Enhancement of positron-atom annihilation near the positronium formation threshold

The behavior of the positron- 2 gamma annihilation rate on an atomic target near the positronium (Ps) formation threshold is determined. When the positron energy epsilon approaches the threshold epsilon(thr) from below, the effective number of electrons contributing to the annihilation, Z(eff), grows as Z(eff) approximately A/square root of [epsilon(thr)-epsilon], where A is related to the size of the Ps formation cross section, sigma(Ps) approximately B square root of [epsilon-epsilon(thr)], by A = B square root of [2 epsilon(thr)]/32 pi (in atomic units). Taking account of the finite Ps lifetime eliminates the singularity in Z(eff) and shows that close to threshold the positron annihilation cross section is identical to the para-Ps formation cross section.     

Measurements of positronium formation cross sections for positron-ar and-K scattering

We have made preliminary measurements of positronium (Ps) formation cross sections for 9 to 452 eV positrons scattered from Ar atoms and for 1 to 20 eV positrons scattered from K atoms. Our experimental approach involves setting lower and upper limits on Ps formation cross sections using a combination of (1) the detection of the coincidences of 511 keV annihilation gamma rays produced by the decay of para-Ps and by the interaction of ortho-Ps with the wall of the scattering cell in which the Ps is formed, and (2) the determination of scattering cross sections associated with the measured transmission of the positron beam through the gas in our scattering cell with the angular discrimination of our apparatus deliberately made as poor as possible. The constraints placed by these lower and upper limits are used to check for consistency with prior experimental and theoretical results for Ar and to provide the first measurements of Ps formation cross sections for K, which are compared with available theoretical results.     

Coupled-channel calculations of positron-atom scattering at intermediate energies

We present the cross sections for positron collisions with the alkali atoms Li, Na and K in the close-coupling approximation within the framework of a single-active-electron model. Our target basis sets are represented by Li(2s, 3s, 2p, 3p), Na(3s, 4s, 3p, 4p), and K(4s, 5s, 4p, 5p) respectively. The effects of coupling to the lowest lying Ps channels have been investigated by augmenting the target basis sets with the Ps(1s, 2s, 2p) eigenstates. The calculations have been made for impact energies below 50 eV. The interaction between the positron and the alkali target atom is represented by a model potential obtained using a single-active-electron approximation. The effect on elastic scattering and excitation due to the coupling between the direct and the Ps formation channels is found to be of great significance at low impact energies. The case of K is of particular interest. The inclusion of the Ps channels quantitatively reproduces the maximum in the total cross section at about 6 eV as reported in a recent experiment by Parikh et al. We find that the calculated total cross sections for Na and K are in good agreement with the experimental data of Parikh et al. and Kwan et al. respectively in the energy range of 2–50 eV provided allowance is made for the incomplete elastic discrimination in the experiment. The Ps formation reduces the K(4s4p) cross section at all energies below 30 eV and a reduction is also seen in the elastic cross section for energies below about 7 eV. Similar effects are observed in the case of Li. In the case of Na for impact energies between 2 and 20 eV Ps formation significantly reduces the Na(3s3p) excitation cross section, while the elastic scattering cross section increases. The calculated total Ps formation cross sections for Na and K are in good agreement with the preliminary experimental data of Kwan, Stein and co-workers.     

Positronium Formation in e^＋-K Collision at Low Energies

Positronium (Ps) formation cross section for positron scattering on potassium is calculated at low impact energies (0.2-15.0eV). The present calculation uses an optical-model method with an equivalent local polarization potential. The results for the Ps (n = 1) and Ps (n = 2) formation cross sections are calculated and compared with the experimental measurements and other theoretical results.     

Annihilating cold dark matter

Structure formation with cold dark matter (CDM) predicts halos with a central density cusp, which are observationally disfavored. If CDM particles have an annihilation cross section sigmav approximately 10(-29)(m/GeV) cm(2), then annihilations will soften the cusps. We discuss plausible scenarios for avoiding the early Universe annihilation catastrophe that could result from such a large cross section. The predicted scaling of core density with halo mass depends upon the velocity dependence of sigmav, and s-wave annihilation leads to a core density nearly independent of halo mass, which seems consistent with observations.     

