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Measurement of radioactive gas seepage from an underground nuclear explosion is one of the primary methods to confirm whether an event was nuclear in nature. Radioactive noble gas indicators that are commonly targeted by such measurements (e.g. 133Xe, 37Ar) have half-lives of 35 days or less. Argon-39, an activation product similar to 37Ar, is produced by the interaction between neutrons and potassium in the surrounding geology and has a half-life of 269 years. Measurements taken at three sites near three historic underground nuclear test locations at the Nevada National Security Site have all shown highly elevated levels of 39Ar in soil gas decades after the test events. Elevated levels of 39Ar were also detected in atmospheric air collected near two of these sites, and outside the entrance of the one tunnel site. These measurements demonstrate that 39Ar has the potential to be a long-term signature of an underground nuclear event which can be reliably detected at the surface or in the shallow subsurface. This radionuclide detection of an underground nuclear event decades after the event takes place is in contrast to the commonly held assumption that detecting underground nuclear events via radionuclides at the surface needs to be done in a matter of months. Depending upon what further studies show about the robustness of this signature in a variety of geological settings, it may in fact be easy to detect underground nuclear events at the surface for a very long time post-detonation.
Assuntos
Monitoramento de Radiação , Argônio/análise , Explosões , Radioisótopos/análiseRESUMO
This work presents a droplet applicator module to generate stable droplets with different muzzle energies for the reproducible endoscopic stimulation of the laryngeal adductor reflex (LAR). The LAR is a protective reflex of the human larynx; an abnormal LAR performance may cause aspiration pneumonia. A pathological LAR can be detected by evaluating its onset latency. The reflex can be triggered by shooting a droplet onto the laryngeal mucosa, which is referred to as Microdroplet Impulse Testing of the LAR (MIT-LAR). Stimulation intensity variation is desired as the reflex threshold may vary inter-individually. The kinetic energy of a droplet after detachment from the nozzle, i.e., its muzzle energy, is considered an appropriate metric for the LAR stimulation intensity. In this work, a suitable nozzle channel geometry is identified based on the experimental evaluation of droplet formation using three different nozzle channel geometries. Two nontoxic additives are evaluated regarding their effect on fluid properties and droplet formation. The range of achievable droplet muzzle energies is determined by high-speed cinematography in association with a physically motivated model of the macroscopic droplet motion. The experimental results show that sodium chloride is a suitable additive to enhance droplet stability in the studied parameter range with the proposed system. Droplet muzzle energy variation from 0.02 µ J to 1.37 µ J was achieved while preserving the formation of a single stimulation droplet. These results are an important prerequisite for a safe and reproducible LAR stimulation by MIT-LAR, which could also help to further elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying this laryngeal reflex.
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The experimental results on the ratios of branching fractions R(D)=B(B[over ¯]âDτ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B[over ¯]âDâ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{â}) and R(D^{*})=B(B[over ¯]âD^{*}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B[over ¯]âD^{*}â^{-}ν[over ¯]_{â}), where â denotes an electron or a muon, show a long-standing discrepancy with the standard model predictions, and might hint at a violation of lepton flavor universality. We report a new simultaneous measurement of R(D) and R(D^{*}), based on a data sample containing 772×10^{6} BB[over ¯] events recorded at the Ï(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB e^{+}e^{-} collider. In this analysis the tag-side B meson is reconstructed in a semileptonic decay mode and the signal-side τ is reconstructed in a purely leptonic decay. The measured values are R(D)=0.307±0.037±0.016 and R(D^{*})=0.283±0.018±0.014, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. These results are in agreement with the standard model predictions within 0.2, 1.1, and 0.8 standard deviations for R(D), R(D^{*}), and their combination, respectively. This work constitutes the most precise measurements of R(D) and R(D^{*}) performed to date as well as the first result for R(D) based on a semileptonic tagging method.
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We report the first observation of the radiative decay of the Ï(1S) into a charmonium state. The significance of the observed signal of Ï(1S)âγχ_{c1} is 6.3 standard deviations including systematics. The branching fraction is calculated to be B[Ï(1S)âγχ_{c1}]=[4.7_{-1.8}^{+2.4}(stat)_{-0.5}^{+0.4}(sys)×10^{-5}]. We also searched for Ï(1S) radiative decays into χ_{c0,2} and η_{c}(1S,2S), and set upper limits on their branching fractions. These results are obtained from a 24.9 fb^{-1} data sample collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} collider at a center-of-mass energy equal to the Ï(2S) mass using Ï(1S) tagging by the Ï(2S)âÏ(1S)π^{+}π^{-} transitions.
