Abstract: Lifetime measurements of excited states of the light N = 52 isotones Kr-88, Se-86, and Ge-84 have been performed, using the recoil distance Doppler shift method and VAMOS and AGATA spectrometers for particle identification and gamma spectroscopy, respectively. The reduced electric quadrupole transition probabilities B(E2; 2(+)-> 0(+)) and B(E2; 4(+)-> 2(+)) were obtained for the first time for the hard-to-reach 84Ge. While the B(E2; 2(+)-> 0(+) ) values of Kr-88, Se-86 saturate the maximum quadrupole collectivity offered by the natural valence (3s, 2d, 1g(7/2), 1h(11/2)) space of an inert Ni-78 core, the value obtained for Ge-84 largely exceeds it, suggesting that shape coexistence phenomena, previously reported at N less than or similar to 49, extend beyond N = 50. The onset of collectivity at Z = 32 is understood as due to a pseudo-SU(3) organization of the proton single-particle sequence reflecting a clear manifestation of pseudospin symmetry. It is realized that the latter provides actually reliable guidance for understanding the observed proton and neutron single particle structure in the whole medium-mass region, from Ni to Sn, pointing towards the important role of the isovector-vector rho field in shell-structure evolution.

Abstract: The first observation of the semileptonic b-baryon decay Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c) tau(-)(nu) over bar (tau) with a significance of 6.1 sigma, is reported using a data sample corresponding to 3 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity, collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV at the LHC. The tau(-) lepton is reconstructed in the hadronic decay to three charged pions. The ratio K = B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c) tau(-)(nu) over bar (tau))/B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)pi(-)pi(+)pi(-)) is measured to be 2.46 +/- 0.27 +/- 0.40, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The branching fraction B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c) tau(-)(nu) over bar (tau)) (1.50 +/- 0.16 +/- 0.25 +/- 0.23)% is obtained, where the third uncertainty is from the external branching fraction of the normalization channel Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)pi(-)pi(+)pi(-). The ratio of semileptonic branching fractions R(Lambda(+)(c)) B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c) tau(-)(nu) over bar (tau))/B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)mu(-)(nu) over bar (tau)) is derived to be 0.242 +/- 0.026 +/- 0.040 +/- 0.059, where the external branching fraction uncertainty from the channel Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)mu(-)(nu) over bar (tau) contributes to the last term. This result is in agreement with the standard model prediction.

Abstract: An amplitude analysis of B- -> J/psi Lambda(p) over bar decays is performed using 4400 signal candidates selected on a data sample of pp collisions recorded at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV with the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb(-1). A narrow resonance in the J/psi Lambda system, consistent with a pentaquark candidate with strangeness, is observed with high significance. The mass and the width of this new state are measured to be 4338.2 +/- 0.7 +/- 0.4 MeV and 7.0 +/- 1.2 +/- 1.3 MeV, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The spin is determined to be 1/2 and negative parity is preferred. Because of the small Q-value of the reaction, the most precise single measurement of the B- mass to date, 5279.44 +/- 0.05 +/- 0.07 MeV, is obtained.

Abstract: We report on the measurement of the Be-7(n,p)Li-7 cross section from thermal to approximately 325 keV neutron energy, performed in the high-flux experimental area (EAR2) of the n_TOF facility at CERN. This reaction plays a key role in the lithium yield of the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) for standard cosmology. The only two previous time-of-flight measurements performed on this reaction did not cover the energy window of interest for BBN, and they showed a large discrepancy between each other. The measurement was performed with a Si telescope and a high-purity sample produced by implantation of a Be-7 ion beam at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. While a significantly higher cross section is found at low energy, relative to current evaluations, in the region of BBN interest, the present results are consistent with the values inferred from the time-reversal Li-7(p,n)Be-7 reaction, thus yielding only a relatively minor improvement on the so-called cosmological lithium problem. The relevance of these results on the near-threshold neutron production in the p + Li-7 reaction is also discussed.

Abstract: With an integrated luminosity of 2.47 fb(-1) recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, the exclusive decays B-s(0) -> J/psi phi and B-d(0) -> J/psi K*(0) of B mesons produced in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV are used to determine the ratio of fragmentation fractions f(s)/f(d). From the observed B-s(0) -> J/psi phi and B-d(0) -> J/psi K*(0) yields, the quantity (f(s)/f(d))[B(B-s(0) -> J/psi phi)/B(B-d(0) -> J/psi K*(0) )] is measured to be 0.199 +/- 0.004(stat) +/- 0.008(syst). Using a recent theory prediction for [B(B-s(0) -> J/psi phi)/B(B-d(0) -> J/psi K*(0))] yields (f(s)/f(d)) = 0.240 +/- 0.004(stat) +/- 0.010(syst) +/- 0.017(th). This result is based on a new approach that provides a significant improvement of the world average.