arXiv subjects

M. Bashkanov

Publications and source records attributed to M. Bashkanov.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Decay properties of the $d^*(2380)$ hexaquark multiplet

The recently discovered $d^*(2380)$ hexaquark is expected to be the lightest member of an extended SU(3) antidecuplet of hexaquark states. The experimental search for the other heavier and strange partners of the $d^*(2380)$ in the antidecuplet is a challenging task. Evaluating the most appropriate methodologies necessitates some understanding of the underlying properties of the decuplet states such as mass, width and decay branches. In this paper we provide estimates of these key properties for all decuplet states, extrapolating from information and insights garnered for the $d^*(2380)$. The predictions form a basis for the design of future discovery experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Photon quantum entanglement in the MeV regime and its application in PET imaging

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a widely-used imaging modality for medical research and clinical diagnosis. Here we demonstrate, through detailed experiments and simulations, an exploration of the benefits of exploiting the quantum entanglement of linear polarisation between the two positron annihilation photons utilised in PET. A new simulation, which includes the predicted influence of quantum entanglement on the interaction of MeV-scale photons with matter, is validated by comparison with experimental data from a cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) PET demonstrator apparatus. In addition, a modified setup enabled the first experimental constraint on entanglement loss for photons in the MeV regime. Quantum-entangled PET offers new methodologies to address key challenges in next generation imaging. As an indication of the potential benefits, we present a simple method to quantify and remove in-patient scatter and random backgrounds using only the quantum entanglement information in the PET events.

physics.med-ph↗

arXiv2020

Probing the core of the strong nuclear interaction

The strong nuclear interaction between nucleons (protons and neutrons) is the effective force that holds the atomic nucleus together. This force stems from fundamental interactions between quarks and gluons (the constituents of nucleons) that are described by the equations of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). However, as these equations cannot be solved directly, physicists resort to describing nuclear interactions using effective models that are well constrained at typical inter-nucleon distances in nuclei but not at shorter distances. This limits our ability to describe high-density nuclear matter such as in the cores of neutron stars. Here we use high-energy electron scattering measurements that isolate nucleon pairs in short-distance, high-momentum configurations thereby accessing a kinematical regime that has not been previously explored by experiments, corresponding to relative momenta above 400 MeV/c. As the relative momentum between two nucleons increases and their separation thereby decreases, we observe a transition from a spin-dependent tensor-force to a predominantly spin-independent scalar-force. These results demonstrate the power of using such measurements to study the nuclear interaction at short-distances and also support the use of point-like nucleons with two- and three-body effective interactions to describe nuclear systems up to densities several times higher than the central density of atomic nuclei.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2020

Search for the $η$ mesic $^3$He in the $pd\rightarrow d p π^{0}$ reaction with the WASA-at-COSY facility

The excitation function for the $pd\rightarrow$ $d p π^{0}$ reaction has been measured by WASA-at-COSY experiment with the aim of searching for $^{3}\hspace{-0.03cm}\mbox{He}$-$η$ mesic nuclei. The measurement in the vicinity of $η$ meson production was performed using a ramped proton beam. The data analysis and interpretation was carried out with the assumption that the $η$-mesic Helium decays via the formation of an intermediate N$^{*}$(1535) resonance. No direct signal of the $η$-mesic nucleus is observed in the excitation function. We determine a new improved upper limit for the total cross section for the bound state production and decay in the $pd\rightarrow$ $(^{3}\hspace{-0.03cm}\mbox{He}$-$η)_{bound} \rightarrow$ $d p π^{0}$ process. It varies between 13 nb to 24 nb for the bound state with width in the range $Γ\in (5,50)$ MeV.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2020

Spin polarizabilities of the proton by measurement of Compton double-polarization observables

