arXiv subjects

L. Beaulieu

Publications and source records attributed to L. Beaulieu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

On EM Reconstruction of a Multi Channel Shielded Applicator for Cervical Cancer Brachytherapy: A Feasibility Study

Electromagnetic tracking (EMT) is a promising technology for automated catheter and applicator reconstruc- 10 tions in brachytherapy. In this work, a proof-of-concept is presented for reconstruction of the individual channels of a shielded tandem applicator dedicated to intensity modulated brachytherapy. All six channels of a straight prototype was reconstructed and the distance between two opposite channels was measured. A study was also conducted on the influence of the shield on the data fluctuation of the EMT system. The differences with the CAD specified dimensions are under 2 mm. The pair of channels which has one of it more distant from the generator have 15 higher inter-channel distance with higher variability. In the first 110 cm reconstruction, all inter-channel distances are within the geometrical tolerances. According to a paired Student t-test, the data given by the EM system with and without the shield applicator tip are not significantly different. This study shows that the reconstruction of channel path within the mechanical accuracy of the applicator is possible.

physics.med-ph↗

arXiv2009

Centrality dependence of the thermal excitation-energy deposition in 8-15 GeV/c hadron-Au reactions

The excitation energy per residue nucleon (E*/A) and fast and thermal light particle multiplicities are studied as a function of centrality defined as the number of grey tracks emitted N_grey and by the mean number of primary hadron-nucleon scatterings and mean impact parameter extracted from it. The value of E*/A and the multiplicities show an increase with centrality for all systems, 14.6 GeV p-Au and 8.0 GeV pi-Au and pbar-Au collisions, and the excitation energy per residue nucleon exhibits a uniform dependence on N_grey.

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arXiv2006

Cooling Dynamics in Multi-fragmentation processes

Fragment energy spectra of neutron deficient isotopes are significantly more energetic than those of neutron rich isotopes of the same element. This trend is well beyond what can be expected for the bulk multi-fragmentation of an equilibrated system. It can be explained, however, if some of these fragments are emitted earlier through the surface of the system while it is expanding and cooling.

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arXiv2005

Comparison of mid-velocity fragment formation with projectile-like decay

The characteristics of intermediate mass fragments (IMFs: 3<=Z<=20) produced in mid-peripheral and central collisions are compared. We compare IMFs detected at mid-velocity with those evaporated from the excited projectile-like fragment (PLF*). On average, the IMFs produced at mid-velocity are larger in atomic number, exhibit broader transverse velocity distributions, and are more neutron-rich as compared to IMFs evaporated from the PLF*. In contrast, comparison of mid-velocity fragments associated with mid-peripheral and central collisions reveals that their characteristics are remarkably similar despite the difference in impact parameter. The characteristics of mid-velocity fragments are consistent with low-density formation of the fragments. Neutron deficient isotopes of even Z elements manifest higher kinetic energies than heavier isotopes of the same element for both PLF* and mid-velocity emission. This result may be due to the decay of long-lived excited states in the field of the emitting system.

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arXiv2004

Similarity of fragment characteristics at mid-velocity for mid-peripheral and central collisions

The characteristics, in particular the isotopic composition (N/Z), of intermediate mass fragments (IMF : 3<=Z<=20) produced near the center-of-mass in mid-peripheral and central collisions of 114Cd ions with 92Mo target nuclei at E/A=50 MeV are compared to that of IMFs emitted from the projectile-like fragment (PLF) in mid-peripheral collisions. IMFs produced at mid-velocities are on average larger in atomic number, more energetic, and more neutron-rich as compared to IMFs emitted from the PLF. In contrast, the characteristics of mid-velocity IMFs in central collisions and mid-peripheral collisions are comparable.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2004

Interplay of initial deformation and Coulomb proximity on nuclear decay

Alpha particles emitted from an excited projectile-like fragment (PLF*) formed in a peripheral collision of two intermediate-energy heavy ions exhibit a strong preference for emission towards the target-like fragment (TLF). The interplay of the initial deformation of the PLF* caused by the reaction, Coulomb proximity, and the rotation of the PLF* results in the observed anisotropic angular distribution. Changes in the shape of the angular distribution with excitation energy are interpreted as being the result of forming more elongated initial geometries in the more peripheral collisions.

