We investigate the weak leptonic decays of light and heavy pseudoscalar mesons in a relativistic quark model of independent quarks. We perform a static calculation of the decay constantf_M purely on grounds of simplicity. In order to minimize the possible uncertainty in the static calculation, we estimate the ratios of the decay constants which are found to be in good agreement, in the heavy flavor sector, with the predictions of other models available in the literature and existing experimental data. However, there is a noticeable discrepancy in the current prediction for pion decay constant which demonstrates the inherent limitations of the static approximation in the study of non-strange light mesons.

This paper reports the construction of a superconducting linear accelerator as a booster to the 15 UD Pelletron accelerator at Nuclear Science Centre, New Delhi. The LINAC will use superconducting niobium quarter wave resonators as the accelerating element. Construction of the linear accelerator has progressed sufficiently. Details of the entire accelerator system including the cryogenics facility, RF electronics development, facilities for fabricating niobium resonators indigenously, and present status of the project are presented.

Eight cryostats, each housing 4 sputtered Nb/Cu, 160 MHz, quarter wave resonators (QWR), are now in operation in ALPI[1]. Two of them house high β cavities; the others are equipped with medium β resonators. Another medium β cryostat is ready and will be installed in the early 2002. Pb/Cu medium β accelerating cavities are now present only in four cryostats and they will have their Pb superconducting (SC) layer replaced by sputtered Nb soon.

The substitution of the Pb SC layer in ALPI medium β resonators did not interfere with ALPI operation; the upgrading of resonators went on parallel to the cryostat maintenance programme. The average accelerating field of these resonators, at the design power of 7 W, overcomes 4 MV/m, whereas, when Pb electroplated, their average value was 2.7 MV/m. The sputtered resonator combines the good SC characteristics of Nb with the higher thermal conductivity and better stability to change of He bath pressure, which is typical of copper resonators. This leads to a very high reliability, as routinely experienced during beam acceleration.