Proton Ratio Research Articles

Measurements of Chemical Potentials in Pb-Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV.

This Letter presents the most precise measurement to date of the matter-antimatter imbalance at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV. Using the Statistical Hadronization framework, it is possible to obtain the value of the electric charge and baryon chemical potentials, μ_{Q}=-0.18±0.90 MeV and μ_{B}=0.71±0.45 MeV, with unprecedented precision. A centrality-differential study of the antiparticle-to-particle yield ratios of charged pions, protons, Ω baryons, and light (hyper)nuclei is performed. These results indicate that the system created in Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC is on average baryon-free and electrically neutral at midrapidity.

CIELAB Color Space as a Field for Tracking Color-Changing Chemical Reactions of Polymeric pH Indicators.

Two types of cross-linked polymeric dye films that exhibit reversible color changes in response to pH were prepared. Upon protonation, films with a nitrophenol dye moiety (NP) changed from yellow to colorless, whereas films with an azobenzene dye moiety (AB) changed from yellow to reddish-purple. The colored light transmitted through these films from a D65 white-light source was measured colorimetrically, and the transition of the chromaticity point in CIELAB upon protonation of the polymeric dyes was observed. At low dye concentrations ([NP] < 4.7 × 10-5 and [AB] < 2.7 × 10-5 mol L-1), linear loci of the chromaticity points were displayed for both polymeric dye films, indicating perceptual linearity. This linearity is caused by the avoidance of nonlinear perceptual phenomena such as the Abney effect and the Bezold-Brücke phenomenon. The perceptual linearity of space is a necessary condition for achieving stoichiometric linearity, which requires an additional linear relationship between the dye concentration and each component, a*, b*, and L*. A geometric equation that included the AB concentration and the protonation ratio of AB was used to successfully depict, on the basis of stoichiometric linearity, the protonation of the polymeric AB films three-dimensionally in the restricted area of CIELAB.

High current positive ion source for Copernicus NBI based on a cold-cathode arc plasma generator

The NBI system based on positive ions to be applied for TAE’s next-generation field reversed configuration experiment, Copernicus, has been designed. The beamlines are longer in the new system, so the required beam divergence smaller relative to the NBI system on TAE’s current device. This requirement motivates a change from slot-shaped apertures to circular in the plasma grid. The influence of changing the aperture shape on the divergence and total beam current across the extraction area has been examined. When considering spatial uniformity in calculations, it is expected that a beam current value of 173 A and a beam divergence angle of 17 mrad will be achieved, exceeding the required values by 15%. An octagonal-shaped ion source has also been developed for a future upgrade targeting 2.5 s long pulse operation, and the estimation indicates 83% source plasma uniformity with concurrent suppression of thermal loads. The development of multiple plasma diagnostics for assessing uniformity and proton ratios has been completed to validate these estimations and optimize the ion source dimensions.

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NUCLEAR STRUCTURE STUDY OF THE HALO NUCLEI

The existence of halo nuclei is one of the major important discoveries in the field of nuclear physics. These nuclei are treated as loosely bound system in which a core of normal nuclear density is surrounded by so-called neutron (or proton) halo of diluted nuclear matter. Many theoretical investigations have attempted to understand these nuclei, which exist at light to heavy masses. The phenomenon of nuclear halo is a quantum effect that occurs in nuclei due to the presence of valence nucleons with low separation energy and I = 0, 1 (low angular momentum), and is manifested by the extraordinarily large radii of these nuclei. The core plus halo model is commonly used to describe halo nuclei. This model recognizes the need to treat the core and the halo neutrons or protons separately. By considering different model spaces for the core and the halo nucleons, we can better explain the properties of halo nuclei. This separation is justified by the fact that the valence nucleons in a halo nucleus have different properties compared to the core. Halo nuclei at rest cannot be used as target due to their short-lived species and extraordinary ratio of neutrons and protons (either neutron-rich or proton-rich). Instead, they can be studied through direct reactions with a radioactive isotope beam, employing inverse kinematics where the role of the beam and target are exchanged. In order to investigate the charge and matter densities of these nuclei, total and differential reaction cross section analyses of proton scattering on halo nuclei have been carried out using various theoretical and phenomenological methods

Study of neutron density fluctuation and neutron-proton correlation in Au+Au collisions using PYTHIA8/Angantyr* *Supported in part by the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province, China (212300410386), the Key Research Projects of Henan Higher Education Institutions (20A140024), the Scientific Research Foundation of Hubei University of Education for Talent Introduction (ESRC20220028, ESRC20230002), the NSFC (12005114) and NSFC key Grant (12061141008), and the

Utilizing the PYTHIA8 Angantyr model, which incorporates the multiple-parton interaction (MPI) based color reconnection (CR) mechanism, we study the relative neutron density fluctuation and neutron-proton correlation in Au+Au collisions at = 7.7, 11.5, 14.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4, and 200 GeV. In this study, we not only delve into the dependence of these two remarkable observations on rapidity, centrality, and energy, but also analyze their interplay with the MPI and CR. Our results show that the light nuclei yield ratio of protons, deuterons, and tritons, expressed by the elegant expression , remains unchanged even as the rapidity coverage and collision centrality increase. Interestingly, we also reveal that the effect of CR is entirely dependent on the presence of the MPI; CR has no impact on the yield ratio if the MPI is off. Our findings further demonstrate that the light nuclei yield ratio experiences a slight increase with increasing collision energy, as predicted by the PYTHIA8 Angantyr model; however, it cannot describe the non-monotonic trend observed by the STAR experiment. Based on the Angantyr model simulation results, it is essential not to overlook the correlation between neutron and proton fluctuations. The Angantyr model is a good baseline for studying collisions in the absence of a quark-gluon plasma system, given its lack of flow and jet quenching.

Probing system size dependence at high baryon density by systematic comparison of Ag+Ag and Au+Au reactions at 1.23A GeV

We present UrQMD predictions for the comparison of the recently measured Ag+Ag and Au+Au runs at a beam energy of E lab = 1.23A GeV explored by the HADES experiment. To this aim, different centrality definitions are investigated: We suggest that in the case of particle production, both systems should be compared at the same number of participating nucleons, while for a comparison of the (elliptic) flow, a selection on the initial state eccentricity—as in high energy reactions—is better suited. Generally, we find good agreement between both systems, if these centrality criteria are used. Specifically, the deuteron yields per participant and the pion to proton ratios are shown to scale with A part except for very central Ag+Ag reactions due to stronger stopping in such reactions. The elliptic flow in both systems follows initial state eccentricity scaling, albeit with the opposite sign as compared to high energies, suggesting a strong relation between final flows and the initial state also at the low energies explored here. The observation of this scaling might then allow to obtain further information on the expansion properties (and the EoS) of matter at high baryon densities.

Determining the probable isotopic existence of superheavy nuclei

Superheavy nuclei, due to a higher neutron to proton ratio, its formation is highly complicated and predicting the feasible isotope which can be synthesised is an important task in the research on superheavy nuclei. Here we propose a method for predicting the isotopic feasibility by determining the coexistence of odd-even effect in the context of calculating Eα, T1/2(α) using the binding energy by FRDM model. The prominent decay mode of Superheavy nuclei, α-decay, is been evaluated for Z=101-130 with A= 220-360 by considering both preformed α-cluster and 2n+2p instant decay. The intersection points in the graphs corresponding to the minimum difference between odd and even neutron contribution yield the most probable isotope to be formed and is compared with α-decay half-life calculations by Brown formula. Comparison of the results with known synthesised nuclei yield a close agreement with each other.

Neutron density fluctuation and neutron–proton correlation from AMPT model

Using the multiphase transport (AMPT) model, we study the relative neutron density fluctuation and neutron-proton correlation in matter produced by Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\text{NN}} = $7.7-200 GeV. The rapidity, centrality, and energy dependence of these two observations are also discussed. The light nuclei yield ratio of proton, deuteron, and triton $N_tN_p/N_d^2$ calculated directly from the relative neutron density fluctuation and neutron-proton correlation, decreases with rapidity coverage and increases with collision centrality. Our study also found that the ratio does not exhibit any non-monotonic behavior in collision energy dependence. Since there is no first-order phase transition or critical physics in the AMPT model, our work provides a reference for extracting the relative neutron density fluctuation from light nuclei production in experiments.

