| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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The large observatory for x-ray timing
- 2014
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Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 9780819496126
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final downselection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supranuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1° collimated field of view) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the status of the mission at the end of its Phase A study.
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| 3. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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LOFT - The large observatory for x-ray timing
- 2012
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Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9780819491442 ; , s. 84432D-
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The LOFT mission concept is one of four candidates selected by ESA for the M3 launch opportunity as Medium Size missions of the Cosmic Vision programme. The launch window is currently planned for between 2022 and 2024. LOFT is designed to exploit the diagnostics of rapid X-ray flux and spectral variability that directly probe the motion of matter down to distances very close to black holes and neutron stars, as well as the physical state of ultradense matter. These primary science goals will be addressed by a payload composed of a Large Area Detector (LAD) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM). The LAD is a collimated (<1 degree field of view) experiment operating in the energy range 2-50 keV, with a 10 m2 peak effective area and an energy resolution of 260 eV at 6 keV. The WFM will operate in the same energy range as the LAD, enabling simultaneous monitoring of a few-steradian wide field of view, with an angular resolution of <5 arcmin. The LAD and WFM experiments will allow us to investigate variability from submillisecond QPO's to yearlong transient outbursts. In this paper we report the current status of the project.
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| 4. |
- Bar, N., et al.
(författare)
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A reference map of potential determinants for the human serum metabolome
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Nature Research. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 588:7836, s. 135-140
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The serum metabolome contains a plethora of biomarkers and causative agents of various diseases, some of which are endogenously produced and some that have been taken up from the environment1. The origins of specific compounds are known, including metabolites that are highly heritable2,3, or those that are influenced by the gut microbiome4, by lifestyle choices such as smoking5, or by diet6. However, the key determinants of most metabolites are still poorly understood. Here we measured the levels of 1,251 metabolites in serum samples from a unique and deeply phenotyped healthy human cohort of 491 individuals. We applied machine-learning algorithms to predict metabolite levels in held-out individuals on the basis of host genetics, gut microbiome, clinical parameters, diet, lifestyle and anthropometric measurements, and obtained statistically significant predictions for more than 76% of the profiled metabolites. Diet and microbiome had the strongest predictive power, and each explained hundreds of metabolites—in some cases, explaining more than 50% of the observed variance. We further validated microbiome-related predictions by showing a high replication rate in two geographically independent cohorts7,8 that were not available to us when we trained the algorithms. We used feature attribution analysis9 to reveal specific dietary and bacterial interactions. We further demonstrate that some of these interactions might be causal, as some metabolites that we predicted to be positively associated with bread were found to increase after a randomized clinical trial of bread intervention. Overall, our results reveal potential determinants of more than 800 metabolites, paving the way towards a mechanistic understanding of alterations in metabolites under different conditions and to designing interventions for manipulating the levels of circulating metabolites.
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| 5. |
- Wilman, H. R., et al.
