Nuclear physics at the SCRIT electron scattering facility
Nuclear physics at the SCRIT electron scattering facility Toshimi Suda1,∗, Tatsuya Adachi1, Tatsuya Amagai1, Akitomo Enokizono2, Masahiro Hara3, Toshitada Hori3, Shin’ichi Ichikawa3, Kazuyoshi Kurita2, Takaya Miyamoto1, Ryo Ogawara2, Tetsuya Ohnishi3, Yuuto Shimakura2, Tadaaki Tamae1, Mamoru Togasaki2, Masanori Wakasugi3, Shuo Wang1, and Kayoko Yanagi1 1Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University, 1-2-1 Mikamine, Sendai 982-0826 2Department of Physics, Rikkyo University, Nishiikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo 171-8501 3Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 ∗E-mail: suda@lns.tohoku.ac.jp

title: Simulation of photoelectric X-ray polarimetry and reconstruction of the photoelectron azimuthal angle
abstract: Sensitive X-ray polarimetry in the keV energy range can be achieved by measuring the azimuthal angle distribution of emitted electrons after the photoelectric absorption of X-rays in a micropattern gas detector. However, the initial direction of the electron is not readily measurable due to the randomization of its motion during energy loss. By using the Geant4, Maxwell and Garfield packages, we simulated the detected electron tracks following photoelectric absorption, electron drift and diffusion in the gas, and proposed a technique capable of reconstructing the initial direction of the emitted photoelectron. The technique allows us to measure the angular modulation of flux predicted for a polarized X-ray beam. We calculated the modulation factors in 2–10 keV with a gas mixture of neon and CO2, and discussed how electron diffusion along the drift will dilute the track and suppress the modulation. These results are useful for the design of the X-ray polarimeter.

title: Response of the Photospheric Magnetic Field to the X2.2 Flare on 2011 February 15
abstract: It is well known that the long-term evolution of the photospheric magnetic field plays an important role in building up free energy to power solar eruptions. Observations, despite being controversial, have also revealed a rapid and permanent variation of the photospheric magnetic field in response to the coronal magnetic field restructuring during the eruption. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument (HMI) on board the newly launched Solar Dynamics Observatory produces seeing-free full-disk vector magnetograms at consistently high resolution and high cadence, which finally makes possible an unambiguous and comprehensive study of this important back-reaction process. In this study, we present a near disk-center, GOES-class X2.2 flare, which occurred in NOAA AR 11158 on 2011 February 15. Using the magnetic field measurements made by HMI, we obtained the first solid evidence of a rapid (in about 30 minutes) and irreversible enhancement in the horizontal magnetic field at the flaring magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL) by a magnitude of {approx}30%. It is also shown that the photospheric field becomes more sheared and more inclined. This field evolution is unequivocally associated with the flare occurrence in this sigmoidal active region, with the enhancement area located in between the two chromospheric flare ribbons andmore » the initial conjugate hard X-ray footpoints. These results strongly corroborate our previous conjecture that the photospheric magnetic field near the PIL must become more horizontal after eruptions, which could be related to the newly formed low-lying fields resulting from the tether-cutting reconnection.« less

title: SIGMOID-TO-FLUX-ROPE TRANSITION LEADING TO A LOOP-LIKE CORONAL MASS EJECTION
abstract: Sigmoids are one of the most important precursor structures for solar eruptions. In this Letter, we study a sigmoid eruption on 2010 August 1 with EUV data obtained by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO). In AIA 94 A (Fe XVIII; 6 MK), topological reconfiguration due to tether-cutting reconnection is unambiguously observed for the first time, i.e., two opposite J-shaped loops reconnect to form a continuous S-shaped loop, whose central portion is dipped and aligned along the magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL), and a compact loop crossing the PIL. A causal relationship between photospheric flows and coronal tether-cutting reconnections is evidenced by the detection of persistent converging flows toward the PIL using line-of-sight magnetograms obtained by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board SDO. The S-shaped loop remains in quasi-equilibrium in the lower corona for about 50 minutes, with the central dipped portion rising slowly at ~10 km s–1. The speed then increases to ~60 km s–1 about 10 minutes prior to the onset of a GOES-class C3.2 flare, as the S-shaped loop speeds up its transformation into an arch-shaped loop, which eventually leads to a loop-like coronal mass ejection. The AIA observations combined with Hα filtergrams as well as hard X-ray imaging and spectroscopy are consistent with most flare loops being formed by reconnection of the stretched legs of less-sheared J-shaped loops that envelopes the rising flux rope, in agreement with the standard tether-cutting scenario.

title: First Flare-related Rapid Change of Photospheric Magnetic Field Observed by Solar Dynamics Observatory
abstract: Photospheric magnetic field not only plays important roles in building up free energy and triggering solar eruptions, but also has been observed to change rapidly and permanently responding to the coronal magnetic field restructuring due to coronal transients. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument (HMI) on board the newly launched Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) produces seeing-free full-disk vector magnetograms at consistently high resolution and high cadence, which finally makes possible an unambiguous and comprehensive study of this important back-reaction process. In this study, we present a near disk-center, GOES-class X2.2 flare occurred at NOAA AR 11158 on 2011 February 15 using the magnetic field measurements made by HMI. We obtained the first solid evidence of an enhancement in the transverse magnetic field at the flaring magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL) by a magnitude of 70%. This rapid and irreversible field evolution is unequivocally associated with the flare occurrence, with the enhancement area located in between the two chromospheric flare ribbons. Similar findings have been made for another two major flare events observed by SDO. These results strongly corroborate our previous suggestion that the photospheric magnetic field near the PIL must become more horizontal after eruptions. 
In-depth studies will follow to further link the photospheric magnetic field changes with the dynamics of coronal mass ejections, when full Stokes inversion is carried out to generate accurate magnetic field vectors.

