[en] Over the last century our window on the universe has been widened by a staggering amount. From observations in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, which spans one octave, astronomers have extended their view in two different directions. We are now able to study the cosmos in the long-wavelength radio and microwave regions right up to the ultrashort wavelengths of X-rays and gamma radiation - an increase of over 70 octaves. As many celestial objects and processes are only accessible at wavelengths beyond the optical range, this has provided us with a much more complete view of the universe. Most of this electromagnetic radiation - up to and including the X-ray regime - is emitted in black-body form by hot celestial objects such as stars. In other words, it is a shorter - or longer - wavelength version of the infrared 'heat' radiation emitted by our bodies. Gamma rays, on the other hand, cannot be produced in this way because it would require implausibly high temperatures. Rather, such short-wave radiation is produced either by interactions of charged particles like electrons or nuclei that have been accelerated to high energies, or by the decay of very heavy particles. As such, gamma rays let us to probe the 'non-thermal' universe that is associated with the most extreme astrophysical environments and exotic physical processes that are known. The first source of very high-energy gamma rays, the Crab Nebula, was discovered in 1989 using the ground-based Whipple telescope on Mount Hopkins in southern Arizona. Since then, experiments such as CAT and HEGRA, operating in the French Pyrenees and on the island of La Palma, have increased the power of this technique. Now, the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) telescope, which is sited in the mountains of Namibia in southern Africa, is taking gamma-ray astronomy to new heights. In the March edition of Physics World, Werner Hoffman and Jim Hinton discuss how HESS's gamma-ray data have provided insights into various aspects of high-energy physics since the it became operational in 2004. (U.K.)

[en] High-energy messengers from the Universe comprise charged cosmic rays, gamma rays and neutrinos. Here we summarize the detection principles and detection schemes for these particles, with a focus on ground-based instruments which employing natural media such as air, ice, or water as their detection medium.

[en] After a release of radionuclides, accidental or otherwise, there will be an urgent need to identify members of the general public who have received a significant intake of radioactive material, sufficient to require medical treatment or further investigation. A large number of people could be contaminated in such an incident. For gamma-ray emitting radionuclides this screening could be carried out using gamma camera medical imaging systems, such as those that are present in many large UK hospital sites. By making a number of simple reversible changes such as removal of collimators, these cameras could be employed as useful additional screening instruments as well as an aid in contamination control. A study was carried out to investigate which systems were present in sufficient number to offer wide scale coverage of UK population centres. Nine gamma cameras (eight dual head and one single head) were assessed using point source and bottle mannequin (BOMAB) phantom measurements so that a mathematical model could be developed for use with the MCNPX Monte Carlo radiation transport code. The gamma camera models were assessed for practical seated and supine geometries to give calibration factors for a list of target radionuclides that could be released in a radiological incident. The minimum detectable activities (MDAs) that were achieved for a five minute measurement demonstrated that these systems are sufficiently sensitive to be used for screening of the general public and are comparable to other body monitoring facilities. While gamma cameras have on-board software that are designed for imaging and provide for a gamma-ray energy range suitable for radionuclides for diagnostic imaging (such as ^99mTc), they are not as versatile as custom-built body monitoring systems. (paper)

[en] We report the results of a new Rosenbluth measurement of the proton form factors at Q² values of 2.64, 3.20 and 4.10 GeV². Cross sections were determined by detecting the recoiling proton in contrast to previous measurements in which the scattered electron was detected. At each Q², relative cross sections were determined to better than 1%. The measurement focused on the extraction of G_E/G_M which was determined to 4-8% and found to approximate form factor scaling, i.e. μ_pG_E ∼ G_M. These results are consistent with and much more precise than previous Rosenbluth extractions. However, they are inconsistent with recent polarization transfer measurements of comparable precision, implying a systematic difference between the two techniques

[en] The coherent 3He(e,eπ+)3H reaction was measured at Q2 = 0.4 (GeV/c)2 and W = 1.6 GeV for two values of the virtual photon polarization, ε, allowing the separation of longitudinal and transverse cross sections. The results from the coherent process on 3He were compared to H(e,eπ+)n data taken at the same kinematics. This marks the first direct comparison of these processes. At these kinematics (pπ = 1.1 GeV/c), pion rescattering from the spectator nucleons in the 3He(e,eπ+)3H process is expected to be small, simplifying the comparison to π+ production from the free proton

[en] Cross-section values for Compton scattering on the proton were measured at 25 kinematic settings over the range s = 5-11 and -t = 2-7 GeV2 with statistical accuracy of a few percent. The scaling power for the s-dependence of the cross section at fixed center of mass angle was found to be 8.0 +/- 0.2, strongly inconsistent with the prediction of perturbative QCD. The observed cross section values are in fair agreement with the calculations using the handbag mechanism, in which the external photons couple to a single quark

[en] Kaon electroproduction on hydrogen, deuterium and helium targets has been measured at a beam energy of 3.245 GeV and four-momentum transfer, Q², ranging from 0.34 to 0.5 GeV². Associated hyperon production off a nucleon in the deuteron exhibits a quasifree production mechanism. Excess yield close to the respective thresholds for Λ and Σ production is observed. This can be accounted for by final-state interaction between the electroproduced hyperon and the spectator nucleon. The effects predicted from three different hyperon-nucleon potentials are compared to the data. The measurement on the helium targets is the first ever performed. Very preliminary results are presented

[en] The A(e,eK+)X reaction has been investigated at Jefferson Laboratory. Data were taken for Q² approx. 0.35 GeV² at a beam energy of 3.245 GeV for 1H,3He and 4He targets. Evidence for Lambda-hypernuclear bound states is seen for 3,4He targets. This is the first time that the electroproduction of these hypernuclei has been observed

[en] The A(e,eiK+)YX reaction on H, D, ³He, and ⁴He was investigated in Hall C at CEBAF. Data were obtained for Q² ∼ 0.35 and 0.5 GeV² at 3.245 GeV. The missing mass spectra for both H and D are fitted with Monte-Carlo simulations incorporating peaks corresponding to Lambda production on the proton and Sigma production on both the proton and neutron. For D, the cross section ratio Sigma⁰/Sigma^- ∼ 2, and excess yield close to the thresholds for Lambda and Sigma production can be attributed to final-state interactions; models are compared to the data. The analysis of the data for the He targets is in a more preliminary state with broader quasi-free peaks resulting from the higher Fermi momenta. Evidence for bound Lambda-hypernuclear states is seen and other structure may be present