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As part of an underground gas migration study, two radioactive noble gases (37Ar and 127Xe) and two stable tracer gases (SF6 and PFDMCH) were injected into a historic nuclear explosion test chimney and allowed to migrate naturally. The purpose of this experiment was to provide a bounding case (natural transport) for the flow of radioactive noble gases following an underground nuclear explosion. To accomplish this, soil gas samples were collected from a series of boreholes and a range of depths from the shallow subsurface (3â¯m) to deeper levels (~160â¯m) over a period of eleven months. These samples have provided insights into the development and evolution of the subsurface plume and constrained the relative migration rates of the radioactive and stable gas species in the case when the driving pressure from the cavity is low. Analysis of the samples concluded that the stable tracer SF6 was consistently enriched in the subsurface samples relative to the radiotracer 127Xe, but the ratios of SF6 and 37Ar remained similar throughout the samples.
Assuntos
Gases Nobres/análise , Armas Nucleares , Monitoramento de Radiação , Radioatividade , Explosões , Nevada , Medidas de SegurançaRESUMO
We present the first measurements of absolute branching fractions of Ξ_{c}^{0} decays into Ξ^{-}π^{+}, ΛK^{-}π^{+}, and pK^{-}K^{-}π^{+} final states. The measurements are made using a dataset comprising (772±11)×10^{6} BB[over ¯] pairs collected at the Ï(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB e^{+}e^{-} collider. We first measure the absolute branching fraction for B^{-}âΛ[over ¯]_{c}^{-}Ξ_{c}^{0} using a missing-mass technique; the result is B(B^{-}âΛ[over ¯]_{c}^{-}Ξ_{c}^{0})=(9.51±2.10±0.88)×10^{-4}. We subsequently measure the product branching fractions B(B^{-}âΛ[over ¯]_{c}^{-}Ξ_{c}^{0})B(Ξ_{c}^{0}âΞ^{-}π^{+}), B(B^{-}âΛ[over ¯]_{c}^{-}Ξ_{c}^{0})B(Ξ_{c}^{0}âΛK^{-}π^{+}), and B(B^{-}âΛ[over ¯]_{c}^{-}Ξ_{c}^{0})B(Ξ_{c}^{0}âpK^{-}K^{-}π^{+}) with improved precision. Dividing these product branching fractions by the result for B^{-}âΛ[over ¯]_{c}^{-}Ξ_{c}^{0} yields the following branching fractions: B(Ξ_{c}^{0}âΞ^{-}π^{+})=(1.80±0.50±0.14)%, B(Ξ_{c}^{0}âΛK^{-}π^{+})=(1.17±0.37±0.09)%, and B(Ξ_{c}^{0}âpK^{-}K^{-}π^{+})=(0.58±0.23±0.05)%. For the above branching fractions, the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. Our result for B(Ξ_{c}^{0}âΞ^{-}π^{+}) can be combined with Ξ_{c}^{0} branching fractions measured relative to Ξ_{c}^{0}âΞ^{-}π^{+} to yield other absolute Ξ_{c}^{0} branching fractions.
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We report on the first Belle search for a light CP-odd Higgs boson, A^{0}, that decays into low mass dark matter, χ, in final states with a single photon and missing energy. We search for events produced via the dipion transition Ï(2S)âÏ(1S)π^{+}π^{-}, followed by the on-shell process Ï(1S)âγA^{0} with A^{0}âχχ, or by the off-shell process Ï(1S)âγχχ. Utilizing a data sample of 157.3×10^{6} Ï(2S) decays, we find no evidence for a signal. We set limits on the branching fractions of such processes in the mass ranges M_{A^{0}}<8.97 GeV/c^{2} and M_{χ}<4.44 GeV/c^{2}. We then use the limits on the off-shell process to set competitive limits on WIMP-nucleon scattering in the WIMP mass range below 5 GeV/c^{2}.
