The GEF (“GEneral description of Fission observables”) model code is documented. It describes the observables for spontaneous fission, neutron-induced fission and, more generally, for fission of a ...compound nucleus from any other entrance channel, with given excitation energy and angular momentum. The GEF model is applicable for a wide range of isotopes from Z = 80 to Z = 112 and beyond, up to excitation energies of about 100 MeV. The results of the GEF model are compared with fission barriers, fission probabilities, fission-fragment mass- and nuclide distributions, isomeric ratios, total kinetic energies, and prompt-neutron and prompt-gamma yields and energy spectra from neutron-induced and spontaneous fission. Derived properties of delayed neutrons and decay heat are also considered.
The GEF model is based on a general approach to nuclear fission that explains a great part of the complex appearance of fission observables on the basis of fundamental laws of physics and general properties of microscopic systems and mathematical objects. The topographic theorem is used to estimate the fission-barrier heights from theoretical macroscopic saddle-point and ground-state masses and experimental ground-state masses. Motivated by the theoretically predicted early localisation of nucleonic wave functions in a necked-in shape, the properties of the relevant fragment shells are extracted. These are used to determine the depths and the widths of the fission valleys corresponding to the different fission channels and to describe the fission-fragment distributions and deformations at scission by a statistical approach. A modified composite nuclear-level-density formula is proposed. It respects some features in the superfluid regime that are in accordance with new experimental findings and with theoretical expectations. These are a constant-temperature behaviour that is consistent with a considerably increased heat capacity and an increased pairing condensation energy that is consistent with the collective enhancement of the level density. The exchange of excitation energy and nucleons between the nascent fragments on the way from saddle to scission is estimated according to statistical mechanics. As a result, excitation energy and unpaired nucleons are predominantly transferred to the heavy fragment in the superfluid regime. This description reproduces some rather peculiar observed features of the prompt-neutron multiplicities and of the even-odd effect in fission-fragment Z distributions. For completeness, some conventional descriptions are used for calculating pre-equilibrium emission, fission probabilities and statistical emission of neutrons and gamma radiation from the excited fragments. Preference is given to simple models that can also be applied to exotic nuclei compared to more sophisticated models that need precise empirical input of nuclear properties, e.g. spectroscopic information.
The approach reveals a high degree of regularity and provides a considerable insight into the physics of the fission process. Fission observables can be calculated with a precision that complies with the needs for applications in nuclear technology without specific adjustments to measured data of individual systems. The GEF executable runs out of the box with no need for entering any empirical data. This unique feature is of valuable importance, because the number of systems and energies of potential significance for fundamental and applied science will never be possible to be measured. The relevance of the approach for examining the consistency of experimental results and for evaluating nuclear data is demonstrated.
There is a long history of research into body fluid biomarkers in neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases. However, only a few biomarkers in CSF are being used in clinical practice. One of ...the most critical factors in CSF biomarker research is the inadequate powering of studies because of the lack of sufficient samples that can be obtained in single-center studies. Therefore, collaboration between investigators is needed to establish large biobanks of well-defined samples. Standardized protocols for biobanking are a prerequisite to ensure that the statistical power gained by increasing the numbers of CSF samples is not compromised by preanalytical factors. Here, a consensus report on recommendations for CSF collection and biobanking is presented, formed by the BioMS-eu network for CSF biomarker research in multiple sclerosis. We focus on CSF collection procedures, preanalytical factors, and high-quality clinical and paraclinical information. The biobanking protocols are applicable for CSF biobanks for research targeting any neurologic disease.
Galactic cosmic rays consist of protons, electrons and ions, most of which are believed to be accelerated to relativistic speeds in supernova remnants. All components of the cosmic rays show an ...intensity that decreases as a power law with increasing energy (for example as E-2.7). Electrons in particular lose energy rapidly through synchrotron and inverse Compton processes, resulting in a relatively short lifetime (about 105 years) and a rapidly falling intensity, which raises the possibility of seeing the contribution from individual nearby sources (less than one kiloparsec away). Here we report an excess of galactic cosmic-ray electrons at energies of ∼300-800 GeV, which indicates a nearby source of energetic electrons. Such a source could be an unseen astrophysical object (such as a pulsar or micro-quasar) that accelerates electrons to those energies, or the electrons could arise from the annihilation of dark matter particles (such as a Kaluza-Klein particle with a mass of about 620 GeV).
