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Radiative corrections to elastic scattering represent an important part of the interpretation of electron-induced nuclear reactions at small energy transfers, where they make for a dominant part of background. Here we present and validate a new event generator for mimicking QED radiative processes in electron-carbon scattering that exactly calculates the coherent sum of the Bethe-Heitler amplitudes for the leading diagrams and can be reliably employed for a more robust determination of inelastic cross-sections.

We present structural, electrical, and thermoelectric potential measurements on high-quality single crystals of ZrTe$_{1.8}$ grown from isothermal chemical vapor transport. These measurements show that the Te-deficient ZrTe$_{1.8}$, which forms the same structure as the non-superconducting ZrTe$_2$, is superconducting below 3.2\,K. The temperature dependence of the upper critical field (H$_{c2}$) deviates from the behavior expected in conventional single-band superconductors, being best described by an electron-phonon two-gap superconducting model with strong intraband coupling. For the ZrTe$_{1.8}$ single crystals, the Seebeck potential measurements suggest that the charge carriers are predominantly negative, in agreement with the ab initio calculations. Through first-principles calculations within DFT, we show that the slight reduction of Te occupancy in ZrTe$_2$ unexpectedly gives origin to density of states peaks at the Fermi level due to the formation of localized Zr-$d$ bands, possibly promoting electronic instabilities at the Fermi level and an increase at the critical temperature according to the standard BCS theory. These findings highlight that the Te deficiency promotes the electronic conditions for the stability of the superconducting ground state, suggesting that defects can fine-tune the electronic structure to support superconductivity.

We perform a systematic study of the $\alpha$-particle excitation from its ground state $0_1^+$ to the $0_2^+$ resonance. The so-called monopole transition form factor is investigated via an electron scattering experiment in a broad $Q^2$-range (from $0.5$ to $5.0$ fm$^{-2}$). The precision of the new data dramatically superseeds that of older sets of data, each covering only a portion of the $Q^2$-range. The new data allow the determination of two coefficients in a low-momentum expansion leading to a new puzzle. By confronting experiment to state-of-the-art theoretical calculations we observe that modern nuclear forces, including those derived within chiral effective field theory which are well tested on a variety of observables, fail to reproduce the excitation of the $\alpha$-particle.

Background: Generalized polarizabilities (GPs) are important observables to describe the nucleon structure, and measurements of these observables are still scarce. Purpose: This paper presents details of a virtual Compton scattering (VCS) experiment, performed at the A1 setup at the Mainz Microtron by studying the $e p \to e p \gamma$ reaction. The article focuses on selected aspects of the analysis. Method: The experiment extracted the $P_{LL} -P_{TT} / \epsilon$ and $P_{LT}$ structure functions, as well as the electric and magnetic GPs of the proton, at three new values of the four-momentum transfer squared $Q^2$: 0.10, 0.20 and 0.45 GeV$^2$. Results: We emphasize the importance of the calibration of experimental parameters. The behavior of the measured $e p \to e p \gamma$ cross section is presented and compared to the theory. A detailed investigation of the polarizability fits reveals part of their complexity, in connection with the higher-order terms of the low-energy expansion. Conclusions: The presented aspects are elements which contribute to minimize the systematic uncertainties and improve the precision of the physics results., Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, Version 4, regular article to appear in Phys.Rev.C, more final version of some figures

In this letter, we have examined the superconducting ground state of the HfV$_2$Ga$_4$ compound using resistivity, magnetization, zero-field (ZF) and transverse-field (TF) muon-spin relaxation and rotation ($\mu$SR) measurements. Resistivity and magnetization unveil the onset of bulk superconductivity with $T_{\bf c}\sim$ 3.9~K, while TF-$\mu$SR measurements show that the temperature dependence of the superfluid density is well described by a nodal two-gap $s$+$d$-wave order parameter model. In addition, ZF muon relaxation rate increases with decreasing temperature below 4.6 K, indicating the presence of weak spin fluctuations. These observations suggest an unconventional multiband nature of the superconductivity possibly arising from the distinct $d$-bands of V and Hf ions with spin fluctuations playing an important role. To better understand these findings, we carry out first-principles electronic-structure calculations, further highlighting that the Fermi surface consists of multiple disconnected sheets with very different orbital weights and spin-orbit coupling, bridging the way for a nodal multiband superconductivity scenario. In this vein, therefore, HfV$_2$Ga$_4$-family stands out as an open avenue to novel unexplored unconventional superconducting compounds, such as ScV$_2$Ga$_4$ and ZrV$_2$Ga$_4$, and other many rare earths based materials., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

