Abstract
The iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (iThemba LABS) is a centre of expertise and innovation in the field of nuclear-structure physics and is a leader in several high-impact ...studies. One of the highlights of these nuclear-structure experiments is the study of the broad structure of the IsoVector Giant Dipole Resonance (IVGDR) in the rare-earth region. Proton inelastic scattering experiments with
E
p
= 200 MeV were performed on the even-even Nd isotope chain and
152
Sm at very forward scattering angles including zero degrees with the K600 magnetic spectrometer. The evolution of the shape of the IVGDR in the transition from spherical to deformed nuclei was investigated. One of the goals of this highlighted study was to confirm the
K
-splitting observed in previous photo-absorption measurements from Saclay. Significant discrepancies were found between the direct (γ, xn) data obtained at Saclay and the equivalent photo-absorption cross sections obtained using (p, p′) data from the K600. Furthermore, discrepancies exist for several nuclei between photo-absorption data taken at the Saclay and Livermore laboratories. These discrepancies, possible reasons for them and future investigations will be presented and discussed.
Understanding the evolution of level densities in the crossover from spherical to well-deformed nuclei has been a long-standing problem in nuclear physics. We measure nuclear level densities for a ...chain of neodymium isotopes 142,144−151Nd which exhibit such a crossover. These results represent the most complete data set of nuclear level densities to date for an isotopic chain between neutron shell-closure and towards mid-shell. We observe a strong increase of the level densities along the chain with an overall increase by a factor of ≈150 at an excitation energy of 6 MeV and saturation around mass 150. Level densities calculated by the shell model Monte Carlo (SMMC) are in excellent agreement with these experimental results. Based on our experimental and theoretical findings, we offer an explanation of the observed mass dependence of the level densities in terms of the intrinsic single-particle level density and the collective enhancement.
Change in nuclei deformation leads to changes in statistical properties such as the nuclear level density (NLD) and γ-ray strength function (γSF). The NLD and γSF of 151Sm were extracted using the ...Oslo method. The strength of the scissors resonance (SR) and its centroid energy for 151Sm were found to be 2.13 ± 0.60 μN2 and 2.48 ± 0.25 MeV, respectively. These results were used to place the SR of 151Sm and its magnetic dipole strength B(M1)SR into the context of previously measured Sm isotopes.
Two nearly degenerate positive-parity bands with the πg9/22⊗νg9/2−1 configuration and three nearly degenerate negative-parity bands with the πg9/2(p3/2,f5/2)⊗νg9/2−1 configuration have been ...identified in 81Kr. They are interpreted as chiral doublet bands and pseudospin-chiral triplet bands, which is supported by the constrained covariant density functional theory and the multiparticle plus rotor model calculations. The present work reports two new chiral configurations πg9/22⊗νg9/2−1 and πg9/2(p3/2,f5/2)⊗νg9/2−1, and the first example of pseudospin-chiral triplet bands involving the π(p3/2,f5/2) pseudospin doublet.
The
γ
-ray strength function (
γ
SF) and nuclear level density (NLD) have been extracted for the first time from inverse kinematic reactions with the Oslo method. This novel technique allows ...measurements of these properties across a wide range of previously inaccessible nuclei. Proton–
γ
coincidence events from the
d
(
86
Kr
,
p
γ
)
87
Kr
reaction were measured at iThemba LABS and the
γ
SF and NLD in
87
Kr
was obtained. The low-energy region of the
γ
SF is compared to shell-model calculations, which suggest this region to be dominated by M1 strength. The
γ
SF and NLD are used as input parameters to Hauser–Feshbach calculations to constrain
(
n
,
γ
)
cross sections of nuclei using the TALYS reaction code. These results are compared to
86
Kr
(
n
,
γ
)
data from direct measurements.
We report γ-ray spectra for the line observed at Eγ = 4.44 MeV in our previous experiments at iThemba LABS’ SSC facility using 30 - 200 MeV proton beams to irradiate a natC target. It is actually a ...complex composed of several lines of interest broadened by Doppler effect. In addition to the dominant 4.439 MeV line of 12C, two other lines at Eγ = 4.319 and 4.445 MeV assigned to 11C and 11B, respectively, are significant components of this complex. The analysis of its line shapes based on nuclear reaction models is the main topic of this contribution.
Gamma-ray line production cross sections from nuclear reactions induced by 30 - 200 MeV protons on natC and Mylar targets have been measured at the SSC facility of iThemba LABS. Results for the 4.439 ...and 6.129 MeV prominent lines of 12C and 16O of astrophysical concern are reported and discussed.
We present the first experimental evidence of the scissors mode in the superheavy nucleus 254No produced in the 208Pb(48Ca, ))254No reaction. The spectrum of γ rays emitted by the excited 254No ...nuclei shows an enhanced γ-ray yield for transition energies of ≈2.5 MeV. By measuring the linear polarization properties of the emitted γ rays, we confirm that the transitions in the enhancement region are predominantly of magnetic-dipole character, characteristic for the scissors mode. To further characterize the enhanced γ-ray yield, simulations of the electromagnetic decay of 254No were performed. The observed enhancement is reproduced by including an M1 component in the γ strength function with total strength . This is in good agreement with the integrated M1 strength from sum-rule estimates and new calculations within the quasi-particle random-phase approximation presented here. Our results provide a stringent test of phenomenological formulae for the scissors mode currently used in stellar nucleosynthesis calculations. We find that those formulae are not satisfactory, and we recommend using sum-rule estimates assuming a rigid-body moment of inertia instead for describing the scissors mode in superheavy nuclei. (Elsevier B.V.)
Recent measurements of the nuclear level densities and γ-ray strength functions below the neutron thresholds in 180,181,182Ta are used as input in the nuclear reaction code TALYS. These experimental ...average quantities are utilized in the calculations of the 179,180,181Ta radiative neutron capture cross sections. From the latter, astrophysical Maxwellian-averaged (n,γ) cross sections (MACS) and reaction rates are extracted, which in turn are used in large astrophysical network calculations to probe the production mechanism of 180Ta. These calculations are performed for two scenarios, the s-process production of 180,181Ta in Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars and the p-process nucleosynthesis of Tam180 in Type-II supernovae. Based on the results from this work, the s-process in stellar evolution is considered negligible in the production of Tam180 whereas 181Ta is partially produced by AGB stars. The new measurements strongly constrain the production and destruction rates of Tam180 at p-process temperatures and confirm significant production of nature's rarest stable isotope Tam180 by the p-process.
PDF
