Can the nuclear matrix elements of neutrinoless double beta decay be measured?

A proposal which allows one in principle to measure the neutrinoless double beta decay Fermi matrix element is briefly described. By making use of the isospin conservation by strong interaction, the Fermi 0νββ nuclear matrix element can be transformed to acquire the form of an energy-weighted double Fermi transition matrix element. This allows one to reconstruct the total provided that a small isospin-breaking Fermi matrix element between the isobaric analog state in the intermediate nucleus and the ground state of the daughter nucleus could be measured, for example by charge-exchange reactions. Such a measurement could help to discriminate between the different nuclear structure models in which the calculated may differ by as much as a factor of 5.     

The measurement of total mass attenuation coefficients of CoCuNi alloys

The total mass attenuation coefficients for Co, Cu, Ni elements and CoCu, CoCuNi alloys were measured at different energies with 11.88, 13.93, 17.59, 21.09 and emitted an point source using transmission arrangement. The gamma rays were counted by a Si(Li) detector with a resolution of at . Also the mass attenuation coefficients of each alloy (CoCu, CoCuNi) were estimated using mixture rule. The measured values were compared with estimated values for alloys.     

Temperature-induced line broadening, line narrowing and line shift in the luminescence of nanocrystalline ZnS:Mn

Emission spectra of nanocrystalline ZnS:Mn²⁺ have been recorded as a function of temperature between 4 and . For the two emission bands observed (a defect-related emission band around and a Mn²⁺-related emission band around ), the temperature dependence of the width and the position of the emission bands has been analyzed. The shift and the broadening of the Mn²⁺ emission can be satisfactorily explained by theoretical models and parameters for electron-phonon coupling that are similar to those for bulk ZnS. For the defect-related emission, the shift to lower energies follows the decrease in bandgap of bulk ZnS with increasing temperature. The width of the defect-related emission decreases as the temperature is raised. This anomalous behavior is explained by inhomogeneous broadening at low temperatures.     

Modification of the Robert-Bonamy formalism in calculating Lorentzian half-widths and shifts

We have found an invalid assumption in the Robert-Bonamy formalism that has been widely used for calculating Lorentzian spectral line half-widths and shifts for decades. The problem results in their derivation where they assumed the cumulant expansion can be used to evaluate the Liouville matrix element . At first sight, their assumption appears to be correct because this matrix element is diagonal in the Liouville space and as a result, it looks like that a basic requirement in applying the cumulant expansion is satisfied. However, by decomposing it into two Hilbert matrix elements associated with S_I and S_F, respectively, we have found that neither of these is diagonal in Hilbert space. Therefore, their assumption is not valid and their expressions for the half-widths and shifts are incorrect. We have found by choosing an average over the internal degrees of the bath molecule as the average in the cumulant expansion, one is able to apply this expansion properly and obtain the correct expressions. Numerical calculations show new half-width and shift values differ from previous ones, and the stronger the interaction between two molecules is, the larger these differences are.     

Measurement of K-shell fluorescence yields for Br and I compounds using radioisotope XRF

K fluorescence yields were measured for I and Br compounds. The samples were excited by γ-rays produced by a Am-241 radioisotope source. The K X-rays emitted by the samples were counted using a Si(Li) detector with a resolution of at . Experimental results were compared with the theoretical values of Br and I elements.     

An alternative method for the determination of element concentrations in schizophrenic, lung cancer and leukaemia patient bloods

Concentration of the elements present in schizophrenic, lung cancer and leukaemia patients’ bloods were determined using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) method. EDXRF spectrometer with an annular and sources was applied for the analysis of blood samples. A sample preparation procedure suitable for the EDXRF, the experimental approach, analytical method used in this study and the results were presented. EDXRF technique has been successfully used for the determination of elements present in blood.     

Acoustic and thermal field investigation of low-cost dwellings, a case study in Brazil

The present paper presents acoustic and thermal performance evaluations carried out in low-cost houses located at the Vila Tecnológica de Curitiba (Technological Village of Curitiba), in Curitiba, Brazil. Two dwellings were evaluated, which were built according to different building systems: (1) the building system Batistella, built with pre-fabricated modules and elements, composed of reforestation wood and (2) the building system Constroyer, composed of expanded polystyrene (EPS) plates, framed in a welded iron mesh, with structural plastering. For the thermal performance evaluation, it was verified that the materials used in the envelope were quite significant for controlling heat gains and losses through the building elements as well as for regulating heat storage. In this case, the system with highest thermal inertia presented better results. Results showed that both building systems had poor acoustic performance, characterized by a low weighted apparent sound reduction index of the façade dB. The German DIN 4109 Norm recommends a minimum of dB. The weighted apparent sound reduction index measured for internal walls was dB and dB, for the building systems Battistela and Constroyer, respectively. The minimum required by German regulation VDI 4100 is dB, for internal walls.     

