Fine structure of the Gamow-Teller resonance in 90Nb and level density of 1+ states

The fine structure of the Gamow-Teller resonance in a medium-heavy nucleus is observed for the first time in a high-resolution 90Zr(3He,t)90Nb experiment at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka. Using a novel wavelet analysis technique, it is possible to extract characteristic energy scales and to quantify their relative importance for the generation of the fine structure. This method combined with the selectivity of the reaction permits an extraction of the level density of 1+ states in 90Nb.     

From extensive air showers to the characteristics of primary cosmic rays. To the 120th Anniversary of the Birth of D. V. Skobel’tsyn

The works by D.V. Skobel’tsyn that laid the foundation of the contemporary physics of cosmic rays and the physics of high energies are considered. Skobel’tsyn demonstrated that cosmic rays contain particles whose energy substantially surpasses the energies that are typical of radioactive decay, discovered the existence of air showers, i.e., when several particles hit an array simultaneously, and performed a series of investigations into extensive air showers that resulted in the discovery of a nuclear-cascade process in the atmosphere. The results that Skobel’tsyn obtained were of primary importance for the further development of cosmic-ray physics.     

Extraction of radionuclides from natural waters using alginates

Fourteen samples of wastes from algal plants were tested for possible analytical and/or technological use for⁹⁰Sr and¹³⁷Cs extraction from natural waters. Sorption experiments were carried out in static and dynanic conditions. It was noted that the examined sorbents posses high affinity for Sr²⁺. The sorption capacity reached the value of 4.72·10⁻³ mole/g. Simple and express analytical procedures for⁹⁰Sr determination were developed and tested in the Dnieper estuary region.     

The nature of the chemical bond in UO2

The nature of the chemical bond in UO₂ was analyzed taking into account the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) structure parameters of the valence and core electrons, as well as the relativistic discrete variation electronic structure calculation results for this oxide. The ionic/covalent nature of the chemical bond was determined for the UO₈ (D_4h) cluster, reflecting uranium's close environment in UO₂, and the U₁₃O₅₆ and U₆₃O₂₁₆ clusters, reflecting the bulk of solid uranium dioxide. The bar graph of the theoretical valence band (from 0 to ~35 eV) of XPS spectrum was built such that it was in satisfactory agreement with the experimental spectrum of a UO₂ single crystalline thin film. It was shown that unlike the crystal field theory results, the covalence effects in UO₂ are significant due to the strong overlap of the U 6p and U 5f atomic orbitals with the ligand orbitals, in addition to the U 6d atomic orbital (AO). A quantitative molecular orbital (MO) scheme for UO₂ was built. The contribution of the MO electrons to the chemical bond covalence component was evaluated on the basis of the bond population values. It was found that the electrons of inner valence molecular orbitals (IVMO) weaken the chemical bond formed by the electrons of outer valence molecular orbitals (OVMO) by 32% in UO₈ and by 25% in U₆₃O₂₁₆.     

On the effect of long-wavelength electron plasma waves onlarge-angle stimulated Raman scattering of short laser pulse in plasmas

Spectral features of a large-angle stimulated Raman scattering (LA SRS) of a short electromagnetic pulse in an underdense plasma, which are caused by the presence in a plasma of a given linear long-wavelength electron plasma wave (LW EPW), are investigated. It is shown that the LW EPW, whose phase velocity coincides with a group velocity of a pulse and a density perturbation normalized to a background electron density δn_LW/n₀ exceeds the ratio of the electron plasma frequency to the laser frequency ω_pe/ω₀ suppresses the well-known Stokes branch of the weakly coupled LA SRS. Under the same condition, the anti-Stokes band appears in the spectrum of the scattered radiation. Variation of a scattering angle and an electron temperature do not significantly modify qualitative features of the effect. In the case of strongly coupled LA SRS, the maximum of the increment is decreased by nearly one-half for δn_LW/n₀~(a₀ω_pe /ω₀)^2/3≫ω_pe /ω₀, where a₀ is an amplitude of an electron quiver velocity in the laser field normalized to a speed of light c, and it decreases further with an increase in plasma density perturbation in LW EPW     

Muon Content of Extensive Air Showers: Comparison of the Energy Spectra Obtained by the Sydney University Giant Air-Shower Recorder and by the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Sydney University Giant Air-shower Recorder(SUGAR) measured the energy spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays reconstructed from muon detector reading. Comparison of their spectra SUGAR and Pierre Auger Observatory allows us to reconstruct the empirical dependence of the number of muons in a vertical shower on the primary energy for energies between 1017 and 1018 eV. We compared this dependence with the predictions of hadronic interaction models QGSJET-II-04, EPOS-LHC and SIBYLL-2.3c. In addition, we analyzed the response of the array of muon detectors in order to determine the slope of the muon lateral distribution function. It is important to understand how much the number of muons differs from the predictions of modeling at different distances from the shower axis.     

TUNKA-133: A new array for the study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

A new array for studying ultra-high energy cosmic rays was inaugurated in 2009 in the Tunka Valley, about 50 km from Lake Baikal. Having an area of 1 km², the new facility allows us to study cosmic rays with energies of 10¹⁵–10¹⁸ eV via the a unified method for registering Cherenkov radiation from extensive air showers (EASes) and is making a substantial contribution to understanding the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We describe the current state of the experiment, the new methodological approach, our initial results, and the plans for further development of the array.