The E0 transition depopulating the first-excited 0+ state in 24Mg has been observed for the first time, and the E0 transition strength determined by electron-positron pair and γ-ray spectroscopy ...measurements performed using the Super-e pair spectrometer. The E0 transition strength is ρ2×103=380(70). A two-state mixing model implies a deformation of the first-excited 0+ state of β2≈1 and a change in the mean-square charge radius of Δ〈r2〉≈1.9fm2, which suggests a significant shape change between the ground state and first-excited 0+ state in 24Mg. The observed E0 strength gives direct evidence of shape coexistence and superdeformation in 24Mg, bringing this nucleus into line with similar behaviour in nearby N=Z nuclei. This result agrees with recent theoretical work on the cluster nature of 24Mg and has potential ramifications for nuclear reactions of astrophysical importance.
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Physical studies of electric dipole excitations in atomic nuclei
e.g.
the structure of pygmy dipole resonances and isovector giant dipole resonances are attracting much attention recently. In this ...article, we describe a technical development in the coincidence measurement of the excitation processes with the Grand Raiden high-resolution magnetic spectrometer and the
γ
-decay processes by the CAGRA and SC
γ
LLA efficient
γ
-detector arrays at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics at Osaka University. Specifically, we describe how we developed a new beamline (GRAF), for
γ
detection at the target position by placing the spectrometer at an angle of
4
.
5
-
19
.
0
∘
and by transporting the primary beam to a well-shielded beam dump. Experimental conditions and representative data are shown for each of the two
γ
-detector arrays.
γ emission probabilities from unbound states in 78,80Se, populated by a neutron-transfer reaction (d,p) on 77,79Se nuclei in inverse kinematics, were measured by directly detecting reaction residues. ...Assuming the spin distribution at the respective excitation energy of the unbound state, the cross-sections of the 79Se(n,γ)80Se reaction were evaluated using the γ emission probabilities. The surrogate-ratio method with the experimental γ emission probabilities of 78,80Se was also employed to deduce the cross-sections of 79Se(n,γ) reaction by incorporating the theoretical evaluations of the neutron-capture reaction on the isomeric state in 77Se. Our two cross-sections are in good agreement with existing nuclear data compilations for the neutron-capture reaction on 79Se. The presented method contributes to the body of existing knowledge by providing approaches for determining the neutron capture cross-sections of radioactive nuclei at various neutron energies.
The nuclear shell structure, which originates in the nearly independent motion of nucleons in an average potential, provides an important guide for our understanding of nuclear structure and the ...underlying nuclear forces. Its most remarkable fingerprint is the existence of the so-called magic numbers of protons and neutrons associated with extra stability. Although the introduction of a phenomenological spin-orbit (SO) coupling force in 1949 helped in explaining the magic numbers, its origins are still open questions. Here, we present experimental evidence for the smallest SO-originated magic number (subshell closure) at the proton number six in
C obtained from systematic analysis of point-proton distribution radii, electromagnetic transition rates and atomic masses of light nuclei. Performing ab initio calculations on
C, we show that the observed proton distribution radii and subshell closure can be explained by the state-of-the-art nuclear theory with chiral nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon forces, which are rooted in the quantum chromodynamics.
•We measured the production cross sections for a variety of radioactive isotopes.•They were produced from 124Xe, 48Ca, and 238U beams at 345MeV/nucleon using BigRIPS.•The measured production cross ...sections were compared with the EPAX formulae.•We discovered four new isotopes 85,86Ru and 81,82Mo produced by 124Xe+Be.•103Sb is particle unbound with an upper limit of 49ns for the half-life.
We have measured the production rates and production cross sections for a variety of radioactive isotopes which were produced from 124Xe, 48Ca, and 238U beams at an energy of 345MeV/nucleon using the BigRIPS separator at the RIKEN Nishina Center RI Beam Factory (RIBF). Proton-rich isotopes with atomic numbers Z=40–52 and neutron-rich isotopes with Z=5–16 were produced by projectile fragmentation of the 124Xe and 48Ca beam on Be targets, respectively. Neutron-rich isotopes with Z=20–59 were produced by in-flight fission of the 238U beam, in which both Be and Pb were used as production targets. The measured production rates and production cross sections were compared with those of the LISE++ calculations, and overall fairly good agreement has been obtained. Furthermore, in the measurements with the 124Xe beam, we have discovered four new isotopes on the proton-drip line, 85,86Ru and 81,82Mo, and obtained the clear evidence that 103Sb is particle unbound with an upper limit of 49ns for the half-life. The measurements of projectile-fragment momentum distributions have been also performed with the 124Xe beam, in which the low-momentum tails of the distributions have been measured for the first time at the energy of 345MeV/nucleon.