A regular pattern, revealing the leading role of the light-fragment nuclear charge, is found to emerge from a consistent analysis of the experimental information collected recently on low-energy ...asymmetric fission of neutron-deficient nuclei around lead. The observation is corroborated by a theoretical investigation within a microscopic framework, suggesting the importance of proton configurations driven by quadrupole-octupole correlations. This is in contrast to the earlier theoretical interpretations in terms of dominant neutron shells. The survey of a wider area of the nuclear chart by a semi-empirical approach points to the lack of understanding of the competition between the different underlying macroscopic and microscopic forces in a quantitative manner. Combined with previously identified stabilizing forces, the present finding shows a striking connection between the “old” (actinide) and “new” (pre-actinide) islands of asymmetric fission which could steer the strive for a unified theory of fission.
Even though the study of ion-atom collisions is a mature field of atomic physics, large discrepancies between experiment and theoretical calculations are still common. Here we present experimental ...results with high momentum resolution on the single ionization of helium induced by 1-MeV protons, and we compare these to theoretical calculations. The overall agreement is strikingly good, and even the first Born approximation yields good agreement between theory and experiment. This has been expected for several decades, but so far has not been accomplished. The influence of projectile coherence effects on the measured data is briefly discussed in terms of an ongoing dispute on the existence of nodal structures in the electron angular emission distributions.
Phase transitions share the universal feature of enhanced fluctuations near the transition point. Here, we show that density fluctuations reveal how a Bose-Einstein condensate of dipolar atoms ...spontaneously breaks its translation symmetry and enters the supersolid state of matter—a phase that combines superfluidity with crystalline order. We report on the first direct in situ measurement of density fluctuations across the superfluid-supersolid phase transition. This measurement allows us to introduce a general and straightforward way to extract the static structure factor, estimate the spectrum of elementary excitations, and image the dominant fluctuation patterns. We observe a strong response in the static structure factor and infer a distinct roton minimum in the dispersion relation. Furthermore, we show that the characteristic fluctuations correspond to elementary excitations such as the roton modes, which are theoretically predicted to be dominant at the quantum critical point, and that the supersolid state supports both superfluid as well as crystal phonons.
Single-neutron and single-proton removal cross sections have been measured for medium-mass neutron-rich nuclei around Z=50 and energies around 1000A MeV using the FRagment Separator (FRS) at GSI. The ...measured cross sections confirm the relative low values of the proton-removal cross sections, observed since a long time ago and not yet understood. Model calculations considering the knock-out process together with initial- and final-state interactions describe the measured neutron-removal cross sections. Proton-removal cross sections are, however, significantly over-predicted by the same calculations. The observed difference can be explained to a large extent by the knock-out of short-range correlated nucleons from dominant neutron-proton pairs in neutron-rich nuclei.
The present study uses a within‐person approach to provide insights into day‐specific dynamics in the relation between self‐control demands at work and well‐being. Integrating arguments derived from ...the Limited Strength Model of Self‐Control and research on spillover processes, we develop and test a theoretical model of how the adverse effects of day‐specific self‐control demands at work may spill over to the home domain. Specifically, we propose ego depletion at home (an indicator of regulatory resource depletion) as a mediator linking self‐control demands on a given working day to reduced subjective vitality at home (an indicator of well‐being). Furthermore, we suggest that daily psychological detachment moderates this indirect relationship to the effect that high detachment prevents the spillover of the adverse effects of self‐control demands to the home domain. Results from our daily diary study across ten days (N = 86 employees) provide support for the proposed moderated mediation model, demonstrating that daily psychological detachment buffers the effect of self‐control demands on ego depletion, thereby disrupting the indirect effect of self‐control demands on subjective vitality at home. The study underlines the importance of within‐person approaches for examining the adverse effects of self‐control demands, and provides further evidence for the immediate resource‐replenishing benefits of daily detachment levels.
ABSTRACT We give an overview of the Grism Lens Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS), a large Hubble Space Telescope program aimed at obtaining grism spectroscopy of the fields of 10 massive clusters ...of galaxies at redshift z = 0.308-0.686, including the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF). The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) yields near-infrared spectra of the cluster cores covering the wavelength range 0.81-1.69 m through grisms G102 and G141, while the Advanced Camera for Surveys in parallel mode provides G800L spectra of the infall regions of the clusters. The WFC3 spectra are taken at two almost orthogonal position angles in order to minimize the effects of confusion. After summarizing the scientific drivers of GLASS, we describe the sample selection as well as the observing strategy and data processing pipeline. We then utilize MACS J0717.5+3745, a HFF cluster and the first one observed by GLASS, to illustrate the data quality and the high-level data products. Each spectrum brighter than is visually inspected by at least two co-authors and a redshift is measured when sufficient information is present in the spectra. Furthermore, we conducted a thorough search for emission lines through all of the GLASS WFC3 spectra with the aim of measuring redshifts for sources with continuum fainter than We provide a catalog of 139 emission-line-based spectroscopic redshifts for extragalactic sources, including three new redshifts of multiple image systems (one probable, two tentative). In addition to the data itself, we also release software tools that are helpful to navigate the data.
PDF
