H. Ejiri

Evidence for a narrow S = +1 baryon resonance in photoproduction from the neutron

The gamman-->K(+)K(-)n reaction on 12C has been studied by measuring both K+ and K- at forward angles. A sharp baryon resonance peak was observed at 1.54+/-0.01 GeV/c(2) with a width smaller than 25 MeV/c(2) and a Gaussian significance of 4.6sigma. The strangeness quantum number (S) of the baryon resonance is +1. It can be interpreted as a molecular meson-baryon resonance or alternatively as an exotic five-quark state (uuddsmacr;) that decays into a K+ and a neutron. The resonance is consistent with the lowest member of an antidecuplet of baryons predicted by the chiral soliton model.

Theory of neutrinoless double-beta decay

Neutrinoless double-beta decay, which is a very old and yet elusive process, is reviewed. Its observation will signal that the lepton number is not conserved and that the neutrinos are Majorana particles. More importantly it is our best hope for determining the absolute neutrino-mass scale at the level of a few tens of meV. To achieve the last goal certain hurdles must be overcome involving particle, nuclear and experimental physics. Nuclear physics is important for extracting useful information from the data. One must accurately evaluate the relevant nuclear matrix elements--a formidable task. To this end, we review the sophisticated nuclear structure approaches which have recently been developed, and which give confidence that the required nuclear matrix elements can be reliably calculated employing different methods: (a) the various versions of the quasiparticle random phase approximations, (b) the interacting boson model, (c) the energy density functional method and (d) the large basis interacting shell model. It is encouraging that, for the light neutrino-mass term at least, these vastly different approaches now give comparable results. From an experimental point of view it is challenging, since the life times are long and one has to fight against formidable backgrounds. One needs large isotopically enriched sources and detectors with high-energy resolution, low thresholds and very low background. If a signal is found, it will be a tremendous accomplishment. The real task then, of course, will be the extraction of the neutrino mass from the observations. This is not trivial, since current particle models predict the presence of many mechanisms other than the neutrino mass, which may contribute to or even dominate this process. In particular, we will consider the following processes: The neutrino induced, but neutrino-mass independent contribution. Heavy left and/or right-handed neutrino-mass contributions. Intermediate scalars (doubly charged, etc). Supersymmetric (SUSY) contributions. We will show that it is possible to disentangle the various mechanisms and unambiguously extract the important neutrino-mass scale, if all the signatures of the reaction are searched for in a sufficient number of nuclear isotopes.

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay Experiment

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR will search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of the isotope Ge with a mixed array of enriched and natural germanium detectors. The observation of this rare decay would indicate that the neutrino is its own antiparticle, demonstrate that lepton number is not conserved, and provide information on the absolute mass scale of the neutrino. The DEMONSTRATOR is being assembled at the 4850-foot level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. The array will be situated in a low-background environment and surrounded by passive and active shielding. Here we describe the science goals of the DEMONSTRATOR and the details of its design.

Beam polarization asymmetries for the p(gamma, K+) Lambda and p(gamma, K+) Sigma0 reactions at E(gamma) = 1.5 Gev - 2.4 GeV

Beam polarization asymmetries for the p(gamma-->,K+)Lambda and p(gamma-->,K+)Sigma(0) reactions are measured for the first time for E(gamma)=1.5-2.4 GeV and 0.6<cos((theta(c.m.)(K+))<1.0 by using linearly polarized photons at the Laser-Electron-Photon facility at SPring-8 (LEPS). The observed asymmetries are positive and gradually increase with rising photon energy. The data are not consistent with theoretical predictions based on tree-level effective-Lagrangian approaches. Including the new results in the development of the models is, therefore, crucial for understanding the reaction mechanism and to test the presence of baryon resonances which are predicted in quark models but are thus far undiscovered.