(författare)
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Genetic studies of abdominal MRI data identify genes regulating hepcidin as major determinants of liver iron concentration
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Hepatology. - : Elsevier. - 0168-8278 .- 1600-0641. ; 71:3, s. 594-602
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & Aims: Excess liver iron content is common and is linked to the risk of hepatic and extrahepatic diseases. We aimed to identify genetic variants influencing liver iron content and use genetics to understand its link to other traits and diseases. Methods: First, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 8,289 individuals from UK Biobank, whose liver iron level had been quantified by magnetic resonance imaging, before validating our findings in an independent cohort (n = 1,513 from IMI DIRECT). Second, we used Mendelian randomisation to test the causal effects of 25 predominantly metabolic traits on liver iron content. Third, we tested phenome-wide associations between liver iron variants and 770 traits and disease outcomes. Results: We identified 3 independent genetic variants (rs1800562 [C282Y] and rs1799945 [H63D] in HFE and rs855791 [V736A] in TMPRSS6) associated with liver iron content that reached the GWAS significance threshold (p <5 × 10−8). The 2 HFE variants account for ∼85% of all cases of hereditary haemochromatosis. Mendelian randomisation analysis provided evidence that higher central obesity plays a causal role in increased liver iron content. Phenome-wide association analysis demonstrated shared aetiopathogenic mechanisms for elevated liver iron, high blood pressure, cirrhosis, malignancies, neuropsychiatric and rheumatological conditions, while also highlighting inverse associations with anaemias, lipidaemias and ischaemic heart disease. Conclusion: Our study provides genetic evidence that mechanisms underlying higher liver iron content are likely systemic rather than organ specific, that higher central obesity is causally associated with higher liver iron, and that liver iron shares common aetiology with multiple metabolic and non-metabolic diseases. Lay summary: Excess liver iron content is common and is associated with liver diseases and metabolic diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. We identified 3 genetic variants that are linked to an increased risk of developing higher liver iron content. We show that the same genetic variants are linked to higher risk of many diseases, but they may also be associated with some health advantages. Finally, we use genetic variants associated with waist-to-hip ratio as a tool to show that central obesity is causally associated with increased liver iron content.
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| 6. |
- Altstadt, S.G., et al.
(författare)
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B-13,B-14(n,gamma) via Coulomb Dissociation for Nucleosynthesis towards the r-Process
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nuclear Data Sheets. - : Elsevier BV. - 1095-9904 .- 0090-3752. ; 120, s. 197-200
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Radioactive beams of 14,15B produced by fragmentation of a primary 40Ar beam were directed onto a Pb target to investigate the neutron breakup within the Coulomb field. The experiment was performed at the LAND/R3B setup. Preliminary results for the Coulomb dissociation cross sections as well as for the astrophysically interesting inverse reactions, 13,14B(n,γ), are presented.
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| 7. |
- Aprile, E., et al.
(författare)
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First Results on the Scalar WIMP-Pion Coupling, Using the XENON1T Experiment
- 2019
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 122:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present first results on the scalar coupling of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) to pions from 1 t yr of exposure with the XENON1T experiment. This interaction is generated when the WIMP couples to a virtual pion exchanged between the nucleons in a nucleus. In contrast to most nonrelativistic operators, these pion-exchange currents can be coherently enhanced by the total number of nucleons and therefore may dominate in scenarios where spin-independent WIMP-nucleon interactions are suppressed. Moreover, for natural values of the couplings, they dominate over the spin-dependent channel due to their coherence in the nucleus. Using the signal model of this new WIMP-pion channel, no significant excess is found, leading to an upper limit cross section of 6.4 x 10(-46) cm(2) (90% confidence level) at 30 GeV/c(2) WIMP mass.
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| 8. |
- Caesar, C., et al.
(författare)
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Beyond the neutron drip line: The unbound oxygen isotopes O-25 and O-26
- 2013
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Ingår i: Physical Review C - Nuclear Physics. - 2469-9985 .- 2469-9993 .- 0556-2813. ; 88:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The very neutron-rich oxygen isotopes O-25 and O-26 are investigated experimentally and theoretically. The unbound states are populated in an experiment performed at the R3B-LAND setup at GSI via proton-knockout reactions from F-26 and F-27 at relativistic energies around 442 and 414 MeV/nucleon, respectively. From the kinematically complete measurement of the decay into O-24 plus one or two neutrons, the O-25 ground-state energy and width are determined, and upper limits for the O-26 ground-state energy and lifetime are extracted. In addition, the results provide indications for an excited state in O-26 at around 4 MeV. The experimental findings are compared to theoretical shell-model calculations based on chiral two- and three-nucleon (3N) forces, including for the first time residual 3N forces, which are shown to be amplified as valence neutrons are added.
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| 9. |
- Vandebrouck, M., et al.
