124420840
Cosmic Ray Isotope Measurements using the Cherenkov-Rigidity Technique in ISOMAX
The Isotope Magnet Experiment, ISOMAX, which had its first flight in August 1998, is designed to measure the isotopic composition of the light elements using a complement of three major detector systems: a magnetic spectrometer, a time-of-flight (TOF) system, and two Cherenkov detectors. ISOMAX measures mass by combining the velocity measurement with charge and magnetic rigidity (momentum/charge) measurements. In the energy range from 1.1 to 1.7 GeV/nucleon, the velocity measurements are provided by two aerogel Cherenkov counters. The aerogel radiators have a nominal index-of-refraction n = 1.14 corresponding to an energy threshold of 1.08 Ge V /nucleon, which complements and extends the energy range covered by the TOF. Combining the velocity measurement with a measurement of rigidity results in a determination of isotope mass with an expected resolution of ::;: 0.25 amu. We present preliminary isotope data.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
55518164
The current status of the GRAPES-3 extensive air shower experiment
The GRAPES-3 is a dense extensive air shower array operating with ∼400 scintillator detectors and it also contains a 560 m 2 tracking muon detector ( E μ > 1 GeV ), at Ooty in India. 25% of scintillator detectors are instrumented with two fast photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) for extending the dynamic range to ∼ 5 × 10 3 particles m − 2 . The scintillators, signal processing electronics and data recording systems were fabricated in-house to cut costs and optimize performance. The muon multiplicity distribution of the EAS is used to probe the composition of primary cosmic rays below the ‘knee’, with an overlap with direct measurements. Search for multi-TeV γ -rays from point sources is done with the aid of the muon detector. A good angular resolution of 0.7° at 30 TeV, is measured from the shadow of the Moon on the isotropic flux of cosmic rays. A sensitive limit on the diffuse flux of 100 TeV γ -rays is placed by using muon detector to filter the charged cosmic ray background. A tracking muon detector allows sensitive measurements on coronal mass ejections and solar flares through Forbush decrease events. We have major expansion plans to enhance the sensitivity of the GRAPES-3 experiment in the areas listed above.
117945191
Degeneracies of Neutrino Mass Matrices with two Texture Zeros
We examine the phenomenological implications of the neutrino mass matrices with two texture zeros, especially, in relation to their degeneracies.
118357251
Fractal structure of near-threshold quarkonium production off cold nuclear matter
We investigate near-threshold production of quarkonium resonances in cold nuclear matter through a scaling theory with two exponents which are fixed by existing data on near-threshold J/psi production in proton-nucleus collisions. Interestingly, it seems possible to extend one of the multifractal dimensions to the production of other mesons in cold nuclear matter. The scaling theory can be tested and refined in experiments at the upcoming high-intensity FAIR accelerator complex in GSI.
119363590
On the critical end point of QCD
We investigate the critical end point of QCD with two flavours of light dynamical quarks at finite lattice cutoff a=1/4T using a Taylor expansion of the baryon number susceptibility. We find a strong volume dependence of its radius of convergence. In the large volume limit we obtain {mu}{sub B}/T{approx_equal}1.1 as the radius of convergence at T/T{sub c}{approx_equal}0.95 where T{sub c} is the crossover temperature at zero chemical potential. Since this estimate is a lower bound on the critical end point of QCD, the above small value of {mu} may place it in the range of observability in energy scans at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC)