Gomez-Cadenas, J. J., Martin-Albo, J., Menendez, J., Mezzetto, M., Monrabal, F., & Sorel, M. (2024). The search for neutrinoless double-beta decay. Riv. Nuovo Cimento, 46, 619–692.
Abstract: Neutrinos are the only particles in the Standard Model that could be Majorana fermions, that is, completely neutral fermions that are their own antiparticles. The most sensitive known experimental method to verify whether neutrinos are Majorana particles is the search for neutrinoless double-beta decay. The last 2 decades have witnessed the development of a vigorous program of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments, spanning several isotopes and developing different strategies to handle the backgrounds masking a possible signal. In addition, remarkable progress has been made in the understanding of the nuclear matrix elements of neutrinoless double-beta decay, thus reducing a substantial part of the theoretical uncertainties affecting the particle-physics interpretation of the process. On the other hand, the negative results by several experiments, combined with the hints that the neutrino mass ordering could be normal, may imply very long lifetimes for the neutrinoless double-beta decay process. In this report, we review the main aspects of such process, the recent progress on theoretical ideas and the experimental state of the art. We then consider the experimental challenges to be addressed to increase the sensitivity to detect the process in the likely case that lifetimes are much longer than currently explored, and discuss a selection of the most promising experimental efforts.
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Olivares Herrador, J., Latina, A., Aksoy, A., Fuster Martinez, N., Gimeno, B., & Esperante, D. (2024). Implementation of the beam-loading effect in the tracking code RF-track based on a power-diffusive model. Front. Physics, 12, 1348042–11pp.
Abstract: The need to achieve high energies in particle accelerators has led to the development of new accelerator technologies, resulting in higher beam intensities and more compact devices with stronger accelerating fields. In such scenarios, beam-loading effects occur, and intensity-dependent gradient reduction affects the accelerated beam as a consequence of its interaction with the surrounding cavity. In this study, a power-diffusive partial differential equation is derived to account for this effect. Its numerical resolution has been implemented in the tracking code RF-Track, allowing the simulation of apparatuses where transient beam loading plays an important role. Finally, measurements of this effect have been carried out in the CERN Linear Electron Accelerator for Research (CLEAR) facility at CERN, finding good agreement with the RF-Track simulations.
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Sahin, E. et al, & Algora, A. (2024). Collectivity at the prolate-oblate transition: The 21+ lifetime of 190W. Phys. Lett. B, 857, 138976–8pp.
Abstract: The neutron-rich rare isotope W-190 is discussed as a candidate for a prolate-oblate transitional nucleus with maximum gamma-softness. The collectivity of this isotope is assessed for the first time by the measurement of the reduced E2 transition probability of its first 2(+) state to the ground state. The experiment employed the FAst TIming Array (FATIMA), comprised of 36 LaBr3(Ce) scintillators, which was part of the DESPEC setup at GSI, Darmstadt. The 4(1)(+) and 2(1)(+) states of W-190 were populated subsequently to the decay of its 127(12) μs isomeric J(pi )= 10(-) state. The mean lifetime of the 2(1)(+) state was determined to be tau = 274(28) ps, which corresponds to a B(E2; 2(1)(+ )-> 0(1)(+)) value of 95(10) W.u. The results motivated a revision of previous calculations within an energy-density functional-based interacting boson model-2 approach, yielding E2 transition properties and spectroscopic quadrupole moments for tungsten isotopes. From comparison to theory, the new data suggest that W-190 is at the transition from prolate to oblate structure along the W isotopic chain, which had previously been discussed as a nuclear shape-phase transition.
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n_TOF Collaboration(Manna, A. et al), Babiano-Suarez, V., Caballero-Ontanaya, L., Domingo-Pardo, C., Ladarescu, I., & Tain, J. L. (2025). New insights on fission of 235U induced by high energy neutrons from a new measurement at n_TOF. Phys. Lett. B, 860, 139213–8pp.
Abstract: The U-235(n, f) reaction cross section was measured relative to neutron-proton elastic scattering for the first time in the energy region from 10 MeV to 440 MeV at the CERN n_TOF facility, extending the upper limit of the only previous measurement in the literature by more than 200 MeV. For neutron energies below 200 MeV, our results agree within one standard deviation with data in literature. Above 200 MeV, the comparison of model calculations to our data indicates the need to introduce a transient time in neutron-induced fission to allow the simultaneous description of (n, f) and (p, f) reactions.
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Mollaebrahimi, A. et al: A., S. (2025). First observation of MNT isotope beams at the FRS Ion Catcher. Nucl. Phys. A, 1057, 123041–4pp.
Abstract: An exploratory experiment on Multi-Nucleon Transfer (MNT) reactions was successfully conducted at the FRS Ion Catcher setup at GSI. The experiment demonstrated the production of MNT-driven radioactive ion beams (RIBs) produced by decelerated relativistic beams. A beam of 238U ions was reacted with a 209Bi target at near-Coulomb barrier energies inside the specially modified Cryogenic Stopping Cell (CSC) for the production and thermalization of MNT products. These products were then identified using a Multiple-Reflection Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (MRTOF-MS). The observation of target-like MNT fragments along the A = 211 isobaric chain provided a proof-of-principle for future MNT studies with the FRS Ion Catcher setup.
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