The Compton double-polarization observable $Σ_{2z}$ has been measured for the first time in the $Δ(1232)$ resonance region using a circularly polarized photon beam incident on a longitudinally polarized target at the Mainz Microtron. This paper reports these results, together with the model-dependent extraction of four proton spin polarizabilities from fits to additional asymmetry data using dispersion relation and chiral perturbation theory calculations, with the former resulting in: $γ_{E1E1} = -3.18 \pm 0.52$, $γ_{M1M1} = 2.98 \pm 0.43$, $γ_{E1M2} = -0.44 \pm 0.67$ and $γ_{M1E2} = 1.58 \pm 0.43$, in units of $10^{-4}~\mathrm{fm}^{4}$.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2020

Helicity-dependent cross sections for the photoproduction of $π^0$ pairs from nucleons

The double-polarization observable $E$ and helicity-dependent cross sections $σ_{1/2}$, $σ_{3/2}$ have been measured for the photoproduction of $π^0$ pairs off quasi-free protons and neutrons at the Mainz MAMI accelerator with the Crystal Ball/TAPS setup. A circularly polarized photon beam was produced by bremsstrahlung from longitudinally polarized electrons and impinged on a longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target. The reaction products were detected with an almost $4π$ covering calorimeter. The results reveal for the first time the helicity- and isospin-dependent structure of the $γN\rightarrow Nπ^0π^0$ reaction. They are compared to predictions from reaction models in view of nucleon resonance contributions and also to a refit of one model that predicted results for the proton and for the neutron target. The comparison of the prediction and the refit demonstrate the large impact of the new data.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2020

Isoscalar Single-Pion Production in the Region of Roper and $d^*(2380)$ Resonances

Exclusive measurements of the quasi-free $pn \to ppπ^-$ and $pp \to ppπ^0$ reactions have been performed by means of $pd$ collisions at $T_p$ = 1.2 GeV using the WASA detector setup at COSY. Total and differential cross sections have been obtained covering the energy region $T_p = 0.95 - 1.3$ GeV ($\sqrt s$ = 2.3 - 2.46 GeV), which includes the regions of $Δ(1232)$, $N^*(1440)$ and $d^*(2380)$ resonance excitations. From these measurements the isoscalar single-pion production has been extracted, for which data existed so far only below $T_p$ = 1 GeV. We observe a substantial increase of this cross section above 1 GeV, which can be related to the Roper resonance $N^*(1440)$, the strength of which shows up isolated from the $Δ$ resonance in the isoscalar $(Nπ)_{I=0}$ invariant-mass spectrum. No evidence for a decay of the dibaryon resonance $d^*(2380)$ into the isoscalar $(NNπ)_{I=0}$ channel is found. An upper limit of 90 $μ$b (90 $\%$ C.L.) corresponding to a branching ratio of 5 $\%$ has been deduced.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2020

Differential Cross Sections for Neutron-Proton Scattering in the Region of the $d^*(2380)$ Dibaryon Resonance

Differential cross sections have been extracted from exclusive and kinematically complete high-statistics measurements of quasifree polarized $\vec{n}p$ scattering performed in the energy region of the $d^*(2380)$ dibaryon resonance covering the the range of beam energies $T_n$ = 0.98 - 1.29 GeV ($\sqrt s$ = 2.32 - 2.44 GeV). The experiment was carried out with the WASA-at-COSY setup having a polarized deuteron beam impinged on the hydrogen pellet target and utilizing the quasifree process $dp \to np + p_{spectator}$. That way the $np$ differential cross section $σ(Θ)$ was measured over a large angular range. The obtained angular distributions complement the corresponding analyzing power $A_y(Θ)$ measurements published previously. A SAID partial-wave analysis incorporating the new data strengthens the finding of a resonance pole in the coupled $^3D_3 - ^3G_3$ waves.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Neutron star matter equation of state including $d^*$-hexaquark degrees of freedom

