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The fusion cross-sections of $^{126}$Ba, $^{127,126,125}$Cs, $^{125,123,122}$Xe and $^{124,123}$I residues, populated via $x$n, p$x$n, $\alpha$$x$n, and $\alpha$p$x$n channels, have been measured in $^{12}$C+$^{118}$Sn system at E$_{\textrm{lab}}$ $\approx$ 65-85 MeV. For an insight into the formation and decay modes of these residues, experimentally measured cross-sections have been analyzed in the framework of theoretical model codes PACE4 and EMPIRE. The cross-sections of p$x$n ($^{127,126,125}$Cs), $\alpha$xn ($^{125}$Xe), and $\alpha$p$x$n ($^{123}$I) channels have been found to be substantially fed from their higher charge isobars via $\beta^+$ decay and electron capture. In order to deduce the contribution of higher charge isobars in the population of these residues, the independent cross-sections of evaporation residues have been calculated using the prescription of Cavinato $et$ $al.$ and compared with that calculated using theoretical model codes. It has been found that the PACE4 and EMPIRE calculations fairly reproduce the independent cross-sections of evaporation residues within the experimental uncertainties. Interestingly, it has been found that the $\alpha$-emitting channels, contrary to established findings in reactions involving $\alpha$ cluster projectiles (e.g., $^{12}$C, $^{16}$O, etc.) at low incident energies, display negligible contribution of incomplete fusion (ICF). A comparison of incomplete fusion fraction as a function of entrance channel mass-asymmetry for reactions involving $^{12}$C projectile with nearby targets indicates dissimilar behavior of $^{118}$Sn target.

In this work, fission of moderately excited compound nucleus $^{220}$Ra${^\star}$ produced in $^{12}$C+$^{208}$Pb reaction at E$_{\rm lab}$ = 81.9, 75.8, and 67.5 MeV has been studied. 28 fission fragments, within the mass range 60$\leq$A$\leq$141, have been identified based on their characteristic decay $\gamma$-lines and half-lives. The yields of different fission fragments have been analyzed to generate isotopic and isobaric yield distributions. The value of the mass dispersion parameter, $\sigma^2_A$, is found to be 2.93 and 2.65 for Antimony (Sb) isotope at excitation energy E$^{\star}$ = 45.4 and 39.6 MeV, and 1.24 for Indium (In) isotope at E$^{\star}$ = 45.4 MeV. The charge dispersion parameter $\sigma_z$ for Sb is estimated to be 0.769 and 0.714 at E$^{\star}$ = 45.4 and 39.6 MeV, respectively. For In isotopes, the value of $\sigma_z$ is estimated to be 0.430 at E$^{\star}$ = 45.4 MeV. The value of mass and charge dispersion parameters for Sb and In isotopes display good agreement with the values reported in the literature for similar systems. It has been found that $^{99m}$Tc and $^{111}$In, medically important isotopes, populate in this system. The present investigations suggest that fission is a dominating mode of deexcitation of the compound nucleus, even at entrance channel energies slightly above the Coulomb barrier.

Excitation functions of several evaporation residues populated via complete and/or incomplete fusion in $^{12}$C+$^{193}$Ir system have been measured at energies $\approx$ 64-84 MeV, and analyzed in the framework of theoretical model code PACE4. It has been found that the $xn$ channels are predominantly populated via complete fusion; however, some of the $pxn$ channels decay via their precursor. A significant enhancement has been observed in the case of $\alpha$-emitting channels over PACE4 calculations, indicating the onset of a reaction mechanism not included in this code, e.g., incomplete fusion. For better insights into the onset and influence of incomplete fusion, the percentage fraction of incomplete fusion has been deduced and analyzed in terms of different entrance-channel parameters. The findings of the present study underline the importance of projectile energy, entrance-channel mass-asymmetry, and the Coulomb factor of interacting partners. The impact of projectile break-up on complete fusion has also been discussed in the framework of the Universal Fusion Function, where suppression of $\approx$ 12$\%$ has been observed in the fusion function. The finding of the present work reinstates that the fusion suppression is affected by the projectile $\alpha$-break-up threshold.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms, trained on emotion data extracted from physiological signals, provide a promising approach to monitoring emotions, affect, and mental well-being. However, the field encounters challenges because there is a lack of effective methods for collecting high-quality data in everyday settings that genuinely reflect changes in emotion or affect. This paper presents a position discussion on the current technique of annotating physiological signal-based emotion data. Our discourse underscores the importance of adopting a nuanced understanding of annotation processes, paving the way for a more insightful exploration of the intricate relationship between physiological signals and human emotions., Comment: 7 pages, To be published at PhysioCHI: Towards Best Practices for Integrating Physiological Signals in HCI, May 11, 2024, Honolulu, HI, USA

