a radioactive isotope. Included in the system is a conventional scanning electron microprobe for surface analysis. Three-dimensional positron lifetime spectra of a GaAs sample with a small surface scratch reveal the range due to the mechanical damage.     

Experimental investigation of a DC electric field on positron self-trapping in helium gas

Positron lifetime spectra taken in helium gas at 5.5 K and 129 standard densities are compared with Monte Carlo simulations of Farazdel and Epstein. This comparison establishes that the energy threshold for positron self-trapping and the decay rate of the self-trapped state are not affected by an electric field of 52 V/cm. The comparison also suggests a small change in the positron diffusion prior to the self-trapping.     

Positron annihilation study of the micro-defects induced by cavitation in mild steel

Cavitation-induced micro-defects in mild steel after cavitation experiment in the fluid field have been studied by positron Doppler broadening measurement and positron annihilation lifetime spectra (PALS). Depth-resolved positron Doppler S-parameter (DPDS) results showed that S-parameter increased and micro-defects between the surface and the bulk has obvious variation with depth during the cavitation process. From the positron lifetime results, it was found that the size and number of micro-defects increase with the development of cavitation. These results suggest that more micro-defects are generated in mild steel bulk during the cavitation process than those in the mild steel surface layer region, although more mico-defects seen in the mild steel surface layer. Moreover, the size of micro-defects in mild steel bulk increases remarkably owing to their transfer and aggregation.     

Antineutrino background from spent-fuel storage in sensitive searches for θ 13 at reactors

Sensitive searches for antineutrino oscillations in the atmospheric mass-parameter region much discussed in recent years are based on accurate comparison of the inverse-beta-decay positron spectra measured in two (or more) detectors, far and near, stationed, e.g., at about 1000 and about 100 m from the reactor(s). We show that antineutrinos emitted from the stored irradiated fuel can distort in a different way the soft part of positron spectra measured in the far and near detectors and thus mimic (or hide) the oscillation signal. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Secondary electron spectra of gold under bombardment by very low-energy positrons

Measurements of the secondary electron energy spectra resulting from very low-energy positron bombardment of a polycrystalline Au surface are presented. The low-energy part of the secondary spectra contain significant contributions from two processes: (1) annihilation-induced Auger electrons that have lost energy before leaving the surface and (2) secondary electrons resulting from direct energy exchange with an incident positron. Our data indicate that the second process (direct energy exchange with the primary positron) is still important at and below 3 eV incident beam energy. Since energy conservation precludes secondary electron generation below an incident beam energy equal to the difference between the electron and positron work functions (∼3 eV), the fact that we still observe significant secondary electron emission at energies at or below this value provides strong evidence that the incident positrons are falling directly into the surface state and transferring all of the energy difference to an outgoing secondary electron. These measurements were also used to obtain the first experimentally determined upper limit on the intensity of the spectrum of Auger-induced secondary electrons.     

Positron annihilation studies of mesoporous silica films using a slow positron beam

Positron annihilation lifetime spectra were measured for mesoporous silica films, which were synthesized using triblock copolymer (EO₁₀₆PO₇₀EO₁₀₆) as a structure-directing agent. Different positron lifetime spectra for the deposited and calcined films indicated the formation of meso-structure after calcination, which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) observation. Open porosity or pore interconnectivity of a silica film might be evaluated by a two-dimensional positron annihilation lifetime spectrum of an uncapped film. Pore sizes and their distributions in the silica films were found to be affected by thermal treatments.     

Muon and positron induced luminescence in KBr and CuCl

The exciton luminescence induced by muon implantation in two selected halides is compared with that induced by positron irradiation. The data include wavelength and lifetime spectra for potassium bromide and lifetime spectra for cuprous chloride, recorded at the ISIS Pulsed Muon Facility. For each material, the spectra for positron-induced and muon-induced luminescence are indistinguishable; that is, no influence of muonium formation on the self-trapped exciton state can be discerned.     

Theoretical study on the positron annihilation in Rocksalt structured magnesium oxide

Based on the atomic superposition approximation(ATSUP) and first-principles pseudopotential plane-wave methods,the bulk and Mg mono-vacancy positron lifetime of magnesium oxide were calculated using Arponen-Pajamme and Boron’ski-Nieminen positron-annihilation-rate interpolation formula respectively.The calculated values are in good agreement with experimental values and the first-principles method gives more convincing results.The positron annihilation density spectra analysis reveals that positrons mainly annihilate with valence electrons of oxygen atoms when the magnesium-vacancy appears within magnesium oxide.     

The origin of position peaks in heavy-ion collisions

Results from realistic calculations of positron spectra generated in collisions of uranium on uranium are reported. The calculated spectra show a peak structure as it has been observed in experiments. The peaks are produced by the dipole field of the moving ions.     

Positron spectra from internal pair conversion observed in 238U + 181Ta collisions

We present new results from measurements and simulations of positron spectra, originating from ²³⁸U + ¹⁸¹Ta collisions at beam energies close to the Coulomb barrier. The measurements were performed using an improved experimental setup at the double-Orange spectrometer of GSI. Particular emphasis is put on the signature of positrons from Internal-Pair-Conversion (IPC) processes in the measured e⁺-energy spectra, following the de-excitation of electromagnetic transitions in the moving Ta-like nucleus. It is shown by Monte Carlo simulations that, for the chosen current sweeping procedure used in the present experiments, positron emission from discrete IPC transitions can lead to rather narrow line structures in the measured energy spectra. The measured positron spectra do not show evidence for line structures within the statistical accuracy achieved, although expected from the intensities of the observed γ-transitions ( E _γ∼ 1250-1600 keV) and theoretical conversion coefficients. This is due to the reduced detection efficiency for IPC positrons, caused by the limited spatial and momentum acceptance of the spectrometer. A comparison with previous results, in which lines have been observed, is presented and the implications are discussed. Received: 27 April 2000 / Accepted: 14 September 2000