We present an extension of a previous work where, assuming a simple free bosonic gas supplemented with a relativistic meand field model to describe the pure nucleonic part of the EoS, we studied the consequences that the first non-trivial hexaquark $d^*$(2380) could have on the properties of neutron stars. Compared to that exploratory work we employ a standard non-linear Walecka model including additional terms that describe the interaction of the $d^*(2380)$ di-baryon with the other particles of the system through the exchange of $σ$- and $ω$-meson fields. Our results have show that the presence of the $d^*(2380)$ leads to maximum masses compatible with the recent observations of $\sim 2$M$_\odot$ millisecond pulsars if the interaction of the $d^*(2380)$ is slightly repulsive or the $d^*(2380)$ does not interacts at all. An attractive interaction makes the equation of state too soft to be able to support a $2$M$_\odot$ neutron star whereas an extremely repulsive one induces the collapse of the neutron star into a black hole as soon as the $d^*(2380)$ appears.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2020

Measurement of the beam-helicity asymmetry in photoproduction of $π^{0}η$ pairs on carbon, aluminum, and lead

The beam-helicity asymmetry was measured, for the first time, in photoproduction of $π^{0}η$ pairs on carbon, aluminum, and lead, with the A2 experimental setup at MAMI. The results are compared to an earlier measurement on a free proton and to the corresponding theoretical calculations. The Mainz model is used to predict the beam-helicity asymmetry for the nuclear targets. The present results indicate that the photoproduction mechanism for $π^{0}η$ pairs on nuclei is similar to photoproduction on a free nucleon. This process is dominated by the $D_{33}$ partial wave with the $ηΔ(1232)$ intermediate state.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2020

A new possibility for light-quark Dark Matter

Despite many decades of study the physical origin of "dark matter" in the Universe remains elusive. In this letter we calculate the properties of a completely new dark matter candidate - Bose-Einstein condensates formed from a recently discovered bosonic particle in the light-quark sector, the $\mathbf{ d^*(2380)}$ hexaquark. In this first study, we show stable $\mathbf{ d^*(2380)}$ Bose-Einstein condensates could form in the primordial early universe, with a production rate sufficiently large that they are a plausible new candidate for dark matter. Some possible astronomical signatures of such dark matter are also presented.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Search for eta mesic 3He with the WASA-at-COSY facility in the pd-> 3He 2gamma and pd-> 3He 6gamma reactions

We report on the experimental search for the bound state of an $η$ meson and $^{3}\hspace{-0.03cm}\mbox{He}$ nucleus performed using the WASA-at-COSY detector setup. In order to search for the $η$-mesic nucleus decay, the $pd\rightarrow$ $^{3}\hspace{-0.03cm}\mbox{He} 2γ$ and $pd\rightarrow$ $^{3}\hspace{-0.03cm}\mbox{He} 6γ$ channels have been analysed. These reactions manifest the direct decay of $η$ meson bound in $^{3}\hspace{-0.03cm}\mbox{He}$ nucleus. This non-mesonic decay channel has been considered for the first time. When taking into account only statistical errors, the obtained excitation functions reveal a slight indication for a possible bound state signal corresponding to an $^3$He-$η$ nucleus width $Γ$ above 20 MeV and binding energy $B_s$ between 0 and 15 MeV. However, the determined cross sections are consistent with zero in the range of the systematic uncertainty. Therefore, as final result we estimate only the upper limit for the cross section of the $η$-mesic $^{3}\hspace{-0.03cm}\mbox{He}$ nucleus formation followed by the $η$ meson decay which varies between $2$ nb and $15$ nb depending on possible bound state parameters.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Signatures of the $d^*(2380)$ hexaquark in d($γ$,$p\vec{n}$)

We report a measurement of the spin polarisation of the recoiling neutron in deuterium photodisintegration, utilising a new large acceptance polarimeter within the Crystal Ball at MAMI. The measured photon energy range of 300~--~700~MeV provides the first measurement of recoil neutron polarisation at photon energies where the quark substructure of the deuteron plays a role, thereby providing important new constraints on photodisintegration mechanisms. A very high neutron polarisation in a narrow structure centred around $E_γ\sim$~570~MeV is observed, which is inconsistent with current theoretical predictions employing nucleon resonance degrees of freedom. A Legendre polynomial decomposition suggests this behaviour could be related to the excitation of the $d^*(2380)$ hexaquark.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Study of Three-Nucleon Dynamics in the dp breakup collisions using the WASA detector