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arXiv2004

Effects of in-medium cross-sections and optical potential on thermal-source formation in p+197Au reactions at 6.2-14.6 GeV/c

Effects of in-medium cross-sections and of optical potential on pre-equilibrium emission and on formation of a thermal source are investigated by comparing the results of transport simulations with experimental results from the p+{197}Au reaction at 6.2-14.6 GeV/c. The employed transport model includes light composite-particle production and allows for inclusion of in-medium particle-particle cross-section reduction and of momentum dependence in the particle optical-potentials. Compared to the past, the model incorporates improved parameterizations of elementary high-energy processes. The simulations indicate that the majority of energy deposition occurs during the first ~25 fm/c of a reaction. This is followed by a pre-equilibrium emission and readjustment of system density and momentum distribution toward an equilibrated system. Good agreement with data, on the d/p and t/p yield ratios and on the residue mass and charge numbers, is obtained at the time of ~ 65 fm/c from the start of a reaction, provided reduced in-medium cross-sections and momentum-dependent optical potentials are employed in the simulations. By then, the pre-equilibrium nucleon and cluster emission, as well as mean-field readjustments, drive the system to a state of depleted average density, rho/rho_{0} ~ 1/4-1/3 for central collisions, and low-to-moderate excitation, i.e. the region of nuclear liquid-gas phase transition.

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arXiv2003

Isospin Diffusion in Heavy Ion Reactions

Using symmetric 112Sn+112Sn, 124Sn+124Sn collisions as references, we probe isospin diffusion in peripheral asymmetric 112Sn+124Sn, 124Sn+112Sn systems at incident energy of E/A=50 MeV. Isoscaling analyses imply that the quasi-projectile and quasi-target in these collisions do not achieve isospin equilibrium, permitting an assessment of the isospin transport rates. We find that comparisons between isospin sensitive experimental and theoretical observables, using suitably chosen scaled ratios, permit investigation of the density dependence of the asymmetry term of the nuclear equation of state.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2003

Coulomb proximity decay: A clock for measuring the particle emission time scale

A new method to examine the time scale of particle emission from hot nuclei is explored. Excited projectile-like and target-like fragments decay as they separate following a peripheral heavy-ion collision. Their mutual Coulomb influence results in an anisotropic angular distribution of emitted particles, providing a measure of the particle emission time scale. Predictions of a schematic evaporation model are presented and compared to experimental data.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2003

Excitation and decay of projectile-like fragments formed in dissipative peripheral collisions at intermediate energies

Projectile-like fragments (PLF:15<=Z<=46) formed in peripheral and mid-peripheral collisions of 114Cd projectiles with 92Mo nuclei at E/A=50 MeV have been detected at very forward angles, 2.1 deg.<=theta_lab<=4.2 deg. Calorimetric analysis of the charged particles observed in coincidence with the PLF reveals that the excitation of the primary PLF is strongly related to its velocity damping. Furthermore, for a given V_PLF*, its excitation is not related to its size, Z_PLF*. For the largest velocity damping, the excitation energy attained is large, approximately commensurate with a system at the limiting temperature

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arXiv2003

Precise Barriers and Shell Effects: a New Inroad to Fission Saddle Point Spectroscopy

Fission excitation functions have been measured for a chain of neighboring compound nuclei, from 207Po to 212Po. We present a new analysis which provides a determination of the fission barriers and ground state shell effects with nearly spectroscopic accuracy. The improved accuracy achieved in this analysis may lead to a future detailed exploration of the saddle mass surface and its spectroscopy. The sensitivity of the fission probabilities on shell effects extends to excitation energies of 150 MeV and negates recent claims for the disappearance of shell corrections due to collective effects.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2002

Fragment Production in Non-central Collisions of Intermediate Energy Heavy Ions

The defining characteristics of fragment emission resulting from the non-central collision of 114Cd ions with 92Mo target nuclei at E/A = 50 MeV are presented. Charge correlations and average relative velocities for mid-velocity fragment emission exhibit significant differences when compared to standard statistical decay. These differences associated with similar velocity dissipation are indicative of the influence of the entrance channel dynamics on the fragment production process.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2002

Isotope yields from central 112,124Sn+112,124Sn collisions, dynamical emission?