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We report the first observation of the double strange baryon Ξ(1620)^{0} in its decay to Ξ^{-}π^{+} via Ξ_{c}^{+}âΞ^{-}π^{+}π^{+} decays based on a 980 fb^{-1} data sample collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} collider. The mass and width are measured to be 1610.4±6.0(stat)_{-4.2}^{+6.1} (syst) MeV/c^{2} and 59.9±4.8(stat)_{-7.1}^{+2.8}(syst) MeV, respectively. We obtain 4.0σ evidence of the Ξ(1690)^{0} with the same data sample. These results shed light on the structure of hyperon resonances with strangeness S=-2.
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We report the first observation of the spontaneous polarization of Λ and Λ[over ¯] hyperons transverse to the production plane in e^{+}e^{-} annihilation, which is attributed to the effect arising from a polarizing fragmentation function. For inclusive Λ/Λ[over ¯] production, we also report results with subtracted feed-down contributions from Σ^{0} and charm. This measurement uses a dataset of 800.4 fb^{-1} collected by the Belle experiment at or near a center-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV. We observe a significant polarization that rises with the fractional energy carried by the Λ/Λ[over ¯] hyperon.
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We report the observation of Ï(2S)âγη_{b}(1S) decay based on an analysis of the inclusive photon spectrum of 24.7 fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} collisions at the Ï(2S) center-of-mass energy collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} collider. We measure a branching fraction of B[Ï(2S)âγη_{b}(1S)]=(6.1_{-0.7-0.6}^{+0.6+0.9})×10^{-4} and derive an η_{b}(1S) mass of 9394.8_{-3.1-2.7}^{+2.7+4.5} MeV/c^{2}, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The significance of our measurement is greater than 7 standard deviations, constituting the first observation of this decay mode.
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We report the first observation of the hadronic transition Ï(4S)âη^{'}Ï(1S), using 496 fb^{-1} data collected at the Ï(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} collider. We reconstruct the η^{'} meson through its decays to ρ^{0}γ and to π^{+}π^{-}η, with ηâγγ. We measure B(Ï(4S)âη^{'}Ï(1S))=[3.43±0.88(stat)±0.21(syst)]×10^{-5}, with a significance of 5.7σ.
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We report the results of a search for the rare, purely leptonic decay B^{-}âµ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{µ} performed with a 711 fb^{-1} data sample that contains 772×10^{6} BB[over ¯] pairs, collected near the Ï(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} collider. The signal events are selected based on the presence of a high momentum muon and the topology of the rest of the event showing properties of a generic B-meson decay, as well as the missing energy and momentum being consistent with the hypothesis of a neutrino from the signal decay. We find a 2.4 standard deviation excess above background including systematic uncertainties, which corresponds to a branching fraction of B(B^{-}âµ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{µ})=(6.46±2.22±1.60)×10^{-7} or a frequentist 90% confidence level interval on the B^{-}âµ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{µ} branching fraction of [2.9,10.7]×10^{-7}.
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Using data recorded with the Belle detector, we observe a new excited hyperon, an Ω^{*-} candidate decaying into Ξ^{0}K^{-} and Ξ^{-}K_{S}^{0} with a mass of 2012.4±0.7(stat)±0.6(syst) MeV/c^{2} and a width of Γ=6.4_{-2.0}^{+2.5}(stat)±1.6(syst) MeV. The Ω^{*-} is seen primarily in Ï(1S),Ï(2S), and Ï(3S) decays.
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The Majorana Collaboration is operating an array of high purity Ge detectors to search for neutrinoless double-ß decay in ^{76}Ge. The Majorana Demonstrator comprises 44.1 kg of Ge detectors (29.7 kg enriched in ^{76}Ge) split between two modules contained in a low background shield at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. Here we present results from data taken during construction, commissioning, and the start of full operations. We achieve unprecedented energy resolution of 2.5 keV FWHM at Q_{ßß} and a very low background with no observed candidate events in 9.95 kg yr of enriched Ge exposure, resulting in a lower limit on the half-life of 1.9×10^{25} yr (90% C.L.). This result constrains the effective Majorana neutrino mass to below 240-520 meV, depending on the matrix elements used. In our experimental configuration with the lowest background, the background is 4.0_{-2.5}^{+3.1} counts/(FWHM t yr).
