Quark production in high-energy proton-nucleus collisions

In this note, we discuss the problem of quark-antiquark pair production in the framework of the color glass condensate. The cross-section can be calculated in closed form for the case of proton-nucleus collisions, where the proton can be considered to be a dilute object. We find that -factorization is broken by rescattering effects.Arrival of the final proofs: 4 May 2005PACS: 11.80.La, 11.15.Kc     

On large transverse momentum production in high-energy proton-nucleus collisions

Experimental data from inclusive production of large p_T hadronsin high-energy proton-nucleus collisions are analysed with emphasis on the influence of the size of the target nucleus. It is found that data at p_T?3 GeV/c are consistent with the hypothesis that the incoming proton collides “simultaneously” with all the nucleons in its way, resulting in an effective collision energy larger than the one expected in a single proton-nucleon hit. At p_T > 3 GeV/c, data are in conflict with such a simple model, a result we think is a consequence of the dominance of hard parton collisions at very large p_T.     

Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbech calculation of total reaction cross-section and fragmentation cross-section

, and have been calculated via the BUU model with soft EOS and 0.8 times of . The density distribution without any adjustable parameters which comes from the RMF model has been introduced into the BUU calculation to replace the normally used one-parameter square-type distribution. The calculated results can reproduce the experimental data well for both halo- and stable-nuclei-induced reactions. Here or is calculated as the difference between of halo nucleus and core nucleus, by assuming . It indicates that this assumption works very well at high energy in the BUU calculation. More experimental measurements are necessary to test the validity of this assumption at intermediate energy.Received: 12 June 2003, Revised: 29 September 2003, Published online: 27 April 2004PACS: 24.10.-i Nuclear reaction models and methods - 25.60.Dz Interaction and reaction cross-sections - 25.60.Gc Breakup and momentum distributions - 27.20. + n      

Multifragmentation versus evaporation of target residues in high-energy proton-nucleus collisions

The cascade-fragmentation-evaporation model is developed for proton-nucleus collisions at high energies. Comparison of the calculated fragment mass and energy distributions with the available experimental data shows the important role played by the explosive multifragmentation break-up of target residues. A systematic study of correlated emission of several heavy fragments (Z⩾3) is necessary to obtain decisive conclusions concerning the mechanism of deexcitation of highly excited residual nuclei.     

Quantifying uncertainties in the high-energy neutrino cross-section

The predictions for high-energy neutrino and antineutrino deep inelastic scattering cross-sections are compared within the conventional DGLAP formalism of next-to-leading order QCD, using the latest parton distribution functions (PDF) such as CT10, HERAPDF1.5 and MSTW08 and taking account of PDF uncertainties. From this, a benchmark cross-section and uncertainty are derived which is consistent with the results obtained earlier using the ZEUS-S PDFs. The use of this is advocated for analysing data from neutrino telescopes, in order to facilitate comparison between their results.     

Transverse momentum spectra in high-energy nucleus-nucleus, proton-nucleus and proton-proton collisions

The transverse momentum distributions of final-state particles produced in nucleus-nucleus (AA), proton-nucleus (pA), and proton-proton (pp) collisions at high energies are investigated using a multisource ideal gas model. Our calculated results show that the contribution of hard emission can be neglected in the study of transverse momentum spectra of charged pions and kaons produced in Cu-Cu collisions at √s_NN=22.5 GeV. And if we consider the contribution of hard emission, the transverse momentum spectra of p and p produced in Cu-Cu collisions at √s_NN=22.5 GeV, K_s⁰ produced in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 A GeV, J/ψ particles produced in p-Pb collisions at 400 GeV and π⁺ , K⁺, p produced in proton-proton collisions at √s=200 GeV, can be described by the model, especially in the tail part of spectra.     

Universality of the dispersion to average multiplicity ratios in high-energy proton-nucleus interactions

It is shown that the existing data on the high-energy proton-nuclear emulsion interactions are consistent with the hypothesis that the ratio of the dispersion to the average multiplicity for different target nuclei is an energy independent constant, the same for all nuclei. Its value is found to be a = 0.58 ± 0.03 in agreement with the one found in proton-proton collisions.     

