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A Förster

Publications and source records attributed to A Förster.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

First measurement of the rho spectral function in high-energy nuclear collisions.

We report on a precision measurement of low-mass muon pairs in 158 AGeV indium-indium collisions at the CERN SPS. A significant excess of pairs is observed above the yield expected from neutral meson decays. The unprecedented sample size of 360,000 dimuons and the good mass resolution of about 2% allow us to isolate the excess by subtraction of the decay sources. The shape of the resulting mass spectrum is consistent with a dominant contribution from pi+pi- -->rho -->mu+mu- annihilation. The associated space-time averaged spectral function shows a strong broadening, but essentially no shift in mass. This may rule out theoretical models linking hadron masses directly to the chiral condensate.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

In-medium effects on phase space distributions of antikaons measured in proton-nucleus collisions.

Differential production cross sections of K+/- mesons have been measured in p + C and p + Au collisions at 1.6, 2.5, and 3.5 GeV proton beam energy. At beam energies close to the production threshold, the K- multiplicity is strongly enhanced with respect to proton-proton collisions. According to microscopic transport calculations, this enhancement is caused by two effects: the strangeness exchange reaction NY --> K- NN and an attractive in-medium K- N potential at saturation density.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Observation of different azimuthal emission patterns of K+ and of K- mesons in heavy-ion collisions at 1-2 A GeV.

Azimuthal distributions of pi+, K+, and K- mesons have been measured in Au+Au reactions at 1.5A GeV and Ni+Ni reactions at 1.93 A GeV. In semicentral collisions at midrapidity, pi+ and K+ mesons are emitted preferentially perpendicular to the reaction plane in both collision systems. In contrast for K- mesons in Ni+Ni reactions, an in-plane elliptic flow was observed for the first time at these incident energies.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

First evidence for different freeze-out conditions for kaons and antikaons observed in heavy-ion collisions.

Differential production cross sections of K- and K+ mesons have been measured in Ni+Ni and Au+Au collisions at a beam energy of 1.5 A GeV. The K(-)/K(+) ratio is found to be nearly constant as a function of the collision centrality and system size. The spectral slopes and the polar emission pattern differ for K- and K+ mesons. These observations indicate that K+ mesons decouple earlier from the fireball than K- mesons.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Coulomb dissociation of 8B and the low-energy cross section of the 7Be(p,gamma)8B solar fusion reaction.

An exclusive measurement of the Coulomb breakup of 8B into 7Be+p at 254A MeV allowed the study of the angular correlations of the breakup particles. These correlations demonstrate clearly that E1 multipolarity dominates and that E2 multipolarity can be neglected. By using a simple single-particle model for 8B and treating the breakup in first-order perturbation theory, we extract a zero-energy S factor of S17(0)=18.6+/-1.2+/-1.0 eV b, where the first error is experimental and the second one reflects the theoretical uncertainty in the extrapolation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Calibration and validation of a quality assurance system for 90Sr/90Y radiation source trains.

A quality assurance system (OPTIDOS, PTW-Freiburg) developed for dose rate verification of 90Sr/90Y radiation source trains (RSTs) was calibrated and validated. These source trains are used in the 5-F-BetaCath system (Novoste Corp.) for the treatment of endovascular diseases. The calibration factor of the OPTIDOS system was obtained empirically and is valid for 90Sr/90Y dose rate measurements at the specification point which is located at 2 mm distance from the source axis. A total of 187 OPTIDOS dose rate verifications of the 5-F-BetaCath system were performed in different hospitals. The histogram of the deviation between the manufacturer's dose rate specification and the dose rate measured using the OPTIDOS dosimetry system is Gaussian shaped with +/- 3% relative width and a mean shift of about +2% with respect to the corresponding dose rate specification. Additionally, 128 OPTIDOS dose rate verifications of the new jacketed RST (3.5-F-BetaCath, Novoste Corp.) were performed using the same calibration factor as derived for the 5-F-BetaCath system. Distribution of the deviation between the certified and the measured dose rate is nearly identical in comparison to the histogram of the 5-F-BetaCath system. The mean value of the deviations is shifted by -1.5% with respect to the certified dose rate. In order to compare the results of the calibrated OPTIDOS dosimetry system with a standard measuring method, separate dose rate measurements were performed using electron accelerator calibrated radiochromic films in which calibration is traceable to PTB (Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany). Deviation between both the methods is less than 3.1%. These results confirm that the calibrated OPTIDOS dosimetry system can be considered suitable for quality assurance of both types of RST used in the BetaCath systems.