The β-decay half-lives of 38 neutron-rich isotopes from (36)Kr to (43)Tc have been measured; the half-lives of (100)Kr, (103-105)Sr, (106-108)Y, (108-110)Zr, (111,112)Nb, (112-115)Mo, and (116,117)Tc ...are reported here. The results when compared with previous standard models indicate an overestimation in the predicted half-lives by a factor of 2 or more in the A≈110 region. A revised model based on the second generation gross theory of β decay better predicts the measured half-lives and suggests a more rapid flow of the rapid neutron-capture process (r-matter flow) through this region than previously predicted.
Structure of the neutron-rich N=86 isotope 140Xe, located northeast of a doubly-magic nucleus 132Sn, is investigated by β−γ spectroscopy. Two β-decay isomers in 140I are newly found in the study of ...two different β decays of 140I which were produced by two reactions (i) direct in-flight fission at a primary target and (ii) β decay of 140Te at an active stopper. Half-lives of the β decays of the ground state, the low-spin isomer, and the high-spin isomer are determined to be 0.38(2), 0.91(5), and 0.47(4) s, respectively. Decay schemes of the β decay of the high-spin isomer and of the mixed β decays of the ground state and the low-spin isomer in 140I to 140Xe are constructed using the information on γ-ray coincidence relation and γ-ray intensity. Nuclear structures of the low-lying states in 140Xe and 140I are discussed by comparing the experimental results to two theoretical calculations based on a large-scale shell model and the deformed Skyrme Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov plus deformed quasiparticle-random-phase approximation. Possible candidates for (quasi-)γ-band members of 2+ and 4+ states and the octupole collective 1− state are proposed in 140Xe. Increase of quadrupole, triaxial, and octupole collectivities is discussed with the increase of neutron and proton numbers.
The β-decay scheme of 138Te and the level structure of 138I is reported for the first time. The experiment was performed at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory of RIKEN, as one of the EUROBALL-RIKEN ...Cluster Array campaigns. Secondary radioactive ions, including 138Te and 138Sb, were produced by the in-flight fission of a 238U beam with the energy of 345 MeV per nucleon. From the β decay of 138Te, the level scheme of 138I was supplemented with new spin and parity assignments, such as the low-lying negative-parity states and a positive-parity 1+ state. This 1+ state can be interpreted as being associated with the π0h11/2⊗ν0h9/2 partner orbital configuration populated by the Gamow-Teller transition between a neutron in the 0h9/2 orbital and a proton in the 0h11/2 orbital. Details of the structure of 138I are discussed in terms of the proton-neutron interactions and Gamow-Teller transition strength within the theoretical context of shell-model calculations.
Neutron-rich Pm (Z=61) isotopes were studied by delayed γ-ray spectroscopy at RIBF, RIKEN Nishina Center using the in-flight fission of a 345 MeV/nucleon 238U beam. A cluster-type Ge detector array, ...EURICA, was used to measure the delayed γ rays from stopped ions. Isomeric γ decays were observed in 159Pm and 161Pm with half-lives of 4.97(12) μs and 0.79(4) μs, respectively. Level schemes for 159Pm and 161Pm were constructed in this study. The isomeric states of 159Pm and 161Pm could be interpreted as two quasiparticle excitations of neutrons with the configurations of ν(7/2633⊗5/2523) and ν(7/2633⊗1/2521), respectively. They are analogous to the isomers that have been observed systematically in other even-mass N=98 and N=100 isotones in this region. A projected shell model calculation was performed and it reproduced the order of three-quasiparticle states only if new Nilsson parameters with an N-dependent spin-orbit interaction were used. This work demonstrates that the strength of spin-orbit interactions in standard Nilsson parameters needs to be modified to study the properties of neutron-rich rare-earth nuclei around A=165, and provides new evidence supporting the existence of the deformed N=98 subshell gap in odd-mass nuclei for the first time.