Mesospheric ionization during substorm growth phase

Murase, Kiyoka*; Kataoka, Ryuho*; Nishiyama, Takanori*; Nishimura, Koji*; Hashimoto, Taishi*; Tanaka, Yoshimasa*; Kadokura, Akira*; Tomikawa, Yoshihiro*; Tsutsumi, Masaki*; Ogawa, Yasunobu*; et al.

Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate (Internet), 12, p.18_1 - 18_16, 2022/06

https://doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2022012

We identified two energetic electron precipitation (EEP) events during the growth phase of moderate substorms and estimated the mesospheric ionization rate for an EEP event for which the most comprehensive dataset from ground-based and space-born instruments was available. The mesospheric ionization signature reached below 70 km altitude and continued for ~15 min until the substorm onset, as observed by the PANSY radar and imaging riometer at Syowa Station in the Antarctic region. We also used energetic electron flux observed by the Arase and POES 15 satellites as the input for the air-shower simulation code PHITS to quantitatively estimate the mesospheric ionization rate. Combining the cutting-edge observations and simulations, we shed new light on the space weather impact of the EEP events during geomagnetically quiet times, which is important to understand the possible link between the space environment and climate.

Measurement of fission-fragment mass distributions in the multinucleon transfer channels of the O+Np reaction

Vermeulen, M. J.; Nishio, Katsuhisa; Hirose, Kentaro; Kean, K. R.; Makii, Hiroyuki; Orlandi, R.; Tsukada, Kazuaki; Tsekhanovich, I.*; Andreyev, A. N.; Ishizaki, Shoma*; et al.

Physical Review C, 102(5), p.054610_1 - 054610_11, 2020/11

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.102.054610

Transient ionization of the mesosphere during auroral breakup; Arase satellite and ground-based conjugate observations at Syowa Station

Kataoka, Ryuho*; Nishiyama, Takanori*; Tanaka, Yoshimasa*; Kadokura, Akira*; Uchida, Herbert Akihito*; Ebihara, Yusuke*; Ejiri, Mitsumu*; Tomikawa, Yoshihiro*; Tsutsumi, Masaki*; Sato, Kaoru*; et al.

Earth, Planets and Space (Internet), 71(1), p.9_1 - 9_10, 2019/12

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-019-0989-7

Transient ionization of the mesosphere was detected at around 65 km altitude during the isolated auroral expansion occurred at 2221-2226 UT on June 30, 2017. A general-purpose Monte Carlo particle transport code PHITS suggested that significant ionization is possible in the middle atmosphere due to auroral X-rays from the auroral electrons of 10 keV.

Identification of capable faults using fault rock geochemical signatures; A Case study from offset granitic bedrock on the Tsuruga Peninsula, central Japan

Niwa, Masakazu; Shimada, Koji; Ishimaru, Tsuneari; Tanaka, Yoshihiro*

Engineering Geology, 260, p.105235_1 - 105235_15, 2019/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.105235

In order to identify specific chemical changes induced by recent, near-surface faulting, we compared two faults of different size and evolutionary history, the active Shiraki-Nyu Fault and a nearby minor, inactive fault in central Japan, in terms of their mineralogical and geochemical features. Our analyses suggest that (1) chemical changes such as depletion of NaO and CaO derived from smectite and illite formation, and that changes such as increase of U, Y and REEs derived from absorption to these clay minerals, occurred during the fault initiation and subsequent retrograde alteration and are identical in the two faults, and that (2) MnO increase accompanied by FeO depletion and a positive Ce anomaly can be a key to identify specific chemical changes due to recent, near-surface faulting, because this could be related to upward migration and oxidation of fault-driven reduced fluids from deep underground to the near-surface environment.