(författare)
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Effective proton-neutron interaction near the drip line from unbound states in F-25,F-26
- 2017
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Ingår i: Physical Review C. - 2469-9985 .- 2469-9993. ; 96:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Odd-odd nuclei, around doubly closed shells, have been extensively used to study proton-neutron interactions. However, the evolution of these interactions as a function of the binding energy, ultimately when nuclei become unbound, is poorly known. The F-26 nucleus, composed of a deeply bound pi 0d(5/2) proton and an unbound v0d(3/2) neutron on top of an O-24 core, is particularly adapted for this purpose. The coupling of this proton and neutron results in a J(pi) = 1(1)(+) - 4(1)(+) multiplet, whose energies must be determined to study the influence of the proximity of the continuum on the corresponding proton-neutron interaction. The J(pi) = 1(1)(+), 2(1)(+), 4(1)(+) bound states have been determined, and only a clear identification of the J(pi) = 3(1)(+) is missing. Purpose: We wish to complete the study of the J(pi) = 1(1)(+) - 4(1)(+) multiplet in F-26, by studying the energy and width of the J(pi) = 3(1)(+) unbound state. The method was first validated by the study of unbound states in F-25, for which resonances were already observed in a previous experiment. Method: Radioactive beams of Ne-26 and Ne-27, produced at about 440AMeV by the fragment separator at the GSI facility were used to populate unbound states in F-25 and F-26 via one-proton knockout reactions on a CH2 target, located at the object focal point of the (RB)-B-3/LAND setup. The detection of emitted. rays and neutrons, added to the reconstruction of the momentum vector of the A - 1 nuclei, allowed the determination of the energy of three unbound states in F-25 and two in F-26. Results: Based on its width and decay properties, the first unbound state in F-25, at the relative energy of 49(9) keV, is proposed to be a J(pi) = 1/ 2(-) arising from a p1/2 proton- hole state. In F-26, the first resonance at 323(33) keV is proposed to be the J(pi) = 3(1)(+) member of the J(pi) = 1(1)(+) - 4(1)(+) multiplet. Energies of observed states in F-25,F-26 have been compared to calculations using the independent-particle shell model, a phenomenological shell model, and the ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group method. Conclusions: The deduced effective proton- neutron interaction is weakened by about 30-40% in comparison to the models, pointing to the need for implementing the role of the continuum in theoretical descriptions or to a wrong determination of the atomic mass of F-26.
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| 10. |
- Ciemala, M., et al.
(författare)
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Testing ab initio nuclear structure in neutron-rich nuclei : Lifetime measurements of second 2(+) state in C-16 and O-20
- 2020
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Ingår i: Physical Review C. - : AMER PHYSICAL SOC. - 2469-9985 .- 2469-9993. ; 101:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To test the predictive power of ab initio nuclear structure theory, the lifetime of the second 2(+) state in neutron-rich O-20, tau(2(2)(+)) = 150(-30)(+80) fs, and an estimate for the lifetime of the second 2(+) state in C-16 have been obtained for the first time. The results were achieved via a novel Monte Carlo technique that allowed us to measure nuclear state lifetimes in the tens-to-hundreds of femtoseconds range by analyzing the Doppler-shifted gamma-transition line shapes of products of low-energy transfer and deep-inelastic processes in the reaction O-18 (7.0 MeV/u) + Ta-181. The requested sensitivity could only be reached owing to the excellent performances of the Advanced gamma-Tracking Array AGATA, coupled to the PARIS scintillator array and to the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer. The experimental lifetimes agree with predictions of ab initio calculations using two- and three-nucleon interactions, obtained with the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group for O-20 and with the no-core shell model for C-16. The present measurement shows the power of electromagnetic observables, determined with high-precision gamma spectroscopy, to assess the quality of first-principles nuclear structure calculations, complementing common benchmarks based on nuclear energies. The proposed experimental approach will be essential for short lifetime measurements in unexplored regions of the nuclear chart, including r-process nuclei, when intense beams, produced by Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) techniques, become available.
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