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The capabilities of the new version of the Li\`ege Intra-Nuclear Cascade model (INCL++6) are presented in detail. This new version INCL is able to handle strange particles, such as kaons and the $\Lambda$ particle, and the associated reactions and also allows extending nucleon-nucleon collisions up to about $15-20$ GeV incident energy. Compared to the previous version, new observables can be studied, e.g., kaon, hyperon, and hypernuclei production cross sections (with the use of a suitable de-excitation code) as well as aspects of kaon-induced spallation reactions. The main purpose of this paper is to present the specific ingredients of the new INCL version and its new features, notably the new variance reduction scheme. We also compare for some illustrative strangeness production cases calculated using this version of INCL with experimental data.

The production of strange particles (kaons, hyperons) and hypernuclei in light charged particle induced reactions in the energy range of a few GeV (2-15 GeV) has become a topic of active research in several facilities (e.g., HypHI and PANDA at GSI and/or FAIR (Germany), JLab (USA), and JPARC (Japan)). This energy range represents the low-energy limit of the string models (degree of freedom: quark and gluon) or the high-energy limit of the so-called spallation models (degree of freedom: hadrons). A well known spallation model is INCL, the Li\`ege intranuclear cascade model (combined with a de-excitation model to complete the reaction). INCL, known to give good results up to 2-3 GeV, was recently upgraded by the implementation of multiple pion emission to extend the energy range of applicability up to roughly 15 GeV. The next step, to account also for strange particle production, both for refining the high energy domain and making it usable when strangeness appears, requires the following main ingredients: i) the relevant elementary cross sections (production, scattering, and absorption) and ii) the characteristics of the associated final states. Some of those ingredients are already known and, sometimes, are already used in models of the same type (e.g., Bertini, GiBUU), but this paper aims at reviewing the situation by compiling, updating, and comparing the necessary elementary information which are independent of the model used.

The intranuclear cascade model INCL (Li\`ege Intranuclear Cascade) is now able to simulate spallation reactions induced by projectiles with energies up to roughly 15 GeV. This was made possible thanks to the implementation of multipion emission in the NN, $\Delta$N and $\pi$N interactions. The results obtained with reactions on nuclei induced by nucleons or pions gave confidence in the model. A next step will be the addition of the strange particles, $\Lambda$, $\Sigma$ and Kaons, in order to not only refine the high-energy modeling, but also to extend the capabilities of INCL, as studying hypernucleus physics. Between those two versions of the code, the possibility to treat the $\eta$ and $\omega$ mesons in INCL has been performed and this is the topic of this paper. Production yields of these mesons increase with energy and it is interesting to test their roles at higher energies. More specifically, studies of $\eta$ rare decays benefit from accurate simulations of its production. These are the two reasons for their implementation. Ingredients of the model, like elementary reaction cross sections, are discussed and comparisons with experimental data are carried out to test the reliability of those particle productions., Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, submitted to EPJ Plus

The resistive switching (RS) properties as a function of temperature were studied for Ag/La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$CoO$_3$ (LSCO) interfaces. The LSCO is a fully-relaxed 100 nm film grown by metal organic deposition on a LaAlO$_3$ substrate. Both low and a high resistance states were set at room temperature and the temperature dependence of their current-voltage (IV) characteristics was mea- sured taking care to avoid a significant change of the resistance state. The obtained non-trivial IV curves of each state were well reproduced by a circuit model which includes a Poole-Frenkel element and two ohmic resistances. A microscopic description of the changes produced by the RS is given, which enables to envision a picture of the interface as an area where conductive and insulating phases are mixed, producing Maxwell-Wagner contributions to the dielectric properties., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, to be published in APL. Corresponding author: C. Acha (acha@df.uba.ar)