Elucidation of a heterogeneous layered structure in the thickness direction of poly(vinyl alcohol) films with solvent vapor-induced swelling

Miyazaki, Tsukasa*; Miyata, Noboru*; Asada, Mitsunori*; Tsumura, Yoshihiro*; Torikai, Naoya*; Aoki, Hiroyuki; Yamamoto, Katsuhiro*; Kanaya, Toshiji*; Kawaguchi, Daisuke*; Tanaka, Keiji*

Langmuir, 35(34), p.11099 - 11107, 2019/08

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b01665

Origin of the dramatic change of fission mode in fermium isotopes investigated using Langevin equations

Miyamoto, Yuya*; Aritomo, Yoshihiro*; Tanaka, Shoya*; Hirose, Kentaro; Nishio, Katsuhisa

Physical Review C, 99(5), p.051601_1 - 051601_7, 2019/05

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.99.051601

Determination of fusion barrier distributions from quasielastic scattering cross sections towards superheavy nuclei synthesis

Tanaka, Taiki*; Narikiyo, Yoshihiro*; Morita, Kosuke*; Fujita, Kunihiro*; Kaji, Daiya*; Morimoto, Koji*; Yamaki, Sayaka*; Wakabayashi, Yasuo*; Tanaka, Kengo*; Takeyama, Mirei*; et al.

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 87(1), p.014201_1 - 014201_9, 2018/01

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.87.014201

Excitation functions of quasielastic scattering cross sections for the Ca + Pb, Ti + Pb, and Ca + Cm reactions were successfully measured by using the gas-filled recoil-ion separator GARIS. Fusion barrier distributions were extracted from these data, and compared with the coupled-channels calculations. It was found that the peak energies of the barrier distributions for the Ca + Pb and Ti + Pb systems coincide with those of the 2n evaporation channel cross sections for the systems, while that of the Ca + Cm is located slightly below the 4n evaporation ones. This results provide us helpful information to predict the optimum beam energy to synthesize superheavy nuclei.

Study of fission using multi-nucleon transfer reactions

Nishio, Katsuhisa; Hirose, Kentaro; Vermeulen, M. J.; Makii, Hiroyuki; Orlandi, R.; Tsukada, Kazuaki; Asai, Masato; Toyoshima, Atsushi; Sato, Tetsuya; Nagame, Yuichiro; et al.

EPJ Web of Conferences, 163, p.00041_1 - 00041_6, 2017/11

https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201716300041

Characterization of the PTW 34031 ionization chamber (PMI) at RCNP with high energy neutrons ranging from 100 - 392 MeV

Theis, C.*; Carbonez, P.*; Feldbaumer, E.*; Forkel-Wirth, D.*; Jaegerhofer, L.*; Pangallo, M.*; Perrin, D.*; Urscheler, C.*; Roesler, S.*; Vincke, H.*; et al.

EPJ Web of Conferences, 153, p.08018_1 - 08018_5, 2017/09

https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201715308018

At CERN, gas-filled ionization chambers PTW-34031 (PMI) are commonly used in radiation fields including neutrons, protons and -rays. A response function for each particle is calculated by the radiation transport code FLUKA. To validate a response function to high energy neutrons, benchmark experiments with quasi mono-energetic neutrons have been carried out at RCNP, Osaka University. For neutron irradiation with energies below 200 MeV, very good agreement was found comparing the FLUKA simulations and the measurements. In addition it was found that at proton energies of 250 and 392 MeV, results calculated with neutron sources underestimate the experimental data due to a non-negligible gamma component originating from the target Li(p,n)Be reaction.

Applicability of the two-angle differential method to response measurement of neutron-sensitive devices at the RCNP high-energy neutron facility

Masuda, Akihiko*; Matsumoto, Tetsuro*; Iwamoto, Yosuke; Hagiwara, Masayuki*; Satoh, Daiki; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Iwase, Hiroshi*; Yashima, Hiroshi*; Nakane, Yoshihiro; Nishiyama, Jun*; et al.

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 849, p.94 - 101, 2017/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.12.031

Quasi-monoenergetic high-energy neutron fields induced by Li(p,n) reactions are used for the response evaluation of neutron-sensitive devices. The quasi-monoenergetic high-energy field consists of high-energy monoenergetic peak neutrons and unwanted continuum neutrons down to the low-energy region. A two-angle differential method has been developed to compensate for the effect of the continuum neutrons in the response measurements. In this study, the two-angle differential method was demonstrated for Bonner sphere detectors, which are typical examples of moderator-based neutron-sensitive detectors, to investigate the method's applicability and its dependence on detector characteristics. Through this study, the adequacy of the two-angle differential method was experimentally verified, and practical suggestions were made pertaining to this method.