In this work, radioactivity investigations of soil samples from neutral and agricultural sites in Punjab/India have been carried out to study the impact of land use patterns. The analysis of radiological, mineralogical, physicochemical, and morphological attributes of soil samples has been performed employing state-of-the-art techniques. The mean activity concentration of 238U, 232Th, 40K, 235U, and 137Cs, measured using a carbon-loaded p-type HPGe detector, in neutral land was observed as 58.03, 83.95, 445.18, 2.83, and 1.16Bq kg-1, respectively. However, in vegetation land, it was found to be 40.07, 64.68, 596.74, 2.26 and 2.11Bq kg-1, respectively. In the detailed activity analysis, radium equivalent (Raeq) radioactivity is found to be in the safe prescribed limit of 370Bq kg-1 for all investigated soil samples. However, the dosimetric investigations revealed that the outdoor absorbed gamma dose rate (96.08nGy h-1) and consequent annual effective dose rate (0.12mSv y-1) for neutral land, and the gamma dose rate (82.46nGy h-1) and subsequent annual effective dose rate (0.10mSv y-1) for vegetation land marginally exceeded the global average. The surface morphology of neutral land favored more compactness, while agricultural land favored high porosity. Various heavy metals of health concern, namely As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Se, and Zn, were also evaluated in all soil samples using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Ecological Risk Index (RI) revealed that vegetation land was more anthropogenically contaminated than neutral land, with maximum contamination from Hg and As., Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, 6 tables

Let $\mathbb{C}$ be field of complex numbers and $X$ be a connected quandle of prime order. We study the regular representation of $X$ by describing the quandle ring $\mathbb{C}[X]$ as direct sum of right simple ideals. We provide description of tensor product of connected quandles of prime order. We further discuss multiplicity freeness of quandle ring decomposition for connected quandles of order $\leq 47$ and prove that $\mathbb{C}[X]$ decomposes multiplicity free for affine connected quandle $X$.

Low background gamma spectrometry employing HPGe detectors is a sensitive technique for measuring low-level radioactivity in environmental applications, material screening, and for rare decay searches. This work presents spectroscopic performance evaluation and modelling of a low background measurement setup developed at IIT Ropar in Punjab, India, to measure trace natural radioactive elements, with a particular interest in studying low-level radioactivity in soil and/or rock samples to generate specific inputs for low background experiments. The performance test and characterization of a low background cryocooled HPGe detector with relative efficiency of $\sim$33% have been carried out. An effective detector model has been developed using GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation to determine the response of the detector over an energy range of 80.9-1408 keV and compared with the experimental performance of the detector. The response of the detector obtained using Monte Carlo simulations agrees reasonably well within 93% level of confidence, indicating only 7% deviation in the comparison. The present setup offers improved detection limits of primordial radionuclides (U/Th and K) to measure radioactive contamination in environmental matrices, which has been used elsewhere [1]., Comment: 17 pages, 24 figures, 6 tables

In this study, we calculate the nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) for the light neutrino-exchange mechanism of neutrinoless double beta $0\nu\beta\beta$) decay of $^{124}$Sn within the framework of the interacting nuclear shell model using the effective shell model Hamiltonian GCN5082. A novel method based on a nonclosure approach is employed, wherein for the intermediate nucleus $^{124}$Sb, effects of energy of 100 states for each $J_{k}^{\pi}$=$0^{+}$ to $11^{+}$ and $2^{-}$ to $9^{-}$ ($\Delta J_{k}$=1) are explicitly included in the NMEs calculation. Other common effects such as the finite size of nucleons, higher-order effects of nucleon currents, and short-range correlations (SRC) of nucleons are also taken into account. The extracted optimal closure energy is 2.9 MeV for a total NME of $^{124}$Sn $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay, which is independent of different forms of SRC parametrizations. A comparison of NMEs and half-lives with some of the recent calculations is presented. Further, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of nuclear structure on the $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay, the dependence of NMEs on spin-parity of the intermediate states, coupled spin-parity of neutrons and protons, and the number of intermediate states, is explored. It is observed that the inclusion of the effects of excitation energies of the intermediate nucleus yields more reliable NMEs. The present findings provide valuable insights for experimental investigations of $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay of $^{124}$Sn in India and elsewhere., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, submitted in the journal Physical Review C. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2308.08216

Let $K = \mathbb{R}$ or $\mathbb{C}$ and $T_{n}$ denote the Takasaki quandle of order $n$. In this article we provide decomposition of quandle ring $K[T_n]$ as direct sum of right simple ideals. This decomposition is equivalent to decomposition of regular representation \cite{EM18} of Takasaki quandles., Comment: 14 pages