Abstract: We study the effect of a hidden charm nuclear excited state N-c (c) over bar* in the pi(-)p -> D-Sigma(+)(c) reaction near threshold using an effective Lagrangian approach. We calculate the background contribution of the t and u channels by the D*(0) vector meson exchange and Sigma(++)(c) intermediate state, respectively. We show that the consideration of a N-c (c) over bar* resonance provides an enhancement of the total cross section close to the reaction threshold. We also evaluate the differential cross section for different energies and we study the angle dependence. It is expected that our model calculations will be tested in future experiments.

Abstract: Neutron capture data on intermediate mass nuclei are of key importance to nucleosynthesis in the weak component of the slow neutron capture processes, which occurs in massive stars. The (n,gamma) cross section on Ge-70, which is mainly produced in the s process, was measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN. Resonance capture kernels were determined up to 40 keV neutron energy and average cross sections up to 300 keV. Stellar cross sections were calculated from kT = 5 keV to kT = 100 keV and are in very good agreement with a previous measurement by Walter and Beer (1985) and recent evaluations. Average cross sections are in agreement with Walter and Beer (1985) over most of the neutron energy range covered, while they are systematically smaller for neutron energies above 150 keV. We have calculated isotopic abundances produced in s-process environments in a 25 solar mass star for two initial metallicities (below solar and close to solar). While the low metallicity model reproduces best the solar system germanium isotopic abundances, the close to solar model shows a good global match to solar system abundances in the range of mass numbers A = 60-80.

Abstract: Prompt and delayed gamma-ray spectroscopy of the neutron-rich Kr-94 was performed, as part of the fission campaign at the ALTO facility of the IPN Orsay, using the fast-neutron-induced fission reaction U-238(n, f) in combination with the nu-Ball array, a novel hybrid gamma spectrometer for energy and lifetime measurements. Several new yrast and nonyrast transitions were observed for the first time, extending the previously known level scheme. Additionally, we report on the observation of a new short-lived isomer at 3444 keV with a half-life of 32(3) ns. The analysis of the Nilsson orbitals obtained from Gogny cranked Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations suggests a (9(-)) spin and an oblate deformation for this isomer corresponding to a two-quasineutron state, indicating an isomeric structure very similar to that of the neighboring isotones Sr-96 and Se-92.

Abstract: The population of isomeric states in the prompt decay of fission fragments-so-called isomeric yield ratios (IYRs)-is known to be sensitive to the angular momentum J that the fragment emerged with, and may therefore contain valuable information on the mechanism behind the fission process. In this work, we investigate how changes in the fissioning system impact the measured IYRs of fission fragments to learn more about what parameters affect angular momentum generation. To enable this, a new technique for measuring IYRs is first demonstrated. It is based on the time of arrival of discrete gamma rays, and has the advantage that it enables the study of the IYR as a function of properties of the partner nucleus. This technique is used to extract the IYR of 134Te, strongly populated in actinide fission, from the three different fissioning systems: 232Th(n, f), 238U(n, f), at two different neutron energies, as well as 252Cf(sf). The impacts of changing the fissioning system, the compound nuclear excitation energy, the minimum J of the binary partner, and the number of neutrons emitted on the IYR of 134Te are determined. The decay code TALYS is used in combination with the fission simulation code FREYA to calculate the primary fragment angular momentum from the IYR. We find that the IYR of 134Te has a slope of 0.004 +/- 0.002 with increase in compound nucleus (CN) mass. When investigating the impact on the IYR of increased CN excitation energy, we find no change with an energy increase similar to the difference between thermal and fast fission. By varying the mass of the partner fragment emerging with 134Te, it is revealed that the IYR of 134Te is independent of the total amount of prompt neutrons emitted from the fragment pair. This indicates that neutrons carry minimal angular momentum away from the fission fragments. Comparisons with the FREYA+TALYS simulations reveal that the average angular momentum in 134Te following 238U(n, f) is 6.0 h over bar . This is not consistent with the value deduced from recent CGMF calculations. Finally, the IYR sensitivity to the angular momentum of the primary fragment is discussed. These results are not only important to help understanding the underlying mechanism in nuclear fission, but can also be used to constrain and benchmark fission models, and are relevant to the gamma -ray heating problem of reactors.

Abstract: Lifetimes of the excited states in the neutron-rich Ti-52,Ti-54 nuclei, produced in a multinucleon-transfer reaction, were measured by employing the Cologne plunger device and the recoil-distance Doppler-shift method. The experiment was performed at the Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds facility by using the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array for the gamma-ray detection, coupled to the large-acceptance variable mode spectrometer for an event-by-event particle identification. A comparison between the transition probabilities obtained from the measured lifetimes of the 2(1)(+) to 8(1)(+) yrast states in Ti-52,Ti-54 and that from the shell-model calculations based on the well-established GXPF1A, GXPF1B, and KB3G fp shell interactions support the N = 32 subshell closure. The B(E2) values for Ti-52 determined in this work are in disagreement with the known data, but are consistent with the predictions of the shell-model calculations and reduce the previously observed pronounced staggering across the even-even titanium isotopes.