Depth-dependent positronium formation in γ-irradiated polymers after 30-month aging

Depth-dependent positronium (Ps) formation and annihilation study of Co-60 γ-irradiated polyethylene and polytetrafluorethylene were performed. After 30-month aging, no free radicals effect on Ps formation was detected for the studied polymers. Efficient trapping of back-diffusion positrons was observed in heavily irradiated samples, where Ps formation probability near polymer surface and in the bulk turns to be equivalent to each other. Results shown that positron annihilation Doppler broadening in polytetrafluorethylene is prevailingly influenced by high momentum electrons of fluorine atoms instead of Ps intensity.     

Positron scattering by the noble gases

We report cross sections for positron collisions with the noble gases He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe. These cross sections are for Ps(1s) formation and elastic scattering, and are calculated in the (truncated) coupled-static approximation. Comparison is made with experiments which measure formation of positronium into all bound states. At their maxima, the theoretical and experimental cross sections are of comparable size but, at higher energies, the theoretical numbers are often much lower than the experimental values, a discrepancy which is difficult to understand. Some very interesting structure is observed in the theoretical cross sections, but the calculations do not show the structure at high energies seen in the experiments. The importance of calculating positronium formation not only by electron capture from the outermost shell of the atom but also from inner shells is highlighted. It is suggested that a sufficiently refined experiment may be able to see shell effects. Structure in the elastic cross section which correlates with behaviour in the positronium channel is pointed out. For He, the effects of polarization and absorption in the elastic and Ps(1s) formation channels is also studied using secondorder optical potentials. Polarization and absorption are found to be very important for this system.     

Differential cross sections for elastic scattering and positronium formation for positron collisions with Ne,Ar, Kr and Xe

Differential cross sections for elastic scattering and Ps(1s) formation are calculated in the truncated coupled-static (TCS) approximation. Comparison is made with the elastic scattering measurements of Dou et al. on Ar and Kr. There is no support from the TCS approximation for the view that structure seen in the experimental results for Ar in the energy range 55–60 eV may be due to a resonance associated with coupling to the positronium formation channel. Rather, we believe that Dou et al. are right in correlating this feature with the maximum in the ionization cross section. In the experiment on Kr structures are observed at 25 and 200 eV. It is tentatively suggested that the structure at 200 eV may be the resonance seen in the TCS calculation at 100 eV, but modified by polarization and absorption effects. It is also suggested that the feature at 25 eV could be associated with coupling to excited states of positronium. The TCS results for the Xe target predict some very pronounced behaviour which would be worth experimental investigation. TCS differential cross sections for Ps(1s) formation by capture of an electron from the outer p-shell of the atom are presented for impact energies up to 75 eV. A noticeable property of these cross sections is that they do not usually peak at the forward direction; this is consistent with an experimental observation by Laricchia et al. on He and Ar targets. The importance of also looking at electron capture from inner shells is emphasized and illustrated by the cross section for electron capture from the 3s shell of Ar.     

Investigations of positronium formation and destruction using 3gamma/2gammaannihilation-ratio measurements

Positronium (Ps) produced by 4 to 40 eV positrons colliding with Ne, Ar, Kr, CO2, and O2 is investigated by measuring the ratio of signals of two gamma rays in coincidence resulting from (a) three gamma annihilation of ortho-Ps and (b) two annihilation gamma rays due to para-Ps decay and destruction of ortho-Ps at an aluminum scattering cell surface. These ratios provide evidence that relates to the kinetic energy dependence of ortho-Ps interactions with an aluminum surface, the Ps formation potential at this surface, and the fact that Ps is being formed with inner orbital electrons for CO2 and O2.     