Virtual Compton scattering on the proton has been investigated at three yet unexplored values of the four-momentum transfer $Q^2$: 0.10, 0.20 and 0.45 GeV$^2$, at the Mainz Microtron. Fits performed using either the low-energy theorem or dispersion relations allowed the extraction of the structure functions $P_{LL} -P_{TT} / \epsilon$ and $P_{LT}$, as well as the electric and magnetic generalized polarizabilities $\alpha_{E1}(Q^2)$ and $\beta_{M1}(Q^2)$. These new results show a smooth and rapid fall-off of $\alpha_{E1}(Q^2)$, in contrast to previous measurements at $Q^2$ = 0.33 GeV$^2$, and provide for the first time a precise mapping of $\beta_{M1}(Q^2)$ in the low-$Q^2$ region., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure .eps. Version accepted by PRL

We report on new measurements of the electric Generalized Polarizability (GP) of the proton $\alpha_E$ in a kinematic region where a puzzling dependence on momentum transfer has been observed, and we have found that $\alpha_E = (5.3 \pm 0.6_{stat} \pm 1.3_{sys})~10^{-4} fm^3$ at $Q^2=0.20~(GeV/c)^2$. The new measurements, when considered along with the rest of the world data, suggest that $\alpha_E$ can be described by either a local plateau or by an enhancement in the region $Q^2=0.20~(GeV/c)^2$ to $0.33~(GeV/c)^2$. The experiment also provides the first measurement of the Coulomb quadrupole amplitude in the $N \rightarrow \Delta$ transition through the exploration of the $p(e,e'p)\gamma$ reaction. The new measurement gives $CMR = (-4.4 \pm 0.8_{stat} \pm 0.6_{sys})~\%$ at $Q^2=0.20~(GeV/c)^2$ and is consistent with the results from the pion electroproduction world data. It has been obtained using a completely different extraction method, and therefore represents a strong validation test of the world data model uncertainties.

In this paper, a comprehensive study of the effects of Ni-doping on structural, electrical, thermal and magnetic properties of the NbB2 is presented. Low amounts (\leq 10 %) of Ni substitution on Nb sites cause structural distortions and induce drastic changes in the physical properties, such as the emergence of a bulk superconducting state with anomalous behaviors in the critical fields (lower and upper) and in the specific heat. Ni-doping at the 9 at.% level, for instance, is able to increase the critical temperature (TC) in stoichiometric NbB2 (< 1.3 K) to approximately 6.0 K. Bulk superconductivity is confirmed by magnetization, electronic transport, and specific heat measurements. Both Hc1 and Hc2 critical fields exhibit a linear dependence with reduced temperature (T/TC), and the specific heat deviates remarkably from the conventional exponential temperature dependence of the single-band BCS theory. These findings suggest multiband superconductivity in the composition range from 0.01 \leq x \leq 0.10., Comment: Keywords: Multiband superconductivity; NbB2 system; Ni substitution; Linear critical fields

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) usually show simple structures, however, with interesting properties. Recently some TMDs have been pointed out as type-II Dirac semimetals. In the present work, we investigate the physical properties of a new candidate for type-II Dirac semimetal and investigate the effect of titanium doping on physical properties of Ti-doped single crystalline samples of NiTe2. It was found that this compound shows a superconducting properties with a critical temperature close to 4.0 K. Interestingly, applied pressures up to 1.3 GPa have no effect upon the superconducting state. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate the presence of a Dirac cone in the band structure of NiTe2 literature when Spin-Orbit Coupling (SOC) is included, which is in agreement with a recent report for this compound. Also, our calculations demonstrate that Ti suppresses the formation of these non-trivial states.