Effects of high-momentum tail of nucleon momentum distribution on initiation of cluster production in heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energies

Based on the transport model isospin-dependent Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck coupled with a phase-space coalescence afterburner, we studied the effects of the high-momentum tail (HMT) of nucleon momentum distribution in initialization in 197Au+197Au reactions at a beam energy of 400 MeV/nucleon with different impact parameters.We found remarkable impact parameter-dependent HMT effects on the fragment multiplicity distribution. The average neutron to proton ratio of produced isotopes is also affected by the HMT. The rapidity distributions of triton and 3He and their elliptic flows are all evidently affected by the HMT. All the effects of the HMT on the cluster production in heavy-ion collisions are centrality dependent.

Porphyrin based channel for separation of proton isotope: A density functional theory study

Porphyrin based 2D materials with single atom thickness and uniform pore size have not been explored for the proton isotopes separation. We computationally designed the porphyrin and its derivatives with the doping of oxygen, sulphur and selenium atoms and computed the kinetic energy barrier for H+, D+, and T+ permeation through porphyrin and core modified porphyrins by using M05-2X along with 6-31G (d,p). Zero-point energy is calculated at transition state for H+ and its other relevant isotopes permeation through porphyrin derivatives. Tunneling ratio of proton isotopes through these 2D structures is calculated by using zero-point energy (ZPE) difference of H+ to its isotopes. Core modification of porphyrin provides better tunneling ratio for proton isotopes. Among these, mono selenium heteroporphyrin provides the most suitable results. Our study provides the molecular level insight of permeation pathway for proton isotopes through these 2D materials.

Primary and albedo protons detected by the Lunar Lander Neutron and Dosimetry experiment on the lunar farside

The Lunar Lander Neutron and Dosimetry (LND) Experiment aboard the Chang’E-4 Lander on the lunar far-side measures energetic charged and neutral particles and monitors the corresponding radiation levels. During solar quiet times, galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) are the dominating component of charged particles on the lunar surface. Moreover, the interaction of GCRs with the lunar regolith also results in upward-directed albedo protons which are measured by the LND. In this work, we used calibrated LND data to study the GCR primary and albedo protons. We calculate the averaged GCR proton spectrum in the range of 9–368 MeV and the averaged albedo proton flux between 64.7 and 76.7 MeV from June 2019 (the seventh lunar day after Chang’E-4’s landing) to July 2020 (the 20th lunar day). We compare the primary proton measurements of LND with the Electron Proton Helium INstrument (EPHIN) on SOHO. The comparison shows a reasonable agreement of the GCR proton spectra among different instruments and illustrates the capability of LND. Likewise, the albedo proton measurements of LND are also comparable with measurements by the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) during solar minimum. Our measurements confirm predictions from the Radiation Environment and Dose at the Moon (REDMoon) model. Finally, we provide the ratio of albedo protons to primary protons for measurements in the energy range of 64.7–76.7 MeV which confirm simulations over a broader energy range.

Sensitivity of the large muon detector with the Tibet air-shower array to measure the primary proton spectrum between 40 and 630 TeV

Abstract The Tibet ASγ group has been continuously observing cosmic rays and cosmic gamma rays above several TeV using the muon detector array (MD) and high-density Tibet air-shower array (Tibet-III) installed on the Tibet plateau at an altitude of 4300 m. The MD is a water Cherenkov pool array with a large effective area of 3400 m2 and has an excellent capability of primary selection using the number of muons in the shower. We report the sensitivity of the proton spectrum measurements for energies 40–630 TeV obtained via Monte Carlo simulations for an air-shower experiment. It was found that protons could be separated with a purity of 90%, and the survival ratio of protons including model dependence was 14.2%–19.1% and 3.7%–7.4% at about 35 TeV and about 450 TeV, respectively. The maximum total systematic error of the proton flux depending on interaction models in air-shower development and composition models was ±37%. With a large effective area and high proton separation capability, the Tibet ASγ experiment can measure the proton spectrum in the energy range from tens to hundreds of TeV with high statistical accuracy.

