| 1. |
- Schael, S., et al.
(author)
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Electroweak measurements in electron positron collisions at W-boson-pair energies at LEP
- 2013
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In: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 532:4, s. 119-244
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the electron positron collider LEP at CERN from 1995 to 2000 are reported. The combined data set considered in this report corresponds to a total luminosity of about 3 fb(-1) collected by the four LEP experiments ALEPH, DELPHI, 13 and OPAL, at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 130 GeV to 209 GeV. Combining the published results of the four LEP experiments, the measurements include total and differential cross-sections in photon-pair, fermion-pair and four-fermion production, the latter resulting from both double-resonant WW and ZZ production as well as singly resonant production. Total and differential cross-sections are measured precisely, providing a stringent test of the Standard Model at centre-of-mass energies never explored before in electron positron collisions. Final-state interaction effects in four-fermion production, such as those arising from colour reconnection and Bose Einstein correlations between the two W decay systems arising in WW production, are searched for and upper limits on the strength of possible effects are obtained. The data are used to determine fundamental properties of the W boson and the electroweak theory. Among others, the mass and width of the W boson, m(w) and Gamma(w), the branching fraction of W decays to hadrons, B(W -> had), and the trilinear gauge-boson self-couplings g(1)(Z), K-gamma and lambda(gamma), are determined to be: m(w) = 80.376 +/- 0.033 GeV Gamma(w) = 2.195 +/- 0.083 GeV B(W -> had) = 67.41 +/- 0.27% g(1)(Z) = 0.984(-0.020)(+0.018) K-gamma - 0.982 +/- 0.042 lambda(gamma) = 0.022 +/- 0.019. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Schael, S, et al.
(author)
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Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
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In: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the final electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the Z resonance by the experiments operating at the electron-positron colliders SLC and LEP. The data consist of 17 million Z decays accumulated by the ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experiments at LEP, and 600 thousand Z decays by the SLID experiment using a polarised beam at SLC. The measurements include cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries and polarised asymmetries. The mass and width of the Z boson, m(Z) and Gamma(Z), and its couplings to fermions, for example the p parameter and the effective electroweak mixing angle for leptons, are precisely measured: m(Z) = 91.1875 +/- 0.0021 GeV, Gamma(Z) = 2.4952 +/- 0.0023 GeV, rho(l) = 1.0050 +/- 0.0010, sin(2)theta(eff)(lept) = 0.23153 +/- 0.00016. The number of light neutrino species is determined to be 2.9840 +/- 0.0082, in agreement with the three observed generations of fundamental fermions. The results are compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (SM). At the Z-pole, electroweak radiative corrections beyond the running of the QED and QCD coupling constants are observed with a significance of five standard deviations, and in agreement with the Standard Model. Of the many Z-pole measurements, the forward-backward asymmetry in b-quark production shows the largest difference with respect to its SM expectation, at the level of 2.8 standard deviations. Through radiative corrections evaluated in the framework of the Standard Model, the Z-pole data are also used to predict the mass of the top quark, m(t) = 173(+10)(+13) GeV, and the mass of the W boson, m(W) = 80.363 +/- 0.032 GeV. These indirect constraints are compared to the direct measurements, providing a stringent test of the SM. Using in addition the direct measurements of m(t) and m(W), the mass of the as yet unobserved SM Higgs boson is predicted with a relative uncertainty of about 50% and found to be less than 285 GeV at 95% confidence level. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 3. |
- Betti, M. G., et al.