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of lignite coal and its ash samples taken from Soma-Darkale region

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of lignite coal and its ash samples taken from Soma-Darkale region in city of Manisa (Turkey) have been performed by using the EDXRF technique. Samples are prepared from powder sifted by 200 mesh sieve.The elements Fe and Ba in the samples are analysed using the standard addition method. The samples were excited by gamma rays emitted from radioisotope source. The characteristic K X-rays emitted from samples were counted by means of Si(Li) detector which has a resolution at .     

Σu and Πu states of the hydrogen molecule: Nonadiabatic couplings and vibrational levels

Nonadiabatic coupling matrix elements are computed for six lowest and four lowest ¹Π_u electronic states of H₂ in a wide range of internuclear distances. These matrix elements are used together with the adiabatic potentials to determine the bound ro-vibrational levels of the 10 electronic states for rotational quantum numbers J ? 10. The computed energies agree quite well with existing experimental term values. However, some of the experimental levels should be assigned differently.     

Sufficient and necessary condition of separability for generalized Werner states

In a celebrated paper [Optics Communications 179, 447, 2000], A.O. Pittenger and M.H. Rubin presented for the first time a sufficient and necessary condition of separability for the generalized Werner states. Inspired by their ideas, we generalized their method to a more general case. We obtain a sufficient and necessary condition for the separability of a specific class of N d-dimensional system (qudits) states, namely special generalized Werner state (SGWS): , where is an entangled pure state of N qudits system and α_i satisfies two restrictions: (i) ; (ii) Matrix , where , is a density matrix. Our condition gives quite a simple and efficiently computable way to judge whether a given SGWS is separable or not and previously known separable conditions are shown to be special cases of our approach.     

Model calculations of the energy band structures of double stranded DNA in the presence of water and Na ions

Using the ab initio Hartree-Fock crystal orbital method in its linear combination of atomic orbitals form we have calculated the band structures of poly(-) and poly(-). Here, besides the nucleotide bases, the sugar and phosphate parts of the nucleotide were also taken into account together with their first water shell and Na⁺ ions. We use the notation with a tilde above the abbreviation of a base for the whole nucleotide; for instance poly() means a guanine base with the deoxyribose and PO₄⁻ groups to which it is bound. The obtained band structures were compared with previous single chain calculations as well as with the earlier poly(-) and poly(-) calculation without water but in the presence of counterions. One finds that all the bands of poly(-) and poly(-) are shifted considerably upwards as compared to the previous single chain results (poly(), poly(), poly() and poly()). This effect is explained by the ∼0.2e charge transfer from the sugars of both chains to the nucleotide bases. The fundamental gaps between the nucleotide base-type highest filled and lowest unfilled bands are decreased in both cases by 1-3 eV, because the valence bands are purine-type and the conduction bands pyrimidine-type, respectively, while in the case of single homopolynucleotides they belong to the same base. We also pointed out that the LUMO is mainly Na⁺-like in both investigated cases and several unoccupied bands (belonging to the Na⁺ ions, the phosphate group and the water molecules) can be found between this and the first unoccupied pyrimidine-like empty band.     

KamLAND and T2K

KamLAND announced the first evidence of disappearance, followed by direct evidence for neutrino oscillation by observing distortion of the reactor energy spectrum, demonstrated almost two cycles of the periodic feature expected neutrino oscillation, and determined a precise value for the neutrino oscillation parameter and stringent constraints on θ₁₂. KamLAND also succeeded in detecting geoneutrinos produced by natural radioactivities in the Earth. This detection allows better estimation of the abundances and distributions of radioactive elements in the Earth and of the Earth’s overall heat generation. In the J-PARC neutrino facility, T2K is ready for operation. T2K is supposed to give critical information, which guides the future direction of the neutrino physics. The current status of T2K is shown.     

Matrix elements of doubly degenerate vibrations and the Herzberg-Teller series

The non-zero terms in doubly degenerate vibrations in the Herzberg-Teller series are discussed and simplified formulae for the matrix elements for transitions between the degenerate l-components of such vibrational levels in upper and lower electronic states are given, with the emphasis on the change of vibrational frequency accompanying the transition. The results are applied to the analysis of degenerate components in the ν₆ and ν₁₆ vibrational transitions in the benzene system, and it is shown that in cases where the second order Herzberg-Teller terms are important, cancelation effects in the matrix elements can lead to the disappearance of certain transitions which are otherwise allowed.