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We report a study of the decay D^{0}âK_{S}^{0}K_{S}^{0} using 921 fb^{-1} of data collected at or near the Ï(4S) and Ï(5S) resonances with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy e^{+}e^{-} collider. The measured time-integrated CP asymmetry is A_{CP}(D^{0}âK_{S}^{0}K_{S}^{0})=(-0.02±1.53±0.02±0.17)%, and the branching fraction is B(D^{0}âK_{S}^{0}K_{S}^{0})=(1.321±0.023±0.036±0.044)×10^{-4}, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the normalization mode (D^{0}âK_{S}^{0}π^{0}). These results are significantly more precise than previous measurements available for this mode. The A_{CP} measurement is consistent with the standard model expectation.
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We report the first evidence for isospin violation in BâK^{*}γ and the first measurement of the difference of CP asymmetries between B^{+}âK^{*+}γ and B^{0}âK^{*0}γ. This analysis is based on the data sample containing 772×10^{6}BB[over ¯] pairs that was collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB energy-asymmetric e^{+}e^{-} collider. We find evidence for the isospin violation with a significance of 3.1σ, Δ_{0+}=[+6.2±1.5(stat)±0.6(syst)±1.2(f_{+-}/f_{00})]%, where the third uncertainty is due to the uncertainty on the fraction of B^{+}B^{-} to B^{0}B[over ¯]^{0} production in Ï(4S) decays. The measured value is consistent with predictions of the standard model. The result for the difference of CP asymmetries is ΔA_{CP}=[+2.4±2.8(stat)±0.5(syst)]%, consistent with zero. The measured branching fractions and CP asymmetries for charged and neutral B meson decays are the most precise to date. We also calculate the ratio of branching fractions of B^{0}âK^{*0}γ to B_{s}^{0}âÏγ.
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We report the first measurement of the τ lepton polarization P_{τ}(D^{*}) in the decay B[over ¯]âD^{*}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ} as well as a new measurement of the ratio of the branching fractions R(D^{*})=B(B[over ¯]âD^{*}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B[over ¯]âD^{*}â^{-}ν[over ¯]_{â}), where â^{-} denotes an electron or a muon, and the τ is reconstructed in the modes τ^{-}âπ^{-}ν_{τ} and τ^{-}âρ^{-}ν_{τ}. We use the full data sample of 772×10^{6} BB[over ¯] pairs recorded with the Belle detector at the KEKB electron-positron collider. Our results, P_{τ}(D^{*})=-0.38±0.51(stat)_{-0.16}^{+0.21}(syst) and R(D^{*})=0.270±0.035(stat)_{-0.025}^{+0.028}(syst), are consistent with the theoretical predictions of the standard model.
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We present a measurement of angular observables and a test of lepton flavor universality in the BâK^{*}â^{+}â^{-} decay, where â is either e or µ. The analysis is performed on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 711 fb^{-1} containing 772×10^{6} BB[over ¯] pairs, collected at the Ï(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} collider KEKB. The result is consistent with standard model (SM) expectations, where the largest discrepancy from a SM prediction is observed in the muon modes with a local significance of 2.6σ.
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We report the first observation of the radiative charm decay D^{0}âρ^{0}γ and the first search for CP violation in decays D^{0}âρ^{0}γ, Ïγ, and K[over ¯]^{*0}(892)γ, using a data sample of 943 fb^{-1} collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} collider. The branching fraction is measured to be B(D^{0}âρ^{0}γ)=(1.77±0.30±0.07)×10^{-5}, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The obtained CP asymmetries A_{CP}(D^{0}âρ^{0}γ)=+0.056±0.152±0.006, A_{CP}(D^{0}âÏγ)=-0.094±0.066±0.001, and A_{CP}(D^{0}âK[over ¯]^{*0}γ)=-0.003±0.020±0.000 are consistent with no CP violation. We also present an improved measurement of the branching fractions B(D^{0}âÏγ)=(2.76±0.19±0.10)×10^{-5} and B(D^{0}âK[over ¯]^{*0}γ)=(4.66±0.21±0.21)×10^{-4}.
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We report the first observation of the decay Λ_{c}^{+}âpK^{+}π^{-} using a 980 fb^{-1} data sample collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} collider. This is the first observation of a doubly Cabibbo-suppressed decay of a charmed baryon. We measure the branching ratio of this decay with respect to its Cabibbo-favored counterpart to be B(Λ_{c}^{+}âpK^{+}π^{-})/B(Λ_{c}^{+}âpK^{-}π^{+})=(2.35±0.27±0.21)×10^{-3}, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.