We use particle-transport simulations to show that secondary pions play a crucial role for the development of the hadronic cascade and therefore for the production of neutrons and photons from thick spallation targets. In particular, for the n_TOF lead spallation target, irradiated with 20 GeV/c protons, neutral pions are involved in the production of ~90% of the high-energy photons; charged pions participate in ~40% of the integral neutron yield. Nevertheless, photon and neutron yields are shown to be relatively insensitive to large changes of the average pion multiplicity in the individual spallation reactions. We characterize this robustness as a peculiar property of hadronic cascades in thick targets., Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures. Submitted to Eur. Phys. J. A

Due to potential level of energy intensity 178m2Hf is an extremely interesting isomer. One possible way to produce this isomer is irradiation of nat-Ta or nat-W samples with high energy protons. Irradiation of nat-Ta and nat-W samples performed for other purposes provides an opportunity to study the corresponding reactions. This paper pre-sents the 178m2Hf independent production cross sections for both targets measured by the gamma-ray spectrometry method. The reaction excitation functions have been obtained for the proton energies from 40 up to 2600 MeV. The experimental results were compared with calculations by various versions of the intranuclear cascade model in the well-known codes: ISABEL, Bertini, INCL4.5+ABLA07, PHITS, CASCADE07 and CEM03.02. The isomer ratio for the nat-Ta(p,x)178m2Hf reaction is evaluated on the basis of the available data., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, submitted to Phys. Rev. C

It is a well-established fact that intranuclear-cascade models generally fail to consistently reproduce the cross sections for one-proton and one-neutron removal from stable nuclei by a high-energy proton beam. We use simple shell-model calculations to investigate the reasons of this deficiency. We find that a refined description of the neutron skin and of the energy density in the nuclear surface is crucial for the aforementioned observables, and that neither ingredient is sufficient if taken separately. As a by-product, the predictions for removal of several nucleons are also improved by the refined treatment., Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we present the extension of the Li\`ege Intranuclear Cascade model to reactions induced by light ions. Second, we describe the C++ version of the code, which it is physics-wise equivalent to the legacy version, is available in Geant4 and will serve as the basis for all future development of the model. We describe the ideas upon which we built our treatment of nucleus-nucleus reactions and we compare the model predictions against a vast set of heterogeneous experimental data. In spite of the discussed limitations of the intranuclear-cascade scheme, we find that our model yields valid predictions for a number of observables and positions itself as one of the most attractive alternatives available to Geant4 users for the simulation of light-ion-induced reactions., Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. C

It is well known that intranuclear-cascade models generally overestimate the cross sections for one-proton removal from heavy, stable nuclei by a high-energy proton beam, but they yield reasonable predictions for one-neutron removal from the same nuclei and for one-nucleon removal from light targets. We use simple shell-model calculations to investigate the reasons of this deficiency. We find that a correct description of the neutron skin and of the energy density in the nuclear surface is crucial for the aforementioned observables. Neither ingredient is sufficient if taken separately., Comment: Presented at the 11th International Spring Seminar on Nuclear Physics. To be published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Double-negation translations are used to encode and decode classical proofs in intuitionistic logic. We show that, in the cut-free fragment, we can simplify the translations and introduce fewer negations. To achieve this, we consider the polarization of the formul{\ae}{} and adapt those translation to the different connectives and quantifiers. We show that the embedding results still hold, using a customized version of the focused classical sequent calculus. We also prove the latter equivalent to more usual versions of the sequent calculus. This polarization process allows lighter embeddings, and sheds some light on the relationship between intuitionistic and classical connectives.

The nucleosynthesis of elements beyond iron is dominated by neutron captures in the s and r processes. However, 32 stable, proton-rich isotopes cannot be formed during those processes, because they are shielded from the s-process flow and r-process beta-decay chains. These nuclei are attributed to the p and rp process. For all those processes, current research in nuclear astrophysics addresses the need for more precise reaction data involving radioactive isotopes. Depending on the particular reaction, direct or inverse kinematics, forward or time-reversed direction are investigated to determine or at least to constrain the desired reaction cross sections. The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) will offer unique, unprecedented opportunities to investigate many of the important reactions. The high yield of radioactive isotopes, even far away from the valley of stability, allows the investigation of isotopes involved in processes as exotic as the r or rp processes., Comment: Invited Talk given at the Conference Nuclear Physice in Astrophysics VI (NPA6), Lisbon, Portugal, May 19-24 2013. To appear in the NPA6 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)