Structure of Gas Phase Monohydrated Nicotine: Implications for Nicotine's Native Structure in the Acetylcholine Binding Protein.

We report a joint experimental-theoretical study of the never reported before structure and infrared spectra of gas phase monohydrated nicotine (NIC) and nornicotine (NOR) and use them to assign their protonation sites. NIC's biological activity is strongly affected by its protonation site, namely, the pyrrolidine (Pyrro-NICH+, anticipated active form) and pyridine (Pyri-NICH+) forms; however, these have yet to be directly experimentally determined in either the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR, no water present) or the acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP, a single water molecule is present) but can only be inferred to be Pyrro-NICH+ from the intermolecular distance to the neighboring residues (i.e., tryptophan). Our temperature-controlled double ion trap infrared spectroscopic experiments assisted by the collisional stripping method and high-level theoretical calculations yield the protonation ratio of Pyri:Pyrro = 8:2 at 240 K for the gas phase NICH+···(H2O) complex, which resembles the molecular cluster present in the AChBP. Therefore, a single water molecule in the gas phase enhances this ratio in NICH+ relative to the 3:2 for the nonhydrated gas phase NICH+ in a trend that contrasts with the almost exclusive presence of Pyrro-NICH+ in aqueous solution. In contrast, the Pyri-NORH+ protomer is exclusively observed, a fact that may correlate with its weaker biological activity.

Hetero-porphyrin based channel for separation of proton isotope: A density functional theory study

Porphyrin with atomic-level thickness and uniform pore size hasn't yet been studied for the separation of gas molecules, especially for proton isotopes. Herein, we Computationally designed O, S, and Se doped hetero-porphyrin to evaluate its kinetic energy barrier and molecular level insight of the permeation pathway for protium ion and relevant isotopes. Zero-point energy (ZPE) for protium ion isotopes was observed at the transition state while Arrhenius equation has been used to calculate the tunneling ratio of H + /D + and H + /T + . Among all investigated hetero-porphyrins, O–O doped derivative provided the most valuable results with tunneling ratio of 23 and 30 respectively with no energy barrier. • We computationally designed the porphyrin and its derivatives with the doping of oxygen, sulphur and selenium atoms. • Tunneling ratio of proton isotopes through these 2D structures is calculated by using zero-point energy (ZPE) difference of protium ion to its isotopes. • Kinetic energy barrier for H+, D+, and T+ permeation through porphyrin and core modified porphyrins is computed.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Direct measurements of the ^{12}C+^{12}C reactions cross-sections towards astrophysical energies

Carbon fusion reactions ^{12}C(^{12}C,p)^{23}Na and ^{12}C(^{12}C,alpha )^{20}Ne play a key role in the evolution of massive stars and in explosive scenarios such as type-Ia supernovae and super-bursts in binary stars. A direct determination of their cross sections is extremely challenging and discrepancies exist between different data sets in the literature. Here we report the results of a direct measurement performed at the CIRCE Tandem Accelerator Laboratory in Caserta (Italy), using varDelta E-E detectors for unambiguous charge identification. Cross sections were measured in the energy range E_{mathrm{c.m.}} =2.51{-}4.36 MeV with energy steps between 10 and 25 keV in the centre of mass. To our knowledge these represent the finest energy steps to date. Results are presented in the form of partial and summed astrophysical {tilde{S}}-factors for individual proton- and alpha -particle channels. Branching ratios of individual proton- and alpha -particle groups were found to vary significantly with energy. Angular distributions, albeit limited to three angles, were also found to be non-isotropic, which could be a potential explanation for the discrepancies observed among different data sets. Further efforts are ongoing to extend measurements to lower energies.

Experimental investigation of ground-state properties of 7H with transfer reactions

The properties of nuclei with extreme neutron–to–proton ratios, far from those naturally occurring on Earth, are key to understand nuclear forces and how nucleons hold together to form nuclei. 7H, with six neutrons and a single proton, is the nuclear system with the most unbalanced neutron–to–proton ratio known so far. However, its sheer existence and properties are still a challenge for experimental efforts and theoretical models. Here we report experimental evidences on the formation of 7H as a resonance, detected with independent observables, and the first measurement of the structure of its ground state. The resonance is found at ∼0.7 MeV above the 3H+4n mass, with a narrow width of ∼0.2 MeV and a 1/2+ spin and parity. These data are consistent with a 7H as a 3H core surrounded by an extended four-neutron halo, with a unique four-neutron decay and a relatively long half-life thanks to neutron pairing; a prime example of new phenomena occurring in what would be the most pure-neutron nuclear matter we can access in the laboratory.