Differential cross section for the 1H(d,pp)n breakup reaction at deuteron beam energy of 340 MeV has been measured with the use of WASA detector at COSY-Juelich. The set of proton-proton coincidences registered at Forward Detector has been analysed on dense grid of kinematic variables, giving in total around 5600 data points. The cross section data are compared to theoretical predictions based on the state-of-the-art nucleon-nucleon potentials, combined with three-nucleon force, Coulomb interaction or carried out in a relativistic regime.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump eXperiment (BDX) at Jefferson Lab -- 2018 update to PR12-16-001

This document complements and completes what was submitted last year to PAC45 as an update to the proposal PR12-16-001 "Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump eXperiment (BDX)" at Jefferson Lab submitted to JLab-PAC44 in 2016. Following the suggestions contained in the PAC45 report, in coordination with the lab, we ran a test to assess the beam-related backgrounds and validate the simulation framework used to design the BDX experiment. Using a common Monte Carlo framework for the test and the proposed experiment, we optimized the selection cuts to maximize the reach considering simultaneously the signal, cosmic-ray background (assessed in Catania test with BDX-Proto) and beam-related backgrounds (irreducible NC and CC neutrino interactions as determined by simulation). Our results confirmed what was presented in the original proposal: with 285 days of a parasitic run at 65 $μ$A (corresponding to $10^{22}$ EOT) the BDX experiment will lower the exclusion limits in the case of no signal by one to two orders of magnitude in the parameter space of dark-matter coupling versus mass.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Cross Section for $γn \to π^0 n$ measured at Mainz/A2

The $γn \to π^0 n$ differential cross section evaluated for 27 energy bins span the photon-energy range 290-813 MeV (W = 1.195-1.553 GeV) and the pion c.m. polar production angles, ranging from 18 deg to 162 deg, making use of model-dependent nuclear corrections to extract pi0 production data on the neutron from measurements on the deuteron target. Additionally, the total photoabsorption cross section was measured. The tagged photon beam produced by the 883-MeV electron beam of the Mainz Microtron MAMI was used for the 0-meson production. Our accumulation of 3.6 x 10^6 $γn \to π^0 n$ events allowed a detailed study of the reaction dynamics. Our data are in reasonable agreement with previous A2 measurements and extend them to lower energies. The data are compared to predictions of previous SAID, MAID, and BnGa partial-wave analyses and to the latest SAID fit MA19 that included our data. Selected photon decay amplitudes $N^* \to γn$ at the resonance poles are determined for the first time.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Electromagnetic properties of the $d^*(2380)$ hexaquark

Experiments with intense photon and electron beams have the potential to provide access to nontrivial properties of the recently discovered $d^*(2380)$ hexaquark including its size, structure, magnetic moment, quadrupole and octupole deformations. In this paper we investigate the sensitivity of ongoing and planned experiments to various properties of the $d^*(2380)$, employing models based on both constituent quark and pion cloud frameworks. Our calculations indicate that for photoinduced reactions on the deuteron the $d^*(2380)$ is predominantly produced from the $D-wave$ component of the deuteron. We confirm earlier findings that the intrinsic quadrupole deformation of the $d^*(2380)$ should be small. We also demonstrate an ability to extract the $d^*(2380)$ magnetic moment and put constrains on the $d^*(2380)$ $M3/E2$ ratio.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2018

Deuteron photodisintegration by polarized photons in the region of the $d^*(2380)$

We report the first large-acceptance measurement of the beam-spin asymmetry for deuteron photodisintegration ($\vecγ d\to pn$) in the photon energy range $400<E_γ<630$~MeV. The measurement provides important new constraints on the mechanisms of photodisintegration above the delta resonance and on the photocoupling of the recently discovered $d^*(2380)$ hexaquark.

nucl-ex↗