178m2-Hf is an extremely interesting isomeric state due to its potential energy capacity level. One possible way to obtain it is by irradiation of a nat-Ta sample with a high-current proton accelerator. Up to now, there was no information in the international experimental nuclear data base (EXFOR) for this reaction. Irradiations of nat-Ta samples performed for other purposes provide an opportunity to address this question. This paper presents the 172m2-Hf independent production cross-sections determined by gamma-ray spectrometry. The nat-Ta(p,x)172m2-Hf excitation function is studied in the 20-3500 MeV energy range. Comparisons with results by several nuclear models (ISABEL, Bertini, INCL4.5+ABLA07, PHITS, CASCADE07, and CEM03.02) used as event-generators in modern transport codes are also reported. However, since such models are generally not able to separately predict ground and isomeric states of reaction products, only 178-Hf independent and cumulative cross-section data are compared., Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, Proc. 11th Int. Topical Meeting on Nucl. Appl. of Accelerators (AccApp2013), August 5-8, Bruges, Belgium

The new version (INCL4.6) of the Li`ege intranuclear cascade (INC) model for the description of spallation reactions is presented in detail. Compared to the standard version (INCL4.2), it incorporates several new features, the most important of which are: (i) the inclusion of cluster production through a dynamical phase space coalescence model, (ii) the Coulomb deflection for entering and outgoing charged particles, (iii) the improvement of the treatment of Pauli blocking and of soft collisions, (iv) the introduction of experimental threshold values for the emission of particles, (v) the improvement of pion dynamics, (vi) a detailed procedure for the treatment of light-cluster induced reactions taking care of the effects of binding energy of the nucleons inside the incident cluster and of the possible fusion reaction at low energy. Performances of the new model concerning nucleon-induced reactions are illustrated. Whenever necessary, the INCL4.6 model is coupled to the ABLA07 deexcitation model and the respective merits of the two models are then tentatively disentangled. Good agreement is generally obtained in the 200 MeV-2 GeV range. Below 200 MeV and down to a few tens of MeV, the total reaction cross section is well reproduced and differential cross sections are reasonably well described. The model is also tested for light-ion induced reactions at low energy, below 100 MeV incident energy per nucleon. Beyond presenting the update of the INCL4.2 model, attention has been paid to applications of the new model to three topics for which some particular aspects are discussed for the first time: production of clusters heavier than alpha particles, longitudinal residue recoil velocity and its fluctuations, total reaction cross section and the residue production cross sections for low energy incident light ions., Comment: 29 pages, 26 figures

Total cross sections for proton- and deuteron-induced-fission of 208Pb and 238U have been determined in the energy range between 500 MeV and 1 GeV. The experiment has been performed in inverse kinematics at GSI Darmstadt, facilitating the counting of the projectiles and the identification of the reaction products. High precision between 5 and 7 percent has been achieved by individually counting the beam particles and by registering both fission fragments in coincidence with high efficiency and full Z resolution. Fission was clearly distinguished from other reaction channels. The results were found to deviate by up to 30 percent from Prokofiev's systematics on total fission cross sections. There is good agreement with an elaborate experiment performed in direct kinematics., Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures

The performance of the LAND neutron detector is studied. Using an event-mixing technique based on one-neutron data obtained in the S107 experiment at the GSI laboratory, we test the efficiency of various analytic tools used to determine the multiplicity and kinematic properties of detected neutrons. A new algorithm developed recently for recognizing neutron showers from spectator decays in the ALADIN experiment S254 is described in detail. Its performance is assessed in comparison with other methods. The properties of the observed neutron events are used to estimate the detection efficiency of LAND in this experiment., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures

Total fission cross sections of 181-Ta induced by protons at different relativistic energies have been measured at GSI, Darmstadt. The inverse kinematics technique used together with a dedicated set-up, made it possible to determine these cross sections with high accuracy. The new data obtained in this experiment will contribute to the understanding of the fission process at high excitation energies. The results are compared with data from previous experiments and systematics for proton-induced fission cross sections.