Relating high-energy Lepton-Hadron, proton-nucleus, and nucleus-nucleus collisions through geometric scaling

A characteristic feature of small-x lepton-proton data from HERA is geometric scaling: the fact that in the region of small Bjorken variable x, x less, similar 0.01, all data can be described by a single variable Q(2)/Q(2)(s,p)(x), with all x dependence encoded in the so-called saturation momentum Q(s,p)(x). Here, we observe that the same scaling ansatz accounts for nuclear photoabsorption cross sections and favors the nuclear dependence Q(2)(s,A) proportional, variant A(alpha)Q(2)(s,p), alpha approximately 4/9. We then make the empirical finding that the same A dependence accounts for the centrality evolution of the multiplicities measured in Au+Au collisions at RHIC. It also allows one to parametrize the high-p(t) particle suppression in d+Au collisions at forward rapidities. If these geometric scaling properties have a common dynamical origin, then this A dependence of Q(2)(s,A) should emerge as a consequence of the underlying dynamical model.     

Limiting fragmentation in high-energy heavy-ion reactions and preequilibrium

The space-time evolution towards equilibrium of heavy-ion fragments in high-energy reactions investigated. An initial excitation which is generated during the collision process in a small region on the surface of the fragment leads to a characteristic angular and energy spectrum of light emitted particles which is characterized by an “up-down” asymmetry.     

Production of low- and high-energy radioactive-ion beams by fragmentation

The physics opportunities made possible by beams of rare isotopes are among the richest available in nuclear science. The rare-isotope accelerator (RIA) now under development is an innovative accelerator that will define the state of the art for all such facilities. A novel aspect of the RIA project is the conversion of the most intense high-energy heavy-ion beams into both fast and reaccelerated exotic beams. Along with target fragmentation in next-generation high-power ISOL targets, RIA will use projectile fragmentation in a high-energy separator/gas-filled ion collector system to provide an extensive range of thermalized ions for reacceleration. In addition, a second high-energy separator will provide the same or larger range of ions for high-energy experiments. A brief overview of the RIA accelerator concept, the layout of the facility, and production techniques will be given along with information on the present R&D efforts in gaseous-ion collection. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: morrissey@nscl.msu.edu     

Silicon fragmentation under the effect of high-energy cosmic-ray protons

The results obtained by calculating the cross sections for the elastic and inelastic scattering of 50- to 1000-MeV protons interacting with ²⁸Si, which is the main integrated-circuit element of onboard spacecraft electronics, are presented along with the calculated mass, charge, and energy distributions of heavy products of respective nuclear reactions. To compare the results of the calculations with experimental data, similar calculations were performed for the p + ²⁷Al reaction. This comparison shows that the elasticand inelastic-scattering cross sections calculated by using the EMPIRE-II-19 code are in satisfactory agreement with available experimental data. Considerably wider scatter of available data is observed in the isotope and isobar yields. A high sensitivity of the kinetic spectrum of the final nuclei to the incident-proton energy is demonstrated.     

Breakdown of the high-energy atomic approximation of the photoelectric cross-section in graphite

The densities of the occupied and empty states of graphite have been studied by XPS and BIS. The spectra of the π states in the σ gap are completely asymmetric on each side of E_F, in glaring contradiction with the predictions of all band-calculations. It is shown that this observation must be attributed to interference effects in the matrix elements due to the presence of more than one atom in the primitive cell.     

Target fragmentation in proton-nucleus and16O-nucleus reactions at 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon

Target remnants withZ<3 from proton-nucleus and¹⁶O-nucleus reactions at 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon were measured in the angular range from 30° to 160° (?1.7<η<1.3) employing the Plastic Ball detector. The excitation energy of the target spectator matter in central oxygen-induced collisions is found to be high enough to allow for complete disintegration of the target nucleus into fragments withZ<3. The average longitudinal momentum transfer per proton to the target in central collisions is considerably higher in the case of¹⁶O-induced reactions (≈300 MeV/c) than in proton-induced reactions (≈130 MeV/c). The baryon rapidity distributions are roughly in agreement with one-fluid hydrodynamical calculations at 60 GeV/nucleon¹⁶O+Au but are in disagreement at 200 GeV/nucleon, indicating the higher degree of transparency at the higher bombarding energy. Both, the transverse momenta of target spectators and the entropy produced in the target fragmentation region are compared to those attained in head-on collisions of two heavy nuclei at Bevalac energies. They are found to be comparable or do even exceed the values for the participant matter at beam energies of about 1–2 GeV/nucleon.     

Proton distributions in the target fragmentation region in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at high energies

We present measurements of the rapidity and transverse-momentum distributions of the protons emitted in S+W, O+W, andp+W reactions at 200 GeV/A around the target rapidity (y=1). The rapidity density rises linearly with the transverse energy for all three systems, but the slope forp+W is much steeper than for O+W and S+W. The rapidity density forp+W is much higher than predicted by summing single nucleonnucleon collisions without any nuclear effects, indicating substantial rescattering of the produced particles. The predictions of the VENUS 3 model, including rescattering, show reasonable agreement with the data for all three systems. We do not have evidence for a strong collective flow of the outgoing particles.     

