Light elements were produced in the first few minutes of the Universe through a sequence of nuclear reactions known as Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN)
. Among the light elements produced during BBN
, ...deuterium is an excellent indicator of cosmological parameters because its abundance is highly sensitive to the primordial baryon density and also depends on the number of neutrino species permeating the early Universe. Although astronomical observations of primordial deuterium abundance have reached percent accuracy
, theoretical predictions
based on BBN are hampered by large uncertainties on the cross-section of the deuterium burning D(p,γ)
He reaction. Here we show that our improved cross-sections of this reaction lead to BBN estimates of the baryon density at the 1.6 percent level, in excellent agreement with a recent analysis of the cosmic microwave background
. Improved cross-section data were obtained by exploiting the negligible cosmic-ray background deep underground at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) of the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy)
. We bombarded a high-purity deuterium gas target
with an intense proton beam from the LUNA 400-kilovolt accelerator
and detected the γ-rays from the nuclear reaction under study with a high-purity germanium detector. Our experimental results settle the most uncertain nuclear physics input to BBN calculations and substantially improve the reliability of using primordial abundances to probe the physics of the early Universe.
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FZAB, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We study the existence of thermodynamic instabilities in the nuclear equation of state relative to the high density regime reached in the central core of compact stars. In the framework of a ...relativistic mean-field theory, we analyze the asymmetric nuclear properties in beta-equilibrium, including hyperons and Delta-isobar degrees of freedom. We investigate a finite density phase transition characterized by pure hadronic matter with the presence of mechanical instability (relative to the fluctuation of baryon number) and of chemical-diffusive instability (relative to the fluctuation of electric charge concentration). We find that, in the presence of thermodynamic instabilities, two hadronic phases with different values of electric charge content may coexist, with several phenomenological consequences in the physics of compact stars.
Abstract
Studies of charged-particle reactions for low-energy nuclear astrophysics require high sensitivity, which can be achieved by means of detection setups with high efficiency and low ...backgrounds, to obtain precise measurements in the energy region of interest for stellar scenarios. High-efficiency total absorption spectroscopy is an established and powerful tool for studying radiative capture reactions, particularly if combined with the cosmic background reduction by several orders of magnitude obtained at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA). We present recent improvements in the detection setup with the Bismuth Germanium Oxide (BGO) detector at LUNA, aiming to reduce high-energy backgrounds and increase the summing detection efficiency. The new design results in enhanced sensitivity of the BGO setup, as we demonstrate and discuss in the context of the first direct measurement of the 65 keV resonance (
E
x
= 5672 keV) of the
17
O(p,
γ
)
18
F reaction. Moreover, we show two applications of the BGO detector, which exploit its segmentation. In the case of complex
γ
-ray cascades, e.g. the de-excitation of
E
x
= 5672 keV in
18
F, the BGO segmentation allows to identify and suppress the beam-induced background signals that mimic the sum peak of interest. We demonstrate another new application for such a detector in form of
in situ
activation measurements of a reaction with
β
+
unstable product nuclei, e.g. the
14
N(p,
γ
)
15
O reaction.
We investigate the physical properties of the protoneutron stars in the framework of a relativistic mean-field model and we study the finite-temperature equation of state in β-stable matter at fixed ...entropy per baryon, in the presence of hyperons, Δ-isobar resonances and trapped neutrinos. In this context, we study the possible presence of thermodynamic instabilities and a phase transition from nucleonic matter to resonance-dominated Δ-matter can take place. Such a phase transition is characterized by both mechanical instability (fluctuations on the baryon density) and by chemical-diffusive instability (fluctuations on the isospin concentration) in asymmetric nuclear matter. We show that such statistical effects could play a crucial role in the structure and in the evolution of the protoneutron stars.
The BGOOD experimental setup at ELSA Alef, S.; Bauer, P.; Bayadilov, D. ...
The European physical journal. A, Hadrons and nuclei,
04/2020, Volume:
56, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The BGOOD experiment at the ELSA facility in Bonn has been commissioned within the framework of an international collaboration. The experiment pursues a systematic investigation of non-strange and ...strange meson photoproduction, in particular
t
-channel processes at low momentum transfer. The setup uniquely combines a central almost
4
π
acceptance BGO crystal calorimeter with a large aperture forward magnetic spectrometer providing excellent detection of both neutral and charged particles, complementary to other setups such as Crystal Barrel, Crystal Ball, LEPS and CLAS.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Direct measurements of small nuclear reaction cross sections require a low background in the signal region of interest to achieve the necessary sensitivity. We describe two complementary detector ...setups that have been used for studies of ( p , γ ) reactions with solid targets at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA): a high-purity germanium detector and a bismuth germanate (BGO) detector. We present the effect of a customised lead shielding on the measured background spectra in the two detector setups at LUNA. We developed a model to describe the contributions of environmental and intrinsic backgrounds in the BGO detector measurements. Furthermore we present an upgrade of the data acquisition system for our BGO detector, which allows us to exploit the features of the segmented detector and overcome some of the limitations encountered in previous experiments. We conclude with a discussion on the improved sensitivity of the presented setups, and the benefits for ongoing and possible future measurements.
Characterization of CVD-diamonds for radiation detection Gervino, G.; Bizzaro, S.; Palmisano, C. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
08/2013, Volume:
718
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
We report the results of our investigations on high quality single crystal chemical vapor deposition (SC-CVD) diamonds to be used as ionizing radiation detectors. Recent progress in growth of ...synthetic diamonds of very high purity and high homogeneity has opened perspectives to a new type of UV photosensors in order to work with large volume two-phase liquid-Ar and/or liquid-Xe detectors, nowadays under design for next generation dark matter search. SC-CVD diamonds supplied by Brevetti Bizz firm of San Bonifacio (VR, Italy) were investigated and the results are presented and discussed.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
We investigate the physical properties of the protoneutron stars in the framework of a relativistic mean-field theory based on nonextensive statistical mechanics, characterized by power-law ...distributions. We study the finite-temperature equation of state in, β-stable matter at fixed entropy per baryon, in the absence and in the presence of hyperons and trapped neutrinos. We show that nonextensive power-law effects could play a crucial role in the structure and in the evolution of the protoneutron stars also for small deviations from the standard Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics.
We investigate the possible thermodynamic instability in a warm and dense nuclear medium where a phase transition from nucleonic matter to resonance-dominated Δ-matter can take place. Such a phase ...transition is characterized by both mechanical instability (fluctuations on the baryon density) and by chemical-diffusive instability (fluctuations on the isospin concentration) in asymmetric nuclear matter. Similarly to the liquid-gas phase transition, the nucleonic and the Δ-matter phase have a different isospin density in the mixed phase. In the liquid-gas phase transition, the process of producing a larger neutron excess in the gas phase is referred to as isospin fractionation. A similar effects can occur in the nucleon- Δmatter phase transition due essentially to a Δ- excess in the Δ-matter phase in asymmetric nuclear matter. In this context we also discuss the relevance of Δ-isobar degrees of freedom in the bulk properties and in the maximum mass of compact stars.
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