A systematic study of the superconducting properties in a series of arc-melted Nb-B samples close to the 1:1 composition was carried out. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that all samples are both non-stoichiometric, and comprising of two crystal phases: a majority orthorhombic NbB-type phase, and traces of a minor body-centered cubic Nb-rich phase Nb$_{ss}$ with stoichiometry close to Nb$_{0.98}$B$_{0.02}$. The emergence of superconductivity near T$_c \sim$ 9.0 K was inferred from magnetization data in chunk and powder samples. However, the very small superconducting volume fractions are inconsistent with superconductivity arising from the major NbB phase. On the other hand, micrographs of selected samples clearly show that the minority Nb$_{ss}$ forms a three-dimensional network of filaments that meander around the grains of the majority phase, forming a percolation path. Here we report the superconductivity of the Nb$_{ss}$ phase, and argue that the low superconducting volume fraction of non-stoichiometric NbB and zero resistance are due to the filaments of the minority phase. The electronic contribution to the entropy of the superconducting state, yielded from an analysis using the alpha model for single-band systems, indicates that the Sommerfeld constant of the arc-melted samples is close to the values found in non-superconducting NbB. Micrograph, XRD, and bulk measurements of magnetization, electrical resistivity, and specific heat suggest that the superconducting state in the NbB samples bearing some Nb$_{ss}$ minority phase is due to the latter., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

We report on a new experimental method based on initial-state radiation (ISR) in e-p scattering, in which the radiative tail of the elastic e-p peak contains information on the proton charge form factor ($G_E^p$) at extremely small $Q^2$. The ISR technique was validated in a dedicated experiment using the spectrometers of the A1-Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI). This provided first measurements of $G_E^p$ for $0.001\leq Q^2\leq 0.004 (GeV/c)^2$., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

For the first time a vertically polarized electron beam has been used for physics experiments at MAMI in the energy range between 180 and 855 MeV. The beam-normal single-spin asymmetry $A_{\mathrm{n}}$, which is a direct probe of higher-order photon exchange beyond the first Born approximation, has been measured in the reaction $^{12}\mathrm C(\vec e,e')^{12}\mathrm C$. Vertical polarization orientation was necessary to measure this asymmetry with the existing experimental setup. In this paper we describe the procedure to orient the electron polarization vector vertically, and the concept of determining both its magnitude and orientation with the available setup. A sophisticated method has been developed to overcome the lack of a polarimeter setup sensitive to the vertical polarization component.

Double-polarization observables in the reaction $\vec{e}p \rightarrow e'\vec{p'}\gamma{}$ have been measured at $Q^2=0.33 (GeV/c)^2$. The experiment was performed at the spectrometer setup of the A1 Collaboration using the 855 MeV polarized electron beam provided by the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) and a recoil proton polarimeter. From the double-polarization observables the structure function $P_{LT}^\perp$ is extracted for the first time, with the value $(-15.4 \pm 3.3 (stat.)^{+1.5}_{-2.4} (syst.)) GeV^{-2}$, using the low-energy theorem for Virtual Compton Sattering. This structure function provides a hitherto unmeasured linear combination of the generalized polarizabilities of the proton.

A massive, but light abelian U(1) gauge boson is a well motivated possible signature of physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. In this paper, the search for the signal of such a U(1) gauge boson in electron-positron pair-production at the spectrometer setup of the A1 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) is described. Exclusion limits in the mass range of 40 MeV up to 300 MeV with a sensitivity in the mixing parameter of down to $\epsilon^2 = 8\times 10^{-7}$ are presented. A large fraction of the parameter space has been excluded where the discrepancy of the measured anomalous magnetic moment of the muon with theory might be explained by an additional U(1) gauge boson., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures