Proton-helium elastic scattering: a possible high-energy polarimeter at RHIC-BNL
Abstract We examine a suggestion to use p- 4 He elastic scattering, as an absolute polarimeter for high-energy polarized proton beams, by means of a Coulomb-Nuclear Interference effect for the single-spin asymmetry A N ( t ), around the diffractive minimum of the differential cross section |t|∼0.21 GeV 2 . Although this reaction has a fairly simple dynamical structure, our theoretical uncertainties and the present experimental inaccuracy of the differential cross section in this t region, allows one to generate dramatic effects for A N ( t ), which will be discussed.
High-Energy Polarimetry at RHIC
We compare a few types of high energy reactions which seem to be practical for polarimetry at RHIC. Coulomb-nuclear interference (CNI) in pp elastic scattering leads to a nearly energy-independent left-right asymmetry A_N(t) at small t. The systematical uncertainty of this method is evaluated to be ~ 10%. The CNI in proton-nucleus elastic scattering is predicted to result in larger values of A_N(t) and occurs at larger momentum transfer than in pp elastic scattering. This energy independent asymmetry can be used for the polarimetry. As an absolute polarimeter one can use elastic pp scattering on a fixed target at large |t| ~ 1 - 1.5 GeV^2, where A_N(t) is reasonably large and nearly energy independent. Although it cannot be reliably calculated, one can calibrate the polarimeter by measuring the polarisation of the recoil protons.
5.63 and 5.80 MeV levels of Ne20; de-excitation branching
Abstract The ratio Г γ /Г for the 5.63 and 5.80 MeV levels of Ne 20 has been determined to be 0.077 (±0.008) and −4 , respectively, by using the C 12 (C 12 , α)Ne 20 reaction and determining the fraction of the events in which the alpha-particle and the Ne 20 recoil are present in coincidence at the kinematically correct angles. In both cases these results in themselves are shown to imply radiative E1 transition (5.63→1.63 and 5.80→0, respectively) probabilities ⪡5 × 10 −5 Weisskopf units. When taken together with the life-time for the 5.63 MeV level measured by Evans et al . values of Г( E1 ) ≲ 5 × 10 −6 and Г α ≈ 6% of the particle estimate are obtained for this state.