123088134
Proton optical model potential at sub-Coulomb energies for medium weight nuclei
The ($p$,$n$) reaction excitation functions for eleven nuclei from $A=45 \mathrm{to} 80$ measured at proton energies below \ensuremath{\sim}5 MeV have been analyzed utilizing the optical model. The real potential parameters used in the present work have been obtained by suitably combining the proton optical model parameters determined between 3 and 60 MeV. Large energy dependence of the real potential at energies below 5 MeV has been observed. The imaginary potential depths determined in the present analysis exhibit an anomalous behavior when plotted as a function of mass number $A$. By utilizing the low and intermediate energy proton data, an attempt has been made to obtain a "global" set of optical parameters in the proton energy range between 4 and 180 MeV, for medium weight nuclei.
30676639
Ultrahigh-energy pulsed emission from Hercules X-1 with anomalous air-shower muon production.
A search for bursts of air-shower events from Hercules X-1 at energies above 50 TeV during the calendar period 2 April 1986 to 5 July 1987 yielded two significant bursts, both occurring on UT 24 July 1986. The events during these bursts were pulsed with a period of 1.235 68 s, significantly different from estimates of the contemporaneous x-ray period. The probability that this represents random statistical fluctuations of the background is estimated to be 2 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$. The muon content of the burst events is anomalous when compared with expectations from $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray showers.
124703371
FEL ACTIVITIES IN INDIA
We are building a Compact Ultrafast TErahertz FreeElectron Laser (CUTE-FEL), designed to lase from 50 – 100 μm. The FEL will be driven by a 10-15 MeV electron beam from a Plane-Wave Transformer (PWT) linac. The undulator is a 5 cm period, 2.5 m long PPM planar undulator. We present details of the FEL design and the present status of activities. We also present very preliminary plans for a short-wavelength SASE FEL in India.
331919
Monte Carlo code G3sim for simulation of plastic scintillator detectors with wavelength shifter fiber readout.
A detailed description of a compact Monte Carlo simulation code "G3sim" for studying the performance of a plastic scintillator detector with wavelength shifter (WLS) fiber readout is presented. G3sim was developed for optimizing the design of new scintillator detectors used in the GRAPES-3 extensive air shower experiment. Propagation of the blue photons produced by the passage of relativistic charged particles in the scintillator is treated by incorporating the absorption, total internal, and diffuse reflections. Capture of blue photons by the WLS fibers and subsequent re-emission of longer wavelength green photons is appropriately treated. The trapping and propagation of green photons inside the WLS fiber is treated using the laws of optics for meridional and skew rays. Propagation time of each photon is taken into account for the generation of the electrical signal at the photomultiplier. A comparison of the results from G3sim with the performance of a prototype scintillator detector showed an excellent agreement between the simulated and measured properties. The simulation results can be parametrized in terms of exponential functions providing a deeper insight into the functioning of these versatile detectors. G3sim can be used to aid the design and optimize the performance of scintillator detectors prior to actual fabrication that may result in a considerable saving of time, labor, and money spent.
13571448
Apparent and Actual Shifts in Mass and Width of ϕ Mesons Produced in Heavy-Ion Collisions
We present a method of analyzing invariant-mass spectra of kaon pairs resulting from decay of ϕ mesons produced in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. It can be used to extract the shifts in the mass and the width (ΔM and ΔΓ) of the ϕ mesons when they are inside the dense matter formed in these collisions. We illustrate our method with the help of available preliminary data. Extracted values of ΔM and ΔΓ are significantly larger than those obtained with an earlier method. Our results are consistent with the experimentally observed pT dependence of the mass shift. Finally, we present a phenomenological relation between ΔM and ΔΓ. It provides a useful constraint on theories which predict the values of these two quantities.
21268625
Search for signals from Cygnus X-3 at energies above 50 TeV.
Upper limits for the time-averaged flux of air showers from the direction of Cygnus X-3 during the calendar period 2 April 1986 to 3 May 1987 are found to be 1.5 x 10/sup -13/ cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/ for all events, and 7.6 x 10/sup -14/ cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/ for events with no observed muons in a 44-m/sup 2/ muon detector. These are integral fluxes above 50 TeV on the assumption of an E/sup -1/ primary spectrum. A possible observation of a short-term signal from Cygnus X-3, with an anomalous muon content, phase correlated with the 4.8-h orbital period, with an integral flux above 50 TeV of (8.2 +- 2.0) x 10/sup -13/ cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/ is also reported.
