In the present work the fusion cross section of the 12C+24Mg system has been measured down to energies far below the coulomb barrier around 4μb. This system is slightly heavier than those of ...astrophysical interest, like 12C+12C and 16O+16O. The data points highlight the presence of hindrance in 12C+24Mg because the excitation function is over-estimated by standard Coupled-Channels calculations, and a clear maximum of the S factor has been observed. The cross section at hindrance threshold is found to be remarkably large (σ ≈0.75mb). The S-factor maximum is nicely fitted using both an empirical interpolation in the spirit of the adiabatic model, and the hindrance parametrisation. The data far below the barrier may suggest that the coupling strengths gradually decrease and vanish, so that the excitation function seems to be well reproduced by a simple one-dimensional tunnelling through the potential barrier in that energy range. On the other hand, the equally good fit obtained with the hindrance model, indicates that discriminating between the two approaches would require further precise measurements at slightly lower energies.
A Monte Carlo approach has been developed for simulations of the angular and energy distributions for heavy evaporation residues (ER) produced in heavy ion fusion-evaporation reactions. The approach ...uses statistical model approximations of the HIVAP code for the calculations of initial angular and energy distributions inside a target, which are determined by neutron evaporation from an excited compound nucleus. Further step in the simulation of transmission of ER heavy atoms through a target layer is performed with the TRIM code that gives final angle and energy distributions at the exit from the target. Both the simulations (neutron evaporation and transmission through solid media) have been separately considered and good agreement has been obtained between the results of simulations and available experimental data. Some applications of the approach have been also considered.
•The last generation large solid angle magnetic spectrometers for very heavy ions.•Transfer of multiple pairs, providing valuable information on nucleon-nucleon correlations.•The study of the ...properties of the heavy binary partner via transfer reactions.
Significant advances have been achieved in the last years in the field of multinucleon transfer reactions. The advent of the last generation large solid angle magnetic spectrometers pushed the detection efficiency more than an order of magnitude above previous limits, with a significant gain in mass resolution for very heavy ions. Further, the coupling of these spectrometers to large gamma arrays allowed to perform gamma-particle coincidences. One can thus detect the transfer strength to the lowest excited levels of binary products and perform gamma spectroscopy for nuclei moderately far from stability, especially in the neutron-rich region. Via transfer of multiple pairs valuable information on nucleon-nucleon correlations can also be derived, especially from measurements performed below the Coulomb barrier. There is growing interest in the study of the properties of the heavy binary partner, since the transfer mechanism may allow the production of (moderately) neutron rich nuclei in the Pb and in the actinides regions, crucial also for astrophysics. Present studies are relevant for future studies with radioactive beams.
We present some of the recent experimental results in heavy-ion transfer reactions obtained with the large solid angle magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at energies close to the Coulomb barrier. We focus ...on a series of experiments that have been carried out to study the nucleon-nucleon correlations for closed shell and superfluid systems. They are discussed together with the newest results concerning the proton transfer channels above and below the Coulomb barrier. The second set of the experiments was performed to study the production mechanism of heavy neutron-rich nuclei and the related effects of secondary processes.
.
The response function of the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA is studied via a Monte Carlo simulation that employs a ray tracing code to determine the trajectories of individual rays through the ...electromagnetic fields. The calculated response is tested on angular and energy distributions provided by theoretical calculations for the
48
Ca +
64
Ni multinucleon transfer reaction and applied to the corresponding experimental data.
The phenomenon of fusion hindrance may have important consequences on the nuclear processes occurring in astrophysical scenarios, if it is a general behaviour of heavy-ion fusion at extreme ...sub-barrier energies, including reactions involving lighter systems, e.g. reactions in the carbon and oxygen burning stages of heavy stars. The hindrance is generally identified by the observation of a maximum of the S-factor vs. energy. Whether there is an S-factor maximum at very low energies for systems with a positive fusion Q-value is an experimentally challenging question. Our aim has been to search evidence for fusion hindrance in 12C + 24Mg which is a medium-light systems with positive Q-value for fusion, besides the heavier cases where hindrance is recognised to be a general phenomenon. The experiment has been performed at the XTU Tandem accelerator of LNL by directly detecting the fusion evaporation residues at very forward angles. The excitation function has been extended down to ≃10μb, i.e. 4 orders of magnitude lower than previous measurements and we observe that the S-factor develops a clear maximum vs. energy. Coupled-Channels calculations using a Woods-Saxon potential give a good account of the data near and above the barrier but over predict the cross sections at very low energies. Therefore the hindrance phenomenon is clearly recognised in 12 C + 24 Mg with an energy threshold that nicely fits the systematics in several medium-light systems. The fusion cross sections at the hindrance threshold show that the highest value (as=1.6mb) is indeed found for this system. It may be possible to extend the measurements further down in energy.
.
Sub-barrier fusion of the two near-by systems
36
S +
50
Ti,
51
V has been measured at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (INFN). Motivation for the experiment came from the possible effect of the ...non-zero spin of the ground state of the
51
V nucleus on the sub-barrier excitation function, and in particular on the shape of the barrier distribution. No previous data were available for these two systems near the barrier. Our results show that the two measured excitation functions are very similar down to the level of 20-30μb. The same is true for the two barrier distributions. Coupled-channel calculations have been performed including the low energy excitations of both projectile and the two targets. We have indication that the low-lying levels in
51
V can be interpreted in the weak-coupling scheme, that is,
51
V (
I
) =
50
Ti(2
+
) ⊗
p
(1
f
7/2
) and that the extra proton in the
1
f
7
/
2
shell does not have a significant influence on sub-barrier fusion.
The sub-barrier fusion excitation function of 40Ca + 96Zr has been measured down to cross sections ≃2.4 μb, i.e. two orders of magnitude smaller than obtained in a previous experiment, where the ...sub-barrier fusion of this system was found to be greatly enhanced with respect to 40Ca + 90Zr, and the need of coupling to transfer channels was suggested relying on coupled-channels calculations. The purpose of this work has been to investigate the behavior of 40Ca + 96Zr fusion far below the barrier, thereby disentangling the elusive interplay of effects due to inelastic couplings, transfer couplings and, possibly, the appearance of the fusion hindrance. The smooth trend of the excitation function has been found to continue, and the logarithmic slope increases very slowly. No indication of hindrance shows up, and a comparison with 48Ca + 96Zr is illuminating in this respect. A new CC analysis of the complete excitation function has been performed, including explicitly one- and two-nucleon Q>0 transfer channels. Such transfer couplings bring significant cross section enhancements, even at the level of a few μb. Locating the hindrance threshold, if any, in 40Ca + 96Zr would require challenging measurements of cross sections in the sub-μb range.
Precise fusion and quasi-elastic scattering excitation functions have been measured for the systems
40Ca +
90,96Zr
at energies spanning the Coulomb barrier. From both the fusion and the quasi-elastic ...scattering data representations of the barrier distributions have been extracted. The barrier distributions of the two reactions are qualitatively very different. While the lighter system is well described by coupled-channels calculations including multi-phonon excitations, this coupling scheme fails completely for the heavier system, possibly due to multi-neutron transfer.
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