title: A STANDARD-TO-BLOWOUT JET
abstract: The commonly observed jets provide critical information on the small-scale energy release in the solar atmosphere. We report a near disk-center jet on 2010 July 20, observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. In this event, the standard interchange magnetic reconnection between an emerging flux spanning 9 × 103 km and ambient open fields is followed by a blowout-like eruption. In the standard stage, as the emerging negative element approached the nearby positive network fields, a jet with a dome-like base in EUV grew for 30 minutes before the jet spire began to migrate laterally with enhanced flux emergence. In the blowout stage, the above converging fields collided and the subsequent cancellation produced a UV microflare lasting seven minutes, in which the dome of the jet seemed to be blown out as (1) the spire swung faster and exhibited an unwinding motion before vanishing, (2) a rising loop and a blob erupted leaving behind cusped structures, with the blob spiraling outward in acceleration after the flare maximum, and (3) ejecting material with a curtain-like structure at chromospheric to transition-region temperatures also underwent a transverse motion. It is thus suggested that the flare reconnection rapidly removes the outer fields of the emerging flux to allow its twisted core field to erupt, a scenario favoring the jet-scale magnetic breakout model as recently advocated by Moore et al. in 2010.

title: Experimental studies on the photoelectron instability in the Beijing Electron Positron Collider
abstract: A vertical coupled-bunch instability was observed for a positron beam at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC). The experimental results show that the instability has similar characteristics as that observed in the Photon Factory of KEK several years ago. The instability at BEPC can be explained by the effect of an electron cloud which is produced in the beam chamber by synchrotron light hitting the wall.

title: Search for the Rare Radiative Decay: $W\rightarrow\pi\gamma$ in $p\bar{p}$ Collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 1.96$ TeV
abstract: We present a search for the rare radiative decay \wpigamma\ using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.3 \invfb\ of proton-antiproton collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV collected by the CDF experiment at Fermilab. As no statistically significant signal is observed, we set a 95% confidence level upper limit on the relative branching fraction \bratio\ at $6.4\times 10^{-5}$, a factor of 10 improvement over the previous limit.

title: The BES detector
abstract: The Beijing Spectrometer (BES) is a general purpose solenoidal detector at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC). It is designed to study exclusive final states in e + e − annihilations at the center of mass energy from 3.0 to 5.6 GeV. This requires large solid angle coverage combined with good charged particle momentum resolution, good particle identification and high photon detection efficiency at low energies. In this paper we describe the construction and the performance of BES detector.

title: Search for Radiative B-Hadron Decays in $p\bar{p}$ Collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 1.8 TeV
abstract: We have performed a search for radiative b-hadron decays using events produced in p (p) over bar collisions at roots=1.8 TeV and collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The decays we considered were (B) over bar (0)(d)→(K) over bar*(0)(→K(-)pi(+))gamma, (B) over bar (0)(s)→phi(→K+K-)gamma, Lambda(b)(0)→Lambda(→ppi(-))gamma, and their charge conjugates. Two independent methods to identify photons from such decays were employed. In the first method, the photon was detected in the electromagnetic calorimeter. In the second method, the photon was identified by an electron-positron pair produced through the external photon conversion before the tracking detector volume. By combining the two methods we obtain upper limits on the branching fractions for the (B) over bar (0)(d), (B) over bar (0)(s), and Lambda(b)(0) radiative decays which, at the 95% confidence level, are found to be B((B) over bar (0)(d)→(K) over bar*(0)gamma) lt 1.4x10(-4), B((B) over bar (0)(s)→phigamma) lt 1.6x10(-4), and B(Λ(0)(b)→Lambdagamma) lt 1.9x10(-3).

title: Predicting the Configuration of a Planetary System: KOI-152 Observed by Kepler
abstract: The recent Kepler discovery of KOI-152 reveals a system of three hot super-Earth candidates that are in or near a 4:2:1 mean motion resonance. It is unlikely that they formed in situ; the planets probably underwent orbital migration during the formation and evolution process. The small semimajor axes of the three planets suggest that migration stopped at the inner edge of the primordial gas disk. In this paper, we focus on the influence of migration halting mechanisms, including migration "dead zones," and inner truncation by the stellar magnetic field. We show that the stellar accretion rate, stellar magnetic field, and the speed of migration in the protoplanetary disk are the main factors affecting the final configuration of KOI-152. Our simulations suggest that three planets may be around a star with low star accretion rate or with high magnetic field. On the other hand, slow type I migration, which decreases to one-tenth of the linear analysis results, favors forming the configuration of KOI-152. Under such a formation scenario, the planets in the system are not massive enough to open gaps in the gas disk. The upper limits of the planetary masses are estimated to be about 15, 19, and 24M(circle plus), respectively. Our results are also indicative of the near Laplacian configurations that are quite common in planetary systems.