Beta Particles↗
PubMed2001

Isentropes and Hugoniot curves for dense hydrogen and deuterium.

Multiple-shock experiments with fluid hydrogen have shown that a transition from semiconducting behavior to metal-like conductivity occurs at pressures (p) of about 140 GPa and temperatures (T) near 3000 K. We model the p-T pathway by Hugoniot curves (initial shock) and isentropes (subsequent shocks). For the calculation of these curves we apply an expression for the free energy developed recently for dense hydrogen and deuterium plasma in the regions of partial dissociation and partial ionization. Furthermore, we discuss the relations between Hugoniot curves, isentropes and the coexistence line of the plasma phase transition.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Evidence for a Soft Nuclear Equation-of-State from Kaon Production in Heavy-Ion Collisions.

The production of pions and kaons has been measured in 197Au+197Au collisions at beam energies from 0.6 to 1.5A GeV with the kaon spectrometer at SIS/GSI. The K+ meson multiplicity per nucleon is enhanced in Au+Au collisions by factors up to 6 relative to C+C reactions, whereas the corresponding pion ratio is reduced. The ratio of the K+ meson excitation functions for Au+Au and C+C collisions increases with decreasing beam energy. This behavior is expected for a soft nuclear equation-of-state.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

[Hexosaminidase deficiency as differential spinocerebellar diseases].

Tay-Sachs disease is caused by Hexosaminidase A deficiency. Symptoms of the enzyme deficiency rarely become clinically manifest in adult age; then the course of the disease differs in a wide range. We report on a patient with cerebellar ataxia and lower motor neuron disease. Neurophysiological investigations, neuro-imaging (CT, MRI), and muscle biopsy reveal pathological but nonspecific findings. Determination of hexosaminidase A and B activities leads to the diagnosis. In patients with spinocerebellar ataxia hexosaminidase deficiency has to be considered as a differential diagnosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Psychiatric diagnosis and examination in family practice].

Psychiatric diagnoses are made according to ICD-10 in order to standardize the diagnostic process. In most cases the psychiatric diagnosis will be based on a thorough history and the psychiatric examination which stresses the importance of a systematic approach to the later. The use of psychiatric scales and physical investigations can be occasionally usefull.

Family Practice↗
PubMed1996

Stochastic Resonance and time advance coding in chemical reactions.

Stochastic Resonance (SR) is a phenomenon which may be found in nonlinear systems close to an excitation threshold. SR is a means for enhancing a weak periodic subthreshold signal from its noisy background by adding stochastic fluctuations, i.e. in biological and physical systems. It has been proposed that SR is important for the ability of neural systems to detect weak periodic signals. In the present work we show experimentally that SR occurs in two nonlinear chemical reactions, namely in the enzymatic Peroxidase-Oxidase (PO) reaction and in the Belousov-Zhabotinskii (BZ) reaction. A small sinusoidal signal with increasing noise is imposed on the focal steady state near a subcritical Hopf bifurcation. When the threshold is crossed beyond a certain noise amplitude, the system responds with spikes. The resulting interspike histogram and the plot of the signal to noise ratio, which is evaluated from the respective Fourier spectra, pass through a maximum at an optimal external noise level. An alternative way to cross the excitation threshold without noise is the variation of the bias value of the sinusoidal signal. The variation of the bias value causes the spikes to appear earlier if the sinusoidal function is moved closer towards the threshold. This so-called time advance coding is shown experimentally for the first time in the BZ reaction by imposing sinusoidal flow rate variations using different bias values. The phenomenon has been proposed by Hopfield to be a means for analog pattern recognition.

Artifacts↗
PubMed1996

Chaos control by electric current in an enzymatic reaction.

We apply the continuous delayed feedback method of Pyragas to control chaos in the enzymatic Peroxidase-Oxidase (PO) reaction, using the electric current as the control parameter. At each data point in the time series, a time delayed feedback function applies a small amplitude perturbation to inert platinum electrodes, which causes redox processes on the surface of the electrodes. These perturbations are calculated as the difference between the previous (time delayed) signal and the actual signal. Unstable periodic P1, 1(1), and 1(2) orbits (UPOs) were stabilized in the CSTR (continuous stirred tank reactor) experiments. The stabilization is demonstrated by at least three conditions: A minimum in the experimental dispersion function, the equality of the delay time with the period of the stabilized attractor and the embedment of the stabilized periodic attractor in the chaotic attractor.

Algorithms↗