Isotopic yields for light particles and intermediate mass fragments have been measured for 112Sn+112Sn, 112Sn+124Sn, 124Sn+112Sn and 124Sn+124Sn central collisions at E/A=50 MeV and compared with predictions of stochastic mean field calculations. These calculations predict a sensitivity of the isotopic distributions to the density dependence of the asymmetry term of the nuclear equation of state. However, the secondary decay of the excited fragments modifies significantly the primary isotopic distributions and these modifications are rather sensitive to theoretical uncertainties in the excitation energies of the hot fragments. The predicted final isotope distributions are narrower than the experimental data and the sensitivity of the predicted yields to the density dependence of the asymmetry term is reduced.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2002

Tracking the phase-transition energy in disassembly of hot nuclei

In efforts to determine phase transitions in the disintegration of highly excited heavy nuclei, a popular practice is to parametrise the yields of isotopes as a function of temperature in the form $Y(z)=z^{-τ}f(z^σ(T-T_0))$, where $Y(z)$'s are the measured yields and $τ, σ$ and $T_0$ are fitted to the yields. Here $T_0$ would be interpreted as the phase transition temperature. For finite systems such as those obtained in nuclear collisions, this parametrisation is only approximate and hence allows for extraction of $T_0$ in more than one way. In this work we look in detail at how values of $T_0$ differ, depending on methods of extraction. It should be mentioned that for finite systems, this approximate parametrisation works not only at the critical point, but also for first order phase transitions (at least in some models). Thus the approximate fit is no guarantee that one is seeing a critical phenomenon. A different but more conventional search for the nuclear phase transition would look for a maximum in the specific heat as a function of temperature $T_2$. In this case $T_2$ is interpreted as the phase transition temperature. Ideally $T_0$ and $T_2$ would coincide. We invesigate this possibility, both in theory and from the ISiS data, performing both canonical ($T$) and microcanonical ($e=E^*/A$) calculations. Although more than one value of $T_0$ can be extracted from the approximate parmetrisation, the work here points to the best value from among the choices. Several interesting results, seen in theoretical calculations, are borne out in experiment.

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arXiv2002

A Quasi-Classical Model of Intermediate Velocity Particle Production in Asymmetric Heavy Ion Reactions

The particle emission at intermediate velocities in mass asymmetric reactions is studied within the framework of classical molecular dynamics. Two reactions in the Fermi energy domain were modelized, $^{58}$Ni+C and $^{58}$Ni+Au at 34.5 MeV/nucleon. The availability of microscopic correlations at all times allowed a detailed study of the fragment formation process. Special attention was paid to the physical origin of fragments and emission timescales, which allowed us to disentangle the different processes involved in the mid-rapidity particle production. Consequently, a clear distinction between a prompt pre- equilibrium emission and a delayed aligned asymmetric breakup of the heavier partner of the reaction was achieved.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2001

Caloric curve of 8 GeV/c negative pion and antiproton + Au reactions

The relationship between nuclear temperature and excitation energy of hot nuclei formed by 8 GeV/c negative pion and antiproton beams incident on 197Au has been investigated with the ISiS 4-pidetector array at the BNL AGS accelerator. The double-isotope-ratio technique was used to calculate the temperature of the hot system. The two thermometers used (p/d-3He/4He) and (d/t-3He/4He) are in agreement below E*/A ~ 7 MeV when corrected for secondary decay. Comparison of these caloric curves to those from other experiments shows some differences that may be attributable to instrumentation and analysis procedures. The caloric curves from this experiment are also compared with the predictions from the SMM multifragmentation model.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2001

Event-by-Event Analysis of Proton-Induced Nuclear Multifragmentation: Determination of Phase Transition Universality-Class in System with Extreme Finite-Size Constraints

A percolation model of nuclear fragmentation is used to interpret 10.2 GeV/c p+197Au multi-fragmentation data. Emphasis is put on finding signatures of a continuous nuclear matter phase transition in finite nuclear systems. Based on model calculations, corrections accounting for physical constraints of the fragment detection and sequential decay processes are derived. Strong circumstantial evidence for a continuous phase transition is found, and the values of two critical exponents, sigma = 0.5+-0.1 and tau = 2.35+-0.05, are extracted from the data. A critical temperature of T_c = 8.3+-0.2 MeV is found.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2001

Origins of Intermediate Velocity Particle Production in Heavy Ion Reactions

Investigation of intermediate-velocity particle production is performed on entrance channel mass asymmetric collisions of 58Ni+C and 58Ni+Au at 34.5 MeV/nucleon. Distinctions between prompt pre-equilibrium ejections, multiple neck ruptures and an alternative phenomenon of delayed aligned asymmetric breakup is achieved using source reconstructed correlation observables and time-based cluster recognition in molecular dynamics simulations.

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