(author)
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A design for an electromagnetic filter for precision energy measurements at the tritium endpoint
- 2019
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In: Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0146-6410 .- 1873-2224. ; 106, s. 120-131
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a detailed description of the electromagnetic filter for the PTOLEMY project to directly detect the Cosmic Neutrino Background (CNB). Starting with an initial estimate for the orbital magnetic moment, the higher-order drift process of E x B is configured to balance the gradient-B drift motion of the electron in such a way as to guide the trajectory into the standing voltage potential along the mid-plane of the filter. As a function of drift distance along the length of the filter, the filter zooms in with exponentially increasing precision on the transverse velocity component of the electron kinetic energy. This yields a linear dimension for the total filter length that is exceptionally compact compared to previous techniques for electromagnetic filtering. The parallel velocity component of the electron kinetic energy oscillates in an electrostatic harmonic trap as the electron drifts along the length of the filter. An analysis of the phase-space volume conservation validates the expected behavior of the filter from the adiabatic invariance of the orbital magnetic moment and energy conservation following Liouville's theorem for Hamiltonian systems.
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| 4. |
- Betti, M. G., et al.
(author)
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Neutrino physics with the PTOLEMY project : active neutrino properties and the light sterile case
- 2019
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In: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 1475-7516. ; :7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The PTOLEMY project aims to develop a scalable design for a Cosmic Neutrino Background (CNB) detector, the first of its kind and the only one conceived that can look directly at the image of the Universe encoded in neutrino background produced in the first second after the Big Bang. The scope of the work for the next three years is to complete the conceptual design of this detector and to validate with direct measurements that the non-neutrino backgrounds are below the expected cosmological signal. In this paper we discuss in details the theoretical aspects of the experiment and its physics goals. In particular, we mainly address three issues. First we discuss the sensitivity of PTOLEMY to the standard neutrino mass scale. We then study the perspectives of the experiment to detect the CNB via neutrino capture on tritium as a function of the neutrino mass scale and the energy resolution of the apparatus. Finally, we consider an extra sterile neutrino with mass in the eV range, coupled to the active states via oscillations, which has been advocated in view of neutrino oscillation anomalies. This extra state would contribute to the tritium decay spectrum, and its properties, mass and mixing angle, could be studied by analyzing the features in the beta decay electron spectrum.
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| 5. |
- Fu, X., et al.
(author)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey : Lithium enrichment histories of the Galactic thick and thin disc
- 2018
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP SCIENCES S A. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 610
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lithium abundance in most of the warm metal-poor main sequence stars shows a constarnt plateau (A(Li) similar to 2.2 dex) and then the upper envelope of the lithium vs. metallicity distribution increases as we approach solar metallicity. Meteorites, which carry information about the chemical composition of the interstellar medium (ISM) at the solar system formation time, show a lithium abundance A(Li) similar to 3.26 dex. This pattern reflects the Li enrichment history of the ISM during the Galaxy lifetime. After the initial Li production in big bang nucleosynthesis, the sources of the enrichment include asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, low-mass red giants, novae, type II supernovae, and Galactic cosmic rays. The total amount of enriched Li is sensitive to the relative contribution of these sources. Thus different Li enrichment histories are expected in the Galactic thick and thin disc. We investigate the main sequence stars observed with UVES in Gaia-ESO Survey iDR4 catalogue and find a Li[alpha/Fe] anticorrelation independent of [Fe/H], T-eff, and log(g). Since in stellar evolution different alpha enhancements at the same metallicity do not lead to a measurable Li abundance change, the anticorrelation indicates that more Li is produced during the Galactic thin disc phase than during the Galactic thick disc phase. We also find a correlation between the abundance of Li and s-process elements Ba and Y, and they both decrease above the solar metallicity, which can be explained in the framework of the adopted Galactic chemical evolution models.
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| 6. |
- Lebzelter, T., et al.
