Vector-meson production and vector meson dominance

We consider the fidelity of the vector meson dominance (VMD) assumption as an instrument for relating the electromagnetic vector-meson production reaction $$e + p \rightarrow e^\prime + V + p$$ e + p → e ′ + V + p to the purely hadronic process $$V + p \rightarrow V+p$$ V + p → V + p . Analyses of the photon vacuum polarisation and the photon-quark vertex reveal that such a VMD Ansatz might be reasonable for light vector-mesons. However, when the vector-mesons are described by momentum-dependent bound-state amplitudes, VMD fails for heavy vector-mesons: it cannot be used reliably to estimate either a photon-to-vector-meson transition strength or the momentum dependence of those integrands that would arise in calculations of the different reaction amplitudes. Consequently, for processes involving heavy mesons, the veracity of both cross-section estimates and conclusions based on the VMD assumption should be reviewed, e.g., those relating to hidden-charm pentaquark production and the origin of the proton mass.

Chemical Tuning on Resonance Coupling in Gold Nanorod−Monolayer WS2 Heterostructures

Resonance coupling between plasmonic resonances in metallic nanostructures and excitons in two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors has attracted much recent attention. The 2D semiconductor excitons are sensitive to external stimulus, enabling active tuning on the resonance couplings by physical, such as applying electrostatic gating, thermal scanning, etc., or chemical approaches. Among the others, chemical tuning approach has the advantage of facile implementation, high efficiency, and being capable of large-area tuning. Here, we report on chemical tuning of resonance coupling in heterostructures consisted of individual gold nanorods integrated with monolayer WS2. We showed that by incubating the heterostructures into a bis (trifluoro-methane) sulfonimide (TFSI) solution, the exciton transition strength of the WS2 will be enhanced significantly. As a result, the resonance coupling in the heterostructures evolved from a weak coupling regime to a strong coupling one, with the mode splitting energy increases from 94.96 to 105.32 meV. These findings highlight the potential of chemical treatment as an efficient technique for tailoring the interactions between plasmonic nanostructures and 2D semiconductors.

ELASTIC AND INELASTIC ALPHA TRANSFER IN THE 16O+12C SCATTERING

The elastic scattering cross section measured at energies $E\lesssim 10$ MeV/nucleon for some light heavy-ion systems having two identical cores like \oc exhibits an enhanced oscillatory pattern at the backward angles. Such a pattern is known to be due to the transfer of the valence nucleon or cluster between the two identical cores. In particular, the elastic $\alpha$ transfer has been shown to originate directly from the core-exchange symmetry in the elastic \oc scattering. Given the strong transition strength of the $2^+_1$ state of $^{12}$C and its large overlap with the $^{16}$O ground state, it is natural to expect a similar $\alpha$ transfer process (or inelastic $\alpha$ transfer) to take place in the inelastic \oc scattering. The present work provides a realistic coupled channel description of the $\alpha$ transfer in the inelastic \oc scattering at low energies. Based on the results of the 4 coupled reaction-channels calculation, we show a significant contribution of the $\alpha$ transfer to the inelastic \oc scattering cross section at the backward angles. These results suggest that the explicit coupling to the $\alpha$ transfer channels is crucial in the studies of the elastic and inelastic scattering of a nucleus-nucleus system with the core-exchange symmetry.\Keywords{optical potential, coupled reaction channels, inelastic $\alpha$ transfer

Elastic and Inelastic Alpha Transfer in the \(^{16}\)O+\(^{12}\)C Scattering

The elastic scattering cross section measured at energies \(E\lesssim 10\) MeV/nucleon for some light heavy-ion systems having two identical cores like \(^{16}\)O+\(^{12}\)C exhibits an enhanced oscillatory pattern at the backward angles. Such a pattern is known to be due to the transfer of the valence nucleon or cluster between the two identical cores. In particular, the elastic \(\alpha\) transfer has been shown to originate directly from the core-exchange symmetry in the elastic \(^{16}\)O+\(^{12}\)C scattering. Given the strong transition strength of the $2^+_1$ state of $^{12}$C and its large overlap with the $^{16}$O ground state, it is natural to expect a similar \(\alpha\) transfer process (or inelastic \(\alpha\) transfer) to take place in the inelastic \(^{16}\)O+\(^{12}\)C scattering. The present work provides a realistic coupled channel description of the \(\alpha\) transfer in the inelastic \(^{16}\)O+\(^{12}\)C scattering at low energies. Based on the results of the 4 coupled reaction-channels calculation, we show a significant contribution of the \(\alpha\) transfer to the inelastic \(^{16}\)O+\(^{12}\)C scattering cross section at the backward angles. These results suggest that the explicit coupling to the \(\alpha\) transfer channels is crucial in the studies of the elastic and inelastic scattering of a nucleus-nucleus system with the core-exchange symmetry.