HZE ion fragmentation cross-section sensitivity and propagated errors in HZE exposure estimates

It has long been recognized that galactic cosmic rays are of such high energy that they tend to pass through available shielding materials resulting in exposure of astronauts and equipment within space vehicles and habitats. Any protection provided by shielding materials result not so much from stopping such particles but by changing their physical character in interaction with shielding material nuclei forming, hopefully, less dangerous species. Clearly, the fidelity of the nuclear cross-sections is essential to correct specification of shield design and sensitivity to cross-section error is important in guiding experimental validation of cross-section models and database. We examine the Boltzmann transport equation which is used to calculate dose equivalent during solar minimum, with units (cSv/yr), associated with various depths of shielding materials. The dose equivalent is a weighted sum of contributions from neutrons, protons, light ions, medium ions and heavy ions using the ICRP-60 LET dependent quality factors. We investigate the sensitivity of dose equivalent calculations due to errors in nuclear fragmentation cross-sections. We do this error analysis for all possible projectile-fragment combinations (14,365 such combinations) to estimate the sensitivity of the shielding calculations to errors in the nuclear fragmentation cross-sections. Numerical differentiation with respect to the cross-sections will be evaluated in a broad class of materials including polyethylene, aluminum and copper. We will identify the most important cross-sections to ensure adequate experimental study and evaluate their impact on propagated errors in shielding estimates.     

Isotopic effects in high-energy nuclear reactions and isospin correlations of fragmentation cross sections

The experimental study of cross sections and kinematic characteristics of H, He and Li isotopes produced in the interaction of 660 MeV protons with separated isotopes of the target nuclei B, Ni, Sn and Sm, has been performed. The two-dimensional isospin correlation of cross sections for secondary particles in the nucleon-nucleus inelastic interaction is discussed. The systematization formula for fragmentation cross sections in broad regions of fragment and target nucleus masses over a large interval of incident proton energies is given.     

库仑碰撞截面在等离子体粒子模拟中的应用

在等离子体粒子模拟中,TA模型和NanBu模型被广泛用于处理库仑碰撞,这两种模型要求每个时间步长内全部粒子参与计算。为了降低参与碰撞的粒子数,提高库仑碰撞的计算效率,提出了一种基于截面的库仑碰撞模拟方法,并给出了库仑碰撞概率的计算公式。采用该方法对不同温度不同密度电子气的弛豫过程进行模拟,分别对比了电子速度分布函数、电子温度以及电子x、y方向上的温度与电子温度之比的模拟值与理论值,验证了该方法的准确性。在相同的小时间步长上,该方法相比TA模型计算效率提升可达40%以上。对于较大的时间步长,该方法仍能得到与理论解近似的模拟结果,相比Nanbu模型,在相同的精度下可取更大的时间步长,计算效率也有所提升。研究表明,该方法同样适用于电子-离子碰撞。因此在提高库仑碰撞计算效率上,该方法具有碰撞粒子数少以及适用于大时间步长的优势。     

Deterministic methods for numerical simulation of high-energy runaway electron avalanches

The possibilities of two deterministic methods for describing the kinetics of high-energy runaway electrons (REs) are analyzed as alternatives to stochastic methods requiring unrealistically large computing resources in problems of numerical simulation of electric discharges in dense gases involving REs. One of the methods being developed in recent years is based on multigroup equations for the moments of the electron distribution function, while the second method, which is conventionally used to solve problems in gas discharges, is based on the diffusion-drift equation. The modern method of multigroup equations allows one to calculate the RE energy distribution and the spatial RE distribution along the electric force, which are close to these distributions obtained by the Monte Carlo method if the number N of energy groups is chosen properly. The diffusion-drift equation does not give the energy distribution, but its advantage is the possibility of obtaining spatial RE distributions using small computing resources not only along but also perpendicular to the electric force, which are close to those calculated by the Monte Carlo method. To simulate discharges by the method of multigroup equations, it is necessary to know a priori the number N of groups providing good accuracy, the characteristic RE multiplication time t _e , and the energy runaway threshold ɛ_th as functions of the electric-field overvoltage. The diffusion-drift equation requires the specification, along with t _e , of the directed RE velocity and longitudinal and transverse diffusion coefficients calculated by the Monte Carlo method.