The detection of neutron clusters

A new approach to the production and detection of bound neutron clusters is presented. The technique is based on the breakup of beams of very neutron-rich nuclei and the subsequent detection of the recoiling proton in a liquid scintillator. The method has been tested in the breakup of 11Li, 14Be and 15B beams by a C target. Some 6 events were observed that exhibit the characteristics of a multineutron cluster liberated in the breakup of 14Be, most probably in the channel 10Be+4n. The various backgrounds that may mimic such a signal are discussed in detail.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, LPCC 01-1

Spectroscopic studies of Dy-168,170 using CLARA and PRISMA

Preliminary results from an experiment aiming at Dy-170. Submitted to the LNL Annual Report 2008.Comment: 2 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to the LNL Annual Report 200

1n- and 2n-transfer with the Borromean nucleus 6^{6}He near the Coulomb barrier

Accepetd for publication in Physical Review LettersAngular distributions for 1n- and 2n-transfer are reported for the 6He + 65Cu system at Elab = 22.6 MeV. For the first time, triple coincidences between particles, neutrons and characteristic rays from the target-like residues were used to separate the contributions arising from 1n- and 2n-transfer. The differential cross sections for these channels, elastic scattering, and fusion were analyzed using a Coupled Reaction Channels approach. The large measured ratio of the 2n/1n cross section and the strong influence of 2n-transfer on other channels indicate that the di-neutron configuration of 6He plays a dominant role in the reaction mechanism

An orchestrated survey of available algorithms and tools for Combinatorial Testing

For functional testing based on the input domain of a functionality, parameters and their values are identified and a test suite is generated using a criterion exercising combinations of those parameters and values. Since software systems are large, resulting in large numbers of parameters and values, a technique based on combinatorics called Combinatorial Testing (CT) is used to automate the process of creating those combinations. CT is typically performed with the help of combinatorial objects called Covering Arrays. The goal of the present work is to determine available algorithms/tools for generating a combinatorial test suite. We tried to be as complete as possible by using a precise protocol for selecting papers describing those algorithms/tools. The 75 algorithms/tools we identified are then categorized on the basis of different comparison criteria, including: the test suite generation technique, the support for selection (combination) criteria, mixed covering array, the strength of coverage, and the support for constraints between parameters. Results can be of interest to researchers or software companies who are looking for a CT algorithm/tool suitable for their needs