Abstract: The. decays of neutron-rich Ca isotopes around Ca-48 were measured at Legnaro National Laboratory with the PRISMA-CLARA setup, using the heavy-ion transfer reactions Ca-48 on Ni-64 and Ca-48 on Pb-208 at approximate to 6 MeV/A. The work shows the feasibility to perform full in-beam gamma spectroscopy with heavy-ion transfer reactions (in terms of angular distributions, polarizations, and lifetimes analysis), providing a method that can be further exploited in the future with heavy targets and radioactive beams. For the one-neutron transfer channels, Ca-49 and Ca-47, shell-model and particle-vibration coupling calculations are used to understand the nature of the states. In particular, in both nuclei evidence is found for particle-vibration coupled states based on the 3(-) phonon of Ca-48. In the two-neutron transfer channels, Ca-46 and Ca-50, the experimental data are in global agreement with predictions based on full fp shell-model calculations.

Abstract: Lifetimes of the low-lying (11/2(-)) states in Co-63,Co-65 have been measured employing the recoil distance doppler shift method (RDDS) with the AGATA gamma-ray array and the PRISMA mass spectrometer. These nuclei were populated via a multinucleon transfer reaction by bombarding a U-238 target with a beam of Ni-64. The experimental B(E2) reduced transition probabilities for Co-63,Co-65 are well reproduced by large-scale shell-model calculations that predict a constant trend of the B(E2) values up to the N = 40 Co-67 isotope.

Abstract: Background: Identification of proton-neutron mixed-symmetric one-quadrupole phonon excitations (the 2(ms)(+) states) of atomic nuclei provides information on the isovector part of the residual nucleon-nucleon interaction. It was predicted that the 2(ms)(+) state of particular nuclei close to the U(5) limit of the interacting boson model, in particular Ba-140, should be considerably populated by alpha-transfer reactions [C. E. Alonso et al., Phys. Rev. C 78, 017301 (2008)]. Purpose: We aim at the identification of the 2(ms)(+) mixed-symmetry state (MSS) of radioactive Ba-140 and investigate its population by the alpha-transfer reaction as a suitable tool to selectively populate MSSs and as a potential new signature for its mixed-symmetric character. Method: A gamma-ray spectroscopy experiment was performed in inverse kinematics in order to populate the 2(ms)(+) state of Ba-140 by alpha-transfer from a C-nat target on Xe-136 beam ions. The population of the candidate for the 2(ms)(+) state of Ba-140 was measured relative to the population of the 2(1)(+) state. Results: The candidate for the 2(ms)(+) state of Ba-140 was populated by a transfer three times weaker than predicted. Another 2(+) state that can be ruled out as the MSS was in turn as strongly populated by the a transfer as predicted for the MSS. Conclusions: The relative population of 2(+) states by alpha-transfer cannot serve as a new signature for MSSs, since other 2(+) states are also strongly populated. Nevertheless, the substantial population of the MSS candidate of Ba-140 by alpha transfer qualifies this type of reaction as suitable tool to excite MSSs and study their electromagnetic decay properties.

Abstract: For the first time, the gamma decay of excited states has been observed in a nucleus situated in the quadrant south-east of doubly magic Sn-132, a region in which experimental information so far is limited to ground-state properties. Six gamma rays with energies of 50, 86, 103, 227, 