121327357
Dynamics near a first-order phase transition with the Metropolis and Swendsen-Wang algorithms
We have simulated the 10-state 2d Potts model with the Metropolis and Swendsen-Wang algorithms, in order to compare their performances near a first-order phase transition. We show that a simple Markov model relates the frequencies of the flips between coexisting phases and the auto-correlation times. It leads to a coherent description of the dynamics. The ratio of the algorithm efficiencies has little temperature dependence. A slight increase of the cluster algorithm efficiency with volume, as compared to the Metropolis method, is suggested.
123623965
Observations on muon multiplicity distribution with the GRAPES-2 experiment at Ooty for studies on the mass composition of cosmic rays at PeV energies
Precise knowledge of the mass composition of the primary cosmic ray flux below and above the knee in the primary energy spectrum at E∼3×10 15 eV is essential for understanding the acceleration and propagation of high energy cosmic rays. Simulations have shown that the correlations between the electron and muon components of showers are very sensitive to the mass of the primary nuclei. In particular, different regions of the muon multiplicity distribution observed with a large area muon detector, for well-defined selection on the electron component of showers, have a high sensitivity to different nuclear groups present in the primary flux. The GRAPES-2 experiment at Ooty seeks to exploit this sensitivity using a 200m 2 area muon detector to study the mass composition of the primary flux in the energy range 10 14 -10 16 eV. The details of the experiment are presented and early observations are discussed in relation to the expectations from simulations.
117567170
The average mass number of primary cosmic rays around the knee region derived from Grapes III array at Ooty
We analyzed three months data on air showers (total 10 showers in 10<Ne<10) observed with the GRAPES III experiment during 2001. The shower array consists of 257 scintillation detectors (1m each) and 16 muon detectors (35 m each). Very large area (560m) of the muon detectors gives good statistics for estimating the number of muons even for small air showers. We present the correlation between muon multiplicity distribution and shower size. This result is compared with simulation (Corsika code with QGS Jet model) for primary energy between 10 eV and 10 eV. We find the average mass number in this energy region follows gradual increase and mixing of proton and heavy nuclei model fits well our observed data.
56421086
Measurement of arrival time of particles in extensive air showers using TDC32
Arrival time of particles in an extensive air shower (EAS) is a key physical parameter to determine its direction. EAS direction is useful for studies of anisotropy and composition of cosmic rays, and search for multi-TeV γ-rays sources. Accurate timing may be used to search exotic phenomena such as production of new particles at extremely high energies available during early stages of development of EAS and also for detecting sub-relativistic hadrons in EAS. Time to digital converters (TDCs) are used to perform this task. Traditional TDCs operate in the START-STOP mode with limited dynamic range and single-hit capability. With the advent of high luminosity collider LHC, need for TDCs with large dynamic range, multi-hit capability and TRIGGERED mode of operation became necessary. A 32 channel TDC was designed for the GRAPES-3 experiment on a CAMAC platform around TDC32, an ASIC developed by micro-electronics group at CERN, Geneva. Four modules were operated in the GRAPES-3 experiment. Here, we present details of the circuit design and their performance over several years. The multi-hit feature of this device was used to study the time structure of particles in the EAS on time scale of ~1 μs. The distribution of time intervals in the multi-hit data shows an exponential profile with a time constant of ~370 ns. These delayed particles are likely to be neutrons produced in the EAS core that were recorded in the scintillator detectors following the relativistic EAS front.
53455412
Negative specific heat in a thermodynamic model of multifragmentation
We consider a soluble model of multifragmentation which is similar in spirit to many models which have been used to fit intermediate energy heavy ion collision data. In this model, ${c}_{v}$ is always positive but for finite nuclei ${c}_{p}$ can be negative for some temperatures and pressures. Furthermore, negative values of ${c}_{p}$ can be obtained in canonical treatment. One does not need to use the microcanonical ensemble. Negative values for ${c}_{p}$ can persist for systems as large as 200 particles but this depends upon parameters used in the model calculation. As expected, negative specific heats are absent in the thermodynamic limit.