Formation of negative hydrogen ion in positronium-hydrogen collisions

The importance of the excited states of Positronium (Ps) in the formation cross sections (both differential and total) of the negative hydrogen ion (H^-) are investigated theoretically for the charge transfer reaction, Ps (n = 1, 2) + H ↦ e⁺ + H^- for a wide range of incident energies (e.g., threshold – 500 eV). The calculations are performed in the frame work of a qualitative model, the post collisional Coulomb modified eikonal approximation (CMEA). A comparative study is also made between the capture from ground and excited states of the Ps. The present CMEA model takes account of higher order effects which is essential for a rearrangement process where the first Born type approximation (Coulomb Born for the ionic case) is not supposed to be adequate. At low incident energies, the excited states of Ps (2s, 2p) are found to play a dominant role in the H^- formation cross sections. Significant deviations are noted between the present CMEA and the Coulomb Born (CBA) results even at very high incident energies (e.g., E_i = 500 eV), indicating the importance of higher order effects. At high incident energies the present CMEA differential cross section (DCS) exhibits a double peak structure which is totally absent in the CBA and could again be attributed to higher order effects.     

Experimental evidence for spin-orbit interactions in positronium-Xe collisions

Spin-orbit interaction of positronium (Ps) with the surrounding atoms, predicted by Mitroy and Novikov [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 183202 (2003)], has been detected experimentally. We have found that the lifetime of the magnetically unperturbed ortho-Ps in Xe gas of 1 atm decreases significantly when a magnetic field of 1.0 T is applied. This decrease is attributed to the Ps spin conversion caused by spin-orbit interaction during Ps-Xe collision. The annihilation cross section of ortho-Ps due to this interaction has been determined to be 3 times as large as that expected by Mitroy and Novikov.     

Positronium formation for positron scattering from metastable hydrogen

Positronium(Ps) formation for positron impact on metastable hydrogen in 2s state has been studied by using the twochannel, two-center eikonal final state-continuum initial distorted wave(EFS-CDW) method. The differential, integrated,and total cross sections for Ps formation in different states have been calculated from each channel opening thresholds to high energy region. The results are compared with other theoretical calculations available in the literature. For Ps formation in s-state at intermediate and high energies, our results are in good agreement with the prediction of distorted wave theory.Those formed in p-states and the total Ps formation cross sections are reported for the first time. It is shown that the total Ps formation cross sections for positron scattering from H(2s) state are significantly larger at relatively low energies, while smaller at high energies, compared with those obtained from hydrogen in ground state.     

Cross-channel coupling in positron-atom scattering

Coupled-state calculations including positronium channels are reported for positron scattering by atomic hydrogen, lithium and sodium. Integrated cross sections and total cross sections are presented for all three atoms. For lithium differential cross sections are also given. Throughout, comparison is made between results calculated with and without inclusion of the positronium channels. S-wave cross sections for positron scattering by atomic hydrogen in the Ps(1s, 2s, 2p)+H(1s, 2s, 2p) approximation show the high energy resonance first observed by Higgins and Burke in the coupled-static approximation. This resonance has now moved up to 51.05 eV and narrowed in width to 2.92 eV. Other pronounced structure is seen in the S-wave cross sections between 10 and 20 eV; it is tentatively suggested that this structure may be due to the formation of a temporary pseudo-molecular collision complex. Results calculated in the Ps(1s, 2s, , 2p, ,+H(1s, 2s, , 2p, approximation show convergence towards accurate values in the energy region below and in the Ore gap. Contrary to previous work on lithium using only an atomic basis, it is found that coupling to the 3d state of lithium is not so important when positronium channels are included; this is because a mixed basis of atom and positronium states gives a more rapidly convergent approximation than an expansion based on atom states alone. The threshold behaviour of the elastic cross section and the Ps(1s) formation cross section for lithium is investigated. Results in the Ps(1s, 2s, 2p)+Na(3s, 3p) approximation for sodium show good agreement with the total cross section measurements of Kwan et al.     

Multichannel scattering and annihilation in the positron hydrogen system

A problem to account for the direct electron-positron annihilation in positron-hydrogen scattering above the positronium formation threshold has been resolved within the time independent formalism. On the basis of the generalized optical theorem, the annihilation cross section is fully determined by scattering amplitudes. This allows to perform the analytic separation of the contribution of the positronium formation effect from the overall annihilation cross section. The rest determines the direct annihilation cross section.     