Giant excitonic upconverted emission of two-dimensional semiconductor in doubly resonant plasmonic nanocavity

Phonon-assisted upconverted emission lies at the heart of energy harvesting, bioimaging, optical cryptography and optical refrigeration. It has been demonstrated that the emerging two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors can provide a great platform for efficient phonon-assisted upconversion due to the enhanced optical transition strength and phonon-exciton interaction of 2D excitons. However, the research on the further enhancement of excitonic upconverted emission in 2D semiconductors is almost blank. Here we report the enhanced multiphoton upconverted emission of 2D excitons in doubly resonant plasmonic nanocavity. Owing to the enhanced light collection, enhanced excitation rate and quantum efficiency enhancement arising from Purcell effect, the upconverted emission amplification of > 1000 folds and the decrease of 2 ~ 3 orders of magnitude for saturated excitation energy density are achieved. These findings pave the way to the development of excitonic upconversion lasing, nanoscopic thermometry and sensing, and open up the possibility of optical refrigeration in future 2D electronic or excitonic devices.

Gravitational waves from a holographic phase transition

We investigate first order phase transitions in a holographic setting of five-dimensional Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field, constructing phase diagrams of the dual field theory at finite temperature. We scan over the two-dimensional parameter space of a simple bottom-up model and map out important quantities for the phase transition: the region where first order phase transitions take place; the latent heat, the transition strength parameter α, and the stiffness. We find that α is generically in the range 0.1 to 0.3, and is strongly correlated with the stiffness (the square of the sound speed in a barotropic fluid). Using the LISA Cosmology Working Group gravitational wave power spectrum model corrected for kinetic energy suppression at large α and non-conformal stiffness, we outline the observational prospects at the future space-based detectors LISA and TianQin. A TeV-scale hidden sector with a phase transition described by the model could be observable at both detectors.

Efficient Pathway Identification from Geospatial Trajectories

<p>In the earth-physics community Lagrangian trajectories are used within multiple contexts – analyzing the spreading of pollutants in the air or studying the connectivity between two ocean regions of interest. Huge amounts of data are generated reporting the geo position and other variables e.g. temperature, depth or salinity for particles spreading in the ocean. As state-of-the-art, these experiments are analyzed and visualized by binning the particle positions to pre-defined rectangular boxes. For each box a particle density is computed which then yields a probability map to visualize major pathways. Identifying the main pathways directly still remains a challenge when huge amounts of particles and variables are involved.</p><p>We propose a novel method that focuses on linking the net fluctuation of particles between adaptable hexagonal grid cells. For very small areas the rectangular boxing does not imply big differences in area or shape, though when gridding larger areas it introduces rather large distortions. Using hexagons instead provides multiple advantages, such as constant distances between the centers of neighboring boxes or more possibilities of movement due to 6 edges instead of 4 with a lower number of neighbors at the same time (6 instead of 9). The net fluctuation can be viewed as transition strength between the cells.Through this network perspective, the density of the transition strength can be visualized clearly. The main pathways are the transitions with the highest net fluctuation. Thus, simple statistical filtering can be used to reveal the main pathways. The combination of network analysis and adaptable hexagonal grid cells yields a surprisingly time and resource efficient way to identify main pathways.</p>

Upper limit on first-order electroweak phase transition strength

For a cosmological first-order electroweak phase transition, requiring no sphaleron washout of baryon number violating processes leads to a lower bound on the strength of the transition. The velocity of the boundary between the phases, the so-called bubble wall, can become ultrarelativistic if the friction due to the plasma of particles is not sufficient to retard the wall’s acceleration. This bubble “runaway” should not occur if a successful baryon asymmetry generation due to the transition is required. Using Boedeker–Moore criterion for bubble wall runaway, within the context of an extension of the Standard Model of particle physics with a real gauge-single scalar field, we show that a nonrunaway transition requirement puts an upper bound on the strength of the first-order phase transition.