Neutrinoless double beta decay and neutrino mass

The observation of neutrinoless double beta decay (DBD) will have important consequences. First it will signal that lepton number is not conserved and the neutrinos are Majorana particles. Second, it represents our best hope for determining the absolute neutrino mass scale at the level of a few tens of meV. To achieve the last goal, however, certain hurdles have to be overcome involving particle, nuclear and experimental physics. Particle physics is important since it provides the mechanisms for neutrinoless DBD. In this review, we emphasize the light neutrino mass mechanism. Nuclear physics is important for extracting the useful information from the data. One must accurately evaluate the relevant nuclear matrix elements (NMEs), a formidable task. To this end, we review the recently developed sophisticated nuclear structure approaches, employing different methods and techniques of calculation. We also examine the question of quenching of the axial vector coupling constant, which may have important consequences on the size of the NMEs. From an experimental point of view it is challenging, since the life times are extremely long and one has to fight against formidable backgrounds. One needs large isotopically enriched sources and detectors with good energy resolution and very low background.

The γ→p→K+Λ and γ→p→K+Σ0 reactions at forward angles with photon energies from 1.5 to 2.4 GeV

Differential cross sections and photon beam asymmetries for the gamma p rightarrow K+ Lambda and gamma p rightarrow K+ Sigma0 reactions have been measured in the photon energy range from 1.5 GeV to 2.4 GeV and in the angular range from Theta_{cm} = 0 to 60 of the K+ scattering angle in the center of mass system at the SPring-8/LEPS facility. The photon beam asymmetries for both the reactions have been found to be positive and to increase with the photon energy. The measured differential cross sections agree with the data measured by the CLAS collaboration at cosTheta_{cm} 0.9. In the K+Lambda reaction, the resonance-like structure found in the CLAS and SAPHIR data at W=1.96 GeV is confirmed. The differential cross sections at forward angles suggest a strong K-exchange contribution in the t-channel for the K+Lambda reaction, but not for the K+Sigma0 reaction.

Near-Threshold Diffractive phi (variant)-Meson Photoproduction from the Proton

Photoproduction of a {phi} meson on protons was studied by means of linearly polarized photons at forward angles in the low-energy region from threshold to E{sub {gamma}}=2.37 GeV. The differential cross sections at t=- vertical bar t vertical bar{sub min} do not increase smoothly as E{sub {gamma}} increases but show a local maximum at around 2.0 GeV. The angular distributions demonstrate that {phi} mesons are photoproduced predominantly by helicity-conserving processes, and the local maximum is not likely due to unnatural-parity processes.

The high sensitivity beta-gamma spectrometer ELEGANTS V for rare β(e) and ββ(ee) decays

Abstract The high sensitivity β-γ spectrometer ELEGANTS V (ELEctron GAmma-ray NeuTrino Spectrometer V) has been developed primarily for studying rare double-beta decays. It is a low background high sensitivity detector for low energy beta (β), electron (e) and gamma (γ) decays. ELEGANTS V is shown to be useful for the study of ultrarare nuclear β(e), ββ(ee), β(e)γ and ββ(ee)γ decays with decay rates of the order of T ∼ 10 −27–30 s −1 (t 1 2 ∼ 10 20–23 yr ) .

Polarization and weak decays of Λ hypernuclei produced by the (π+, K+) reaction on 12C

Abstract Non-mesonic weak-decay protons (NM-p) and mesonic weak-decay pions (M-π) from Λ produced by the (π+, K+) reaction on 12C have been measured. NM-p from the 11 Λ B ( 5 2 + ) produced through the proton-unbound states in 12ΛC and NM-p and M-π associated with the quasi-bound region (Ex ≈ 20 MeV) in 12ΛC show finite asymmetries of A1 = − 0.20 to − 0.35 with respect to the reaction plane. These results indicate finite polarizations of the relevant Λ-hypernuclei and asymmetric NM weak decays.

The MAJORANA demonstrator: A search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of germanium-76

The observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay would determine whether the neutrino is a Majorana particle and provide information on the absolute scale of neutrino mass. The MAJORANA Collaboration is constructing the DEMONSTRATOR, an array of germanium detectors, to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76-Ge. The DEMONSTRATOR will contain 40 kg of germanium; up to 30 kg will be enriched to 86% in 76-Ge. The DEMONSTRATOR will be deployed deep underground in an ultra-low-background shielded environment. Operation of the DEMONSTRATOR aims to determine whether a future tonne-scale germanium experiment can achieve a background goal of one count per tonne-year in a 4-keV region of interest around the 76-Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay Q-value of 2039 keV.