No Arabic abstract
The atomic nucleus is made of protons and neutrons (nucleons), that are themselves composed of quarks and gluons. Understanding how the quark-gluon structure of a nucleon bound in an atomic nucleus is modified by the surrounding nucleons is an outstanding challenge. Although evidence for such modification, known as the EMC effect, was first observed over 35 years ago, there is still no generally accepted explanation of its cause. Recent observations suggest that the EMC effect is related to close-proximity Short Range Correlated (SRC) nucleon pairs in nuclei. Here we report the first simultaneous, high-precision, measurements of the EMC effect and SRC abundances. We show that the EMC data can be explained by a universal modification of the structure of nucleons in neutron-proton (np) SRC pairs and present the first data-driven extraction of this universal modification function. This implies that, in heavier nuclei with many more neutrons than protons, each proton is more likely than each neutron to belong to an SRC pair and hence to have its quark structure distorted.
Differential and total cross sections for the quasifree reactions $gamma prightarroweta p$ and $gamma nrightarroweta n$ have been determined at the MAMI-C electron accelerator using a liquid deuterium target. Photons were produced via bremsstrahlung from the 1.5 GeV incident electron beam and energy-tagged with the Glasgow photon tagger. Decay photons of the neutral decay modes $etarightarrow 2gamma$ and $etarightarrow 3pi^0 rightarrow 6gamma$ and coincident recoil nucleons were detected in a combined setup of the Crystal Ball and the TAPS calorimeters. The $eta$-production cross sections were measured in coincidence with recoil protons, recoil neutrons, and in an inclusive mode without a condition on recoil nucleons, which allowed a check of the internal consistency of the data. The effects from nuclear Fermi motion were removed by a kinematic reconstruction of the final-state invariant mass and possible nuclear effects on the quasifree cross section were investigated by a comparison of free and quasifree proton data. The results, which represent a significant improvement in statistical quality compared to previous measurements, agree with the known neutron-to-proton cross-section ratio in the peak of the $S_{11}(1535)$ resonance and confirm a peak in the neutron cross section, which is absent for the proton, at a center-of-mass energy $W = (1670pm 5)$ MeV with an intrinsic width of $Gammaapprox 30$ MeV.
Total cross sections, angular distributions, and invariant-mass distributions have been measured for the photoproduction of $pi^0pi^0$ pairs off free protons and off nucleons bound in the deuteron. The experiments were performed at the MAMI accelerator facility in Mainz using the Glasgow photon tagging spectrometer and the Crystal Ball/TAPS detector. The accelerator delivered electron beams of 1508 and 1557~MeV, which produced bremsstrahlung in thin radiator foils. The tagged photon beam covered energies up to 1400~MeV. The data from the free proton target are in good agreement with previous measurements and were only used to test the analysis procedures. The results for differential cross sections (angular distributions and invariant-mass distributions) for free and quasi-free protons are almost identical in shape, but differ in absolute magnitude up to 15%. Thus, moderate final-state interaction effects are present. The data for quasi-free neutrons are similar to the proton data in the second resonance region (final state invariant masses up to $approx$1550~MeV), where both reactions are dominated by the $N(1520)3/2^-rightarrow Delta(1232)3/2^+pi$ decay. At higher energies, angular and invariant-mass distributions are different. A simple analysis of the shapes of the invariant-mass distributions in the third resonance region is consistent with strong contributions of an $N^{star}rightarrow Nsigma$ decay for the proton, while the reaction is dominated by a sequential decay via a $Deltapi$ intermediate state for the neutron. The data are compared to predictions from the Two-Pion-MAID model and the Bonn-Gatchina coupled channel analysis.
Experimental above-barrier fusion cross-sections for $^{17}$F + $^{12}$C are compared to the fusion excitation functions for $^{16,18}$O, $^{19}$F, and $^{20}$Ne ions on a carbon target. In comparing the different systems both the differing static size of the incident ions and changes in fusion barrier are accounted for by examining the reduced fusion cross-section. Remaining trends of the fusion cross-section above the barrier which reflect the sensitive interplay of the sd protons and neutrons are observed. The experimental data are also compared to both a widely-used analytical model of near-barrier fusion, as well as a time-dependent Hartree-Fock model. Both models fail to describe the trends observed.
Background: The high momentum distribution of atoms in two spin-state ultra-cold atomic gases with strong short-range interactions between atoms with different spins, which can be described using Tans contact, are dominated by short range pairs of different fermions and decreases as $k^{-4}$. In atomic nuclei the momentum distribution of nucleons above the Fermi momentum ($k>k_F approx 250$ Mev/c) is also dominated by short rangecorrelated different-fermion (neutron-proton) pairs. Purpose: Compare high-momentum unlike-fermion momentum distributions in atomic and nuclear systems. Methods: We show that, for $k>k_F$ MeV/c, nuclear momentum distributions are proportional to that of the deuteron. We then examine the deuteron momentum distributions derived from a wide variety of modern nucleon-nucleon potentials that are consistent with $NN$-scattering data. Results: The high momentum tail of the deuteron momentum distribution, and hence of the nuclear momentum distributions appears to decrease as $k^{-4}$. This behavior is shown to arise from the effects of the tensor part of the nucleon-nucleon potential. In addition, when the dimensionless interaction strength for the atomic system is chosen to be similar to that of atomic nuclei, the probability for finding a short range different-fermion pair in both systems is the same. Conclusions: Although nuclei do not satisfy all of the conditions for Tans contact, the observed similarity of the magnitude and $k^{-4}$ shape of nuclear and atomic momentum distributions is remarkable because these systems differ by about $20$ orders of magnitude in density. This similarity may lead to a greater understanding of nuclei and the density dependence of nuclear systems.
For the first time, the total yield and inclusive spectra of the $Delta^{++}(1232)$isobar are measured in $ u p$ and $ u n$ charged-current interactions. An indication is obtained that the $Delta^{++}(1232)$ production mainly results from the neutrino scattering on the valence d- quark of the target nucleon. The total yield of $Delta^{++}(1232)$ in $ u p$ interactions is compatible with that measured in hadronic interactions of the same net charge and net baryonic number. The yield of $Delta^{++}(1232)$ in $ u n$ interactions is significantly suppressed as compared to the case of the proton target. The form of the squared transverse momentum distributions, both in $ u p$ and $ u n$ interactions, is found to be compatible with the available data on the neutrinoproduction of $Lambda$ hyperon. The experimental data are compared with the LEPTO6.5 model predictions.