The main advances in the field of multinucleon transfer reactions at energies close to the Coulomb barrier are reviewed. After a short presentation of the experimental techniques and some gleams from ...the theory the new data are presented. The possibilities offered by the coupling of large gamma-array detectors with tracking spectrometers are discussed.
Abstract Quantum tunnelling plays a crucial role in heavy-ion fusion reactions at sub-barrier energies, especially in the context of nuclear physics and astrophysics. The nuclear structure of the ...colliding nuclei and nucleon transfer processes represent intrinsic degrees of freedom. They are coupled to the relative ion motion and, in general, increase the probability of tunnelling. The influence of couplings to nucleon transfer channels relatively to inelastic excitations, on heavy-ion fusion cross sections, is one of the still open problems in this field. We present a new analysis of several systems, based on the combined observation of the energy-weighted excitation functions $$E\sigma $$ E σ in relation to their first energy derivatives $$d(E\sigma )/dE$$ d ( E σ ) / d E . The relation between $$d(E\sigma )/dE$$ d ( E σ ) / d E and $$E\sigma $$ E σ removes the basic differences due to the varying Coulomb barrier when comparing different systems. We show that, depending on the nuclear structure and/or the presence of strong transfer channels, this representation reveals characteristic features below the barrier. The possible presence of cross section oscillations makes this analysis less clear for light- or medium-light systems.
The γ-particle coincident measurements, performed by coupling of the PRISMA spectrometer to the large γ arrays (CLARA and AGATA), demonstrate a strong interplay between single-particle and collective ...degrees of freedom that is pertinent to the reaction dynamics. By using the unique PRISMA performance in terms of both resolution and efficiency, measurements at very low bombarding energies have been performed. Via transfer of nucleon pairs, valuable information on the component responsible for particle correlations has been derived.
One and two proton transfer channels have been measured in 116Sn+60Ni with the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA by making an excitation function at several bombarding energies, from above to well below ...the Coulomb barrier. The total kinetic energy loss distributions show the predominance of quasi-elastic processes in the sub-barrier regime. The data have been compared with calculations performed with the GRAZING program, based on semiclassical formalism, and in the Distorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA), which provided a good theoretical description of the extracted transfer probabilities for the one proton transfers. The much larger values of the experimental two proton transfers compared with those evaluated within an independent particle transfer mechanism, indicate the presence of strong proton-proton correlations. The results complement the ones of the previously analyzed one- and two-neutron transfers, providing significant new information on the subject compared to past works.
The revival of transfer reaction studies benefited from the construction of the new generation large solid angle spectrometers, coupled to large γ arrays. The recent results of γ-particle coincident ...measurements demonstrate a strong interplay between single-particle and collective degrees of freedom that is pertinent to the reaction dynamics. By studies of transfer of pairs, valuable information on the component responsible for particle correlations has been derived.
Multi-Nucleon Transfer (MNT) reactions have been used for decades as a reaction mechanism, in order to populate excited states in nuclei far from stability and to perform nuclear structure studies. ...Nevertheless, the development of set-ups involving high acceptance tracking magnetic spectrometers (mainly existing in Europe), coupled with the Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) opens new possibilities, especially if they are used in conjunction with high-intensity stable beams or ISOL RIBs. In this article, we will discuss the capabilities of such set-ups aiming at different goals, including complete information in high-resolution spectroscopy as well as lifetime measurements.
Lifetimes or lifetime limits of a small number of excited states of the sulfur isotopes with mass numbers A=35, 36, 37, and 38 have been measured using the differential recoil-distance method. The ...isotopes of sulfur were populated in binary grazing reactions initiated by a beam of 36S ions of energy 225 MeV incident on a thin 208Pb target which was mounted in the Cologne plunger apparatus. The combination of the PRISMA magnetic spectrometer and an early implementation of the AGATA γ-ray tracking array was used to detect γ rays in coincidence with projectile-like nuclear species. Lifetime measurements of populated states were measured within the range from about 1 to 100 ps. The number of states for which lifetime measurements or lifetime limits were possible was limited by statistics. For 35S, the lifetime was determined for the first 1/2+ state at 1572 keV; the result is compared with a previous published lifetime value. The lifetime of the 3− state of 36S at 4193 keV was determined and compared with earlier measurements. No previous lifetime information exists for the (6+) state at 6690 keV; a lifetime measurement with large associated error was made in the present work. For 37S, the states for which lifetime limits were established were those at 646 keV with Jπ=3/2− and at 2776 keV with Jπ=11/2−; there are no previously published lifetime values for excited states of 37S. Finally, a lifetime limit was established for the Jπ=(6+) state of 38S at 3675 keV; no lifetime information exists for this state in the literature. Measured lifetime values were compared with the results of state-of-the-art shell-model calculations based on the PSDPF, SDPF-U, and FSU effective interactions. In addition, nuclear magnetic-dipole and electric-quadrupole moments, branching ratios, mixing ratios, and electromagnetic transition rates, where available, have been compared with shell-model values. The current work suffers from poor statistics; nevertheless, lifetime values and limits have been possible, allowing a useful discussion of the ability of state-of-the-art shell-model calculations to reproduce the experimental results.
This work aims at presenting an alternative approach to the long standing problem of the B(E2) values in Sn isotopes in the vicinity of the N=Z double-magic nucleus 100Sn, until now predominantly ...measured with relativistic and intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation reactions. The direct measurement of the lifetime of low-lying excited states in odd-even Sn isotopes provides a new and precise guidance for the theoretical description of the nuclear structure in this region. Lifetime measurements have been performed in 105Sn for the first time with the coincidence Recoil Distance Doppler Shift technique. The lifetime results for the 7/21+ first excited state and the 11/21+ state, 2+(104Sn) ⊗ν1g7/2 multiplet member, are discussed in comparison with state-of-the-art shell model and mean field calculations, highlighting the crucial contribution of proton excitation across the core of 100Sn. The reduced transition probability B(E2) of the 11/21+ core-coupled state points out an enhanced staggering with respect to the B(E2; 21+→01+) in the even-mass 104Sn and 106Sn isotopes.
The revival of transfer reaction studies benefited from the construction of the new generation large solid angle spectrometers, coupled to large gamma arrays. The recent results of gamma -particle ...coincident measurements demonstrate a strong interplay between single-particle and collective degrees of freedom that is pertinent to the reaction dynamics. Via transfer of pairs, valuable information on the component responsible for particle correlations has been derived.