(author)
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Comparative modelling of the spectra of cool giants
- 2012
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 547, s. A108-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Our ability to extract information from the spectra of stars depends on reliable models of stellar atmospheres and appropriate techniques for spectral synthesis. Various model codes and strategies for the analysis of stellar spectra are available today. Aims. We aim to compare the results of deriving stellar parameters using different atmosphere models and different analysis strategies. The focus is set on high-resolution spectroscopy of cool giant stars. Methods. Spectra representing four cool giant stars were made available to various groups and individuals working in the area of spectral synthesis, asking them to derive stellar parameters from the data provided. The results were discussed at a workshop in Vienna in 2010. Most of the major codes currently used in the astronomical community for analyses of stellar spectra were included in this experiment. Results. We present the results from the different groups, as well as an additional experiment comparing the synthetic spectra produced by various codes for a given set of stellar parameters. Similarities and differences of the results are discussed. Conclusions. Several valid approaches to analyze a given spectrum of a star result in quite a wide range of solutions. The main causes for the differences in parameters derived by different groups seem to lie in the physical input data and in the details of the analysis method. This clearly shows how far from a definitive abundance analysis we still are.
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| 7. |
- Abia, C., et al.
(author)
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Chemical analysis of carbon stars in the Local Group
- 2008
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 481:1, s. 161-168
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims. We present new results of our ongoing chemical study of carbon stars in Local Group galaxies to test the critical dependence of s-process nucleosynthesis on the stellar metallicity. Methods. We collected optical spectra with the VLT/UVES instrument of two carbon stars found in the Carina Dwarf Spheroidal (dSph) galaxy, namely ALW-C6 and ALW-C7. We performed a full chemical analysis using the new generation of hydrostatic, spherically symmetric carbon-rich model atmospheres and the spectral synthesis method in LTE. Results. The luminosities, atmosphere parameters and chemical composition of ALW-C6 and ALW-C7 are compatible with these stars being in the TP-AGB phase undergoing third dredge-up episodes, although their extrinsic nature ( external pollution in a binary stellar system) cannot be definitively excluded. Our chemical analysis shows that the metallicity of both stars agree with the average metallicity ([Fe/H] similar to -1.8 dex) previously derived for this satellite galaxy from the analysis of both low resolution spectra of RGB stars and the observed colour magnitude diagrams. ALW-C6 and ALW-C7 present strong s-element enhancements, [s/Fe] = + 1.6, + 1.5, respectively. These enhancements and the derived s-process indexes [ls/Fe], [hs/Fe] and [hs/ls] are compatible with theoretical s-process nucleosynthesis predictions in low mass AGB stars (similar to 1.5 M(circle dot)) on the basis that the (13)C(alpha, n) (16)O is the main source of neutrons. Furthermore, the analysis of C(2) and CN bands reveals a large carbon enhancement (C/O similar to 7 and 5, respectively), much larger than the values typically found in galactic AGB carbon stars ( C/O similar to 1-2). This is also in agreement with the theoretical prediction that AGB carbon stars are formed more easily through third dredge-up episodes as the initial stellar metallicity drops. However, theoretical low-mass AGB models apparently fail to simultaneously fit the observed s-element and carbon enhancements. On the other hand, Zr is found to be less enhanced in ALW-C7 compared to the other elements belonging to the same s-peak. Although the abundance errors are large, the fact that in this star the abundance of Ti ( which has a similar condensation temperature to Zr) seems also to be lower than those of others metals, may indicate the existence of some depletion into dust-grains in its photosphere.
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| 8. |
- Abia, C., et al.
(author)
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Fluorine abundances in galactic asymptotic giant branch stars
- 2010
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 2041-8205. ; 715:2, s. L94-L98
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An analysis of the fluorine abundance in Galactic asymptotic giant branch (AGB) carbon stars (24 N-type, 5 SC-type, and 5 J-type) is presented. This study uses the state-of-the-art carbon-rich atmosphere models and improved atomic and molecular line lists in the 2.3 mu m region. Significantly lower F abundances are obtained in comparison to previous studies in the literature. This difference is mainly due to molecular blends. In the case of carbon stars of SC-type, differences in the model atmospheres are also relevant. The new F enhancements are now in agreement with the most recent theoretical nucleosynthesis models in low-mass AGB stars, solving the long-standing problem of F in Galactic AGB stars. Nevertheless, some SC-type carbon stars still show larger F abundances than predicted by stellar models. The possibility that these stars are of larger mass is briefly discussed.
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| 10. |
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