ExHaLe-jet: an extended hadro-leptonic jet model for blazars – I. Code description and initial results

ABSTRACT The processes operating in blazar jets are still an open question. Modelling the radiation emanating from an extended part of the jet allows one to capture these processes on all scales. Kinetic codes solving the Fokker–Planck equation along the jet flow are well suited to this task, as they can efficiently derive the radiation and particle spectra without the need for computationally demanding plasma physical simulations. Here, we present a new extended hadro-leptonic jet code – ExHaLe-jet– which considers simultaneously the processes of relativistic protons and electrons. Within a pre-set geometry and bulk flow, the particle evolution is derived self-consistently. Highly relativistic secondary electrons (and positrons) are created through γ–γ pair production, Bethe–Heitler pair production, and pion/muon decay. These secondaries are entrained in the jet flow decreasing the ratio of protons to electrons with distance from the jet base. For particle–photon interactions, we consider all internal and many external photon fields, such as the accretion disc, broad-line region, and the dusty torus. The external fields turn out to be the most important source for particle–photon interactions governing the resulting photon and neutrino spectra. In this paper, we present the code and an initial parameter study, while in follow-up works we present extensions of the code and more specific applications.

Statistical Properties of the Population of the Galactic Center Filaments: the Spectral Index and Equipartition Magnetic Field

Abstract We present high-pass-filtered continuum images of the inner 3.°5 × 2.°5 of the Galactic center at 20 cm with 6.″4 resolution. These mosaic images are taken with MeerKAT and reveal a large number of narrow filaments, roughly an order of magnitude increase in their numbers compared to past measurements. For the first time, we carry out population studies of the spectral index and magnetic field of the entire region. The mean spectral indices of the filaments are steeper than supernova remnants (SNRs) (−0.62) with a value of α ∼ −0.83. The variation in α is much larger than for the SNRs, suggesting that these characteristics have a different origin. A large-scale cosmic-ray-driven wind has recently been proposed to explain the origin of filaments and the large-scale 430 pc bipolar radio and X-ray structure. This favors the possibility that the large-scale bipolar radio/X-ray structure is produced by past activity of Sgr A* rather than a coordinated burst of supernovae. A trend of steeper indices is also noted with increasing distance from the Galactic plane. This could be explained either by synchrotron cooling or weak shocks accelerating cosmic-ray particles in the context of the cosmic-ray-driven wind. The mean magnetic field strengths along the filaments range from ∼100 to 400 μG depending on the assumed ratio of cosmic-ray protons to electrons. Given that there is a high cosmic-ray pressure in the Galactic center, the large equipartition magnetic field implies that the magnetic filed is weak in most of the interstellar volume of the Galactic center.

Plasma Emission Induced by Electron Beams in Weakly Magnetized Plasmas

Abstract Previous studies on the beam-driven plasma emission process were done mainly for unmagnetized plasmas. Here we present fully kinetic electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations to investigate this process in weakly magnetized plasmas of the solar corona conditions. The primary mode excited is the beam-Langmuir (BL) mode via classical bump-on-tail instability. Other modes include the Whistler (W) mode excited by electron cyclotron resonance instability, the generalized Langmuir (GL) waves that include a superluminal Z-mode component with smaller wavenumber k and a thermal Langmuir component with larger k, and the fundamental (F) and harmonic (H) branches of plasma emission. Further simulations of different mass and temperature ratios of electrons and protons indicate that the GL mode and the two escaping modes (F and H) correlate positively with the BL mode in intensity, supporting that they are excited through nonlinear wave–wave coupling processes involving the BL mode. We suggest that the dominant process is the decay of the primary BL mode. This is consistent with the standard theory of plasma emission. However, the other possibility of a Z + W → O–F coalescing process for the F emission cannot be ruled out completely.