Abstract: The Ar-40 + Pb-208 multinucleon transfer reaction has been studied at E-lab = 255 MeV with the large solid angle magnetic spectrometer PRISMA. Mass and charge yields, differential and total cross sections, total kinetic energy loss distributions of different channels were simultaneously measured. Angular distributions were measured in a wide angular range by matching different spectrometer angular settings. Absolute cross sections were obtained by careful evaluation of the spectrometer response function. These cross sections for different transfer channels allow the discussion of the role played by nucleon-nucleon correlations.

Abstract: The gamma decay from the low-lying dipole states of Ce-140 excited via inelastic scattering of O-17 at bombarding energy of 340 MeV was measured using the high resolution AGATA-Demonstrator array in coincidence with scattered ions detected in two segmented Delta E-E silicon detectors of the TRACE array. Particular attention is here given to the decay of the first 1(-) state at 3643 keV which is considered to be of two-phonon character. The gamma-gamma coincidence method was applied to select desired decay branch. No direct decay from this state was observed to 2(+) and 3(-) phonon states which would be the proof of the pure harmonic coupling. The comparison between experimentally obtained differential cross sections and analysis with distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) allowed to conclude that the first 1(-) state has a different nature than higher-lying pygmy dipole states. This was possible using the form factor obtained by folding a microscopically calculated transition density.

Abstract: Excited states in the N = 30 neutron-rich isotope K-49 have been studied using multinucleon transfer reactions with thin targets and the PRISMA-CLARA spectrometer combined with thick-target gamma-coincidence data from Gammasphere. The d(3/2) proton-hole state is located 92 keV above the s(1/2) ground state, and the proton-particle f(7/2) state is suggested at 2104 keV. Three other levels are established as involving the coupling to 2(+) of two neutrons above the N = 28 shell. The measured or estimated lifetimes served to reinforce the interpretation of the observed level structure, which is found to be in satisfactory agreement with shell-model calculations.

Abstract: The lifetimes of the first excited 2(+) states in Fe-62 and Fe-64 have been measured for the first time using the recoil-distance Doppler shift method after multinucleon transfer reactions in inverse kinematics. A sudden increase of collectivity from Fe-62 to Fe-64 is observed. The experimental results are compared with new large-scale shell-model calculations and Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov-based configuration-mixing calculations using the Gogny D1S interaction. The results give a deeper understanding of the mechanism leading to an onset of collectivity near Ni-68, which is compared with the situation in the so-called island of inversion around Mg-32.

Abstract: The yrast sequence of the neutron-rich dysprosium isotope Dy-168 has been studied using multinucleon transfer reactions following collisions between a 460-MeV Se-82 beam and an Er-170 target. The reaction products were identified using the PRISMA magnetic spectrometer and the gamma rays detected using the CLARA HPGe-detector array. The 2(+) and 4(+) members of the previously measured ground-state rotational band of Dy-168 have been confirmed and the yrast band extended up to 10(+). A tentative candidate for the 4(+) -> 2(+) transition in Dy-170 was also identified. The data on these nuclei and on the lighter even-even dysprosium isotopes are interpreted in terms of total Routhian surface calculations and the evolution of collectivity in the vicinity of the proton-neutron valence product maximum is discussed.