We use the tools of hybrid intranuclear-cascade/nuclear-de-excitation models to evaluate the sensitivity of several physical observables to the inclusion of a multifragmentation stage in the de-excitation chain and assess the need for a multifragmentation model in the quantitative description of p+56Fe and p+136Xe reactions at 1-GeV incident energy. We seek clear signatures of multifragmentation by comparing different state-of-the-art de-excitation models coupled with intranuclear-cascade models and by focusing on discriminating observables such as correlations and fragment longitudinal-velocity distributions. None of the considered observables can be unambiguously interpreted as a multifragmentation footprint. The experimental data are best described as originating from sequential binary decays. However, no de-excitation model can reproduce the experimental longitudinal-velocity distributions from 1-GeV p+136Xe., Comment: 38 pages, 20 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C

Nuclide production cross sections measured at ITEP for the targets of nat-Cr, 56-Fe, nat-Ni, 93-Nb, 181-Ta, nat-W, nat-Pb, 209-Bi irradiated by protons with energies from 40 to 2600 MeV were used to estimate the predictive accuracy of several popular high-energy transport codes. A general agreement of the ITEP data with the data obtained by other groups, including the numerous GSI data measured by the inverse kinematics method was found. Simulations of the measured data were performed with the MCNPX (Bertini and ISABEL options), CEM03.02, INCL4.2+ABLA, INCL4.5+ABLA07, PHITS, and CASCADE.07 codes. Deviation factors between the calculated and experimental cross sections have been estimated for each target and for the whole energy range covered by our measurements. Two-dimensional diagrams of deviation factor values were produced for estimating the predictive power of every code for intermediate, not measured masses of nuclei-targets and bombarding energies of protons. Further improvements of all tested here codes are recommended. In addition, new measurements at ITEP of nuclide yields from a 208-Pb target irradiated by 500 MeV protons are presented. A good agreement between these new data and the GSI measurements obtained by the inverse kinematics method was found, Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, 6 tables, only pdf, LANL Report LA-UR-11-02704, Los Alamos (2011), submitted to Phys. Rev. C

The composition of the space radiation environment inside spacecrafts is modified by the interaction with shielding material, with equipment and even with the astronauts' bodies. Accurate quantitative estimates of the effects of nuclear reactions are necessary, for example, for dose estimation and prediction of single-event-upset rates. To this end, it is necessary to construct predictive models for nuclear reactions, which usually consist of an intranuclear-cascade or quantum-molecular-dynamics stage, followed by a nuclear-de-excitation stage. While it is generally acknowledged that it is necessary to accurately simulate the first reaction stage, transport-code users often neglect or underestimate the importance of the choice of the de-excitation code. The purpose of this work is to prove that the de-excitation model is in fact a non-negligible source of uncertainty for the prediction of several observables of crucial importance for space applications. For some particular observables, the systematic uncertainty due to the de-excitation model actually dominates the total uncertainty. Our point will be illustrated by making use of nucleon-nucleus calculations performed with several intranuclear-cascade/de-excitation models, such as the Li\`{e}ge Intranuclear Cascade model (INCL) and Isabel (for the cascade part) and ABLA07, Dresner, GEM, GEMINI++ and SMM (on the de-excitation side)., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Presented at the 38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly (Bremen, Germany, 18-25 July 2010). Submitted to Advances in Space Research

The N/Z dependence of projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies has been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at the GSI Schwerionen Synchrotron (SIS). Stable and radioactive Sn and La beams with an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. For the interpretation of the data, calculations with the statistical multifragmentation model for a properly chosen ensemble of excited sources were performed. The parameters of the ensemble, representing the variety of excited spectator nuclei expected in a participant-spectator scenario, are determined empirically by searching for an optimum reproduction of the measured fragment-charge distributions and correlations. An overall very good agreement is obtained. The possible modification of the liquid-drop parameters of the fragment description in the hot freeze-out environment is studied, and a significant reduction of the symmetry-term coefficient is found necessary to reproduce the mean neutron-to-proton ratios /Z and the isoscaling parameters of Z<=10 fragments. The calculations are, furthermore, used to address open questions regarding the modification of the surface-term coefficient at freeze-out, the N/Z dependence of the nuclear caloric curve, and the isotopic evolution of the spectator system between its formation during the initial cascade stage of the reaction and its subsequent breakup., Comment: 23 pages, 29 figures, published in Physical Review C

A phase transition signature associated with cumulants of the largest fragment size distribution has been identified in statistical multifragmentation models and examined in analysis of the ALADIN S254 data on fragmentation of neutron-poor and neutron-rich projectiles. Characteristics of the transition point indicated by this signature are weakly dependent on the A/Z ratio of the fragmenting spectator source. In particular, chemical freeze-out temperatures are estimated within the range 5.9 to 6.5 MeV. The experimental results are well reproduced by the SMM model., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of the International Workshop on Multifragmentation and Related Topics (IWM2009), Catania, Italy, November 2009.

Reliable predictions of light charged particle production in spallation reactions are important to correctly assess gas production in spallation targets. In particular, the helium production yield is important for assessing damage in the window separating the accelerator vacuum from a spallation target, and tritium is a major contributor to the target radioactivity. Up to now, the models available in the MCNPX transport code, including the widely used default option Bertini-Dresner and the INCL4.2-ABLA combination of models, were not able to correctly predict light charged particle yields. The work done recently on both the intranuclear cascade model INCL4, in which cluster emission through a coalescence process has been introduced, and on the de-excitation model ABLA allows correcting these deficiencies. This paper shows that the coalescence emission plays an important role in the tritium and $^3He$ production and that the combination of the newly developed versions of the codes, INCL4.5-ABLA07, now lead to good predictions of both helium and tritium cross sections over a wide incident energy range. Comparisons with other available models are also presented., Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures

Isotopic effects in projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies have been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at SIS. Stable and radioactive Sn and La beams with an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. Chemical freeze-out temperatures are found to be nearly invariant with respect to the A/Z ratio of the produced spectator sources, consistent with predictions for expanded systems. Consequences for the proposed interpretation of chemical breakup temperatures as representing the limiting temperatures predicted by microscopic models are discussed., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, contribution to proceedings of International School of Nuclear Physics, 30th Course, Heavy-Ion Collisions from the Coulomb Barrier to the Quark-Gluon Plasma, Erice-Sicily: 16 - 24 September 2008

The A/Z dependence of projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies has been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at SIS. A stable beam of 124Sn and radioactive beams of 124La and 107Sn at 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. Chemical freeze-out temperatures are found to be nearly invariant with respect to the A/Z of the produced spectator sources, consistent with predictions for expanded systems. Small Coulomb effects (\Delta T \approx 0.6 MeV) appear for residue production near the onset of multifragmentation., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publ. in Phys. Rev. Lett

Production cross sections of medium-mass neutron-rich nuclei obtained in the fragmentation of 136Xe projectiles at 1 A GeV have been measured with the FRagment Separator (FRS) at GSI. 125Pd was identified for the first time. The measured cross sections are compared to 238U fission yields and model calculations in order to determine the optimum reaction mechanism to extend the limits of the chart of the nuclides around the r-process waiting point at N=82., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures

This paper presents the nuclide cross sections and the longitudinal velocity distributions of residues produced in the reactions of 136Xe and 124Xe at 1 A GeV in a lead target, measured at the high-resolution magnetic spectrometer, the Fragment Separator (FRS) of GSI. The data cover a broad range of isotopes of the elements between Z = 3 and Z = 56 for 136Xe and between Z = 5 and Z = 55 for 124Xe, reaching down to cross sections of a few microbarns. The velocity distributions exhibit a Gaussian shape for masses above A = 20, while more complex behaviour is observed for lighter masses. The isotopic distributions for both reactions preserve a memory on the projectile N/Z ratio over the whole residue mass range., Comment: 31 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, background information on http://www.gsi.de/charms

The extent to which vocational education and training (VET) policy is nurturing lifelong learning in Sweden was examined through a review of recent policy documents issued by various Swedish government agencies and data from comparative studies compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Adult Literacy Survey. The review focused on the following items: (1) VET policy and the structural framework of Sweden's VET system; (2) support measures to promote participation and access, modes of delivery, and actors; and (3) curricular development, learning strategies, and methodology. The study established that Sweden is making a large public investment in VET, with VET and general education functioning as parts of an integrated system that has been highly decentralized since 1991. Extensive examples of lifelong learning policy within Sweden's educational system were identified. Swedish policy was actively supporting a lifelong learning perspective for VET, and Sweden appeared to be moving toward a genuine system for lifelong learning. (Sixteen tables/figures are included. The following items are appended: list of social partners involved in the knowledge week; tables detailing integration of the Adult Education Initiative with upper-secondary education for adults between 1997 and 1999; and list of pertinent legal provisions. The bibliography contains 42 references.) (MN)

The N/Z dependence of projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies has been studied in a recent experiment at the GSI laboratory with the ALADiN forward spectrometer coupled to the LAND neutron detector. Besides a primary beam of 124Sn, also secondary beams of 124La and 107Sn delivered by the FRS fragment separator have been used in order to extend the range of isotopic compositions of the produced spectator sources. With the achieved mass resolution of \Delta A/A \approx 1.5%, lighter isotopes with atomic numbers Z \le 10 are individually resolved. The presently ongoing analyses of the measured isotope yields focus on isoscaling and its relation to the properties of hot fragments at freeze-out and on the derivation of chemical freeze-out temperatures which are found to be independent of the isotopic composition of the studied systems. The latter result is at variance with the predictions for limiting temperatures as obtained with finite-temperature Hartree-Fock calculations., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings of International Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics in Heavy-Ion Reactions and Neutron Stars, Beijing, July 10-14, 2007, to appear in International Journal of Modern Physics E

The spallation of $^{56}$Fe in collisions with hydrogen at 1 A GeV has been studied in inverse kinematics with the large-aperture setup SPALADIN at GSI. Coincidences of residues with low-center-of-mass kinetic energy light particles and fragments have been measured allowing the decomposition of the total reaction cross-section into the different possible de-excitation channels. Detailed information on the evolution of these de-excitation channels with excitation energy has also been obtained. The comparison of the data with predictions of several de-excitation models coupled to the INCL4 intra-nuclear cascade model shows that only GEMINI can reasonably account for the bulk of collected results, indicating that in a light system with no compression and little angular momentum, multifragmentation might not be necessary to explain the data., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, revised version accepted in Phys. Rev. Lett

The discriminant-analysis method has been applied to optimize the exotic-beam charge recognition in a projectile fragmentation experiment. The experiment was carried out at the GSI using the fragment separator (FRS) to produce and select the relativistic secondary beams, and the ALADIN setup to measure their fragmentation products following collisions with Sn target nuclei. The beams of neutron poor isotopes around 124La and 107Sn were selected to study the isospin dependence of the limiting temperature of heavy nuclei by comparing with results for stable 124Sn projectiles. A dedicated detector to measure the projectile charge upstream of the reaction target was not used, and alternative methods had to be developed. The presented method, based on the multivariate discriminant analysis, allowed to increase the efficacy of charge recognition up to about 90%, which was about 20% more than achieved with the simple scalar methods., Comment: 6 pages, 7 eps figures, elsart, submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A