Plasma-screening effects on positronium formation

Plasma-screening effects on positronium(Ps) formation for positron-hydrogen collisions in a Debye plasma environment is further investigated using the screening approximation model with the inclusion of the modified structure of Ps.More accurate Ps formation cross sections(n = 1, 2) are obtained for various Debye lengths from the Ps formation thresholds to 50 eV. The influence of considering modified bound-state wave functions and eigenenergies for the Ps is found to result in the reduction of the Ps formation cross sections at low energies, whereas it cannot counteract the enhancement of the Ps formation by the Debye screening.     

Constraining dark matter models from a combined analysis of Milky Way satellites with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way are among the most promising targets for dark matter searches in gamma rays. We present a search for dark matter consisting of weakly interacting massive particles, applying a joint likelihood analysis to 10 satellite galaxies with 24 months of data of the Fermi Large Area Telescope. No dark matter signal is detected. Including the uncertainty in the dark matter distribution, robust upper limits are placed on dark matter annihilation cross sections. The 95% confidence level upper limits range from about 10(-26) cm3 s(-1) at 5 GeV to about 5×10(-23) cm3 s(-1) at 1 TeV, depending on the dark matter annihilation final state. For the first time, using gamma rays, we are able to rule out models with the most generic cross section (～3×10(-26) cm3 s(-1) for a purely s-wave cross section), without assuming additional boost factors.     

Search for new heavy particles in the WZ0 final state in pp collisions at square root[s] = 1.8 TeV

We present the first general search for new heavy particles, X, which decay via X --> WZ0 --> e(nu)+jj as a function of M(X) and Gamma(X) in pp collisions at square root[s] = 1.8 TeV. No evidence is found for production of X in 110 pb(-1) of data collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. General cross section limits are set at the 95% C.L. as a function of mass and width of the new particle. The results are further interpreted as mass limits on the production of new heavy charged vector bosons which decay via W' --> WZ0 in an extended gauge model as a function of the width, Gamma(W'), and mixing factor between the W' and the standard model W bosons.     

Measurement of Production Cross Section of Ds+Ds－ in e+e－ Annihilation at the Center-of-Mass Energy of s=4.03GeV

Measurement of the production cross section of the D+s D- s in e+e- annihilation at the Center-of-Mass Energy of s=4.03 GeV is reported in the paper. The cross section for the D+s D- s production has been measured using a data sample of 22.3 pb^－1 collected with BES detector at BEPC e+e- collider. The D+ s measons are reconstructed in the π+,K*0 K+ and K0K+ decay modes. A total number of 94±13 singly tagged D+ s events is obtained from the three modes. This yelds the cross section value σ prod D+s D－ s=(451±63±118)pb for D+ s D－ s production. Based on the numbers of singly tagged D+ s events for each of the three decay modes,the decay branching fractions for D+ s→K *0 K+ and K0K+ have been determined to be (3.02±0.94±0.91)% and (3.28±1.22±0.94)%,respectively.     

Real radiation at next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD: e+e- --> 2 jets through O(alpha2s)

We present a calculation of the differential two-jet cross section in e(+)e(-) annihilation through next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong coupling constant alpha(s). The calculation is performed using a new method for dealing with real radiation suggested recently by us. For the first time, the two-jet event rate is computed directly, without any reference to the inclusive cross section e(+)e(-)-->hadrons. We also calculate the energy distribution of the leading jet in e(+)e(-)-->2 jets and find significant modifications of the shape of this distribution at NNLO.     

Near-threshold positron-hydrogen ionization

Ionization of hydrogen by positron impact near the breakup threshold is considered. The two-centre convergent close-coupling method is used. We find that convergence in the cross section is only practically obtained if two near-complete expansions are used, one centred around H and the other around Ps. The contribution to the breakup cross section becomes the same for both centres as the threshold is approached. The calculations are found to be in good agreement with the threshold law predicted by Ihra et al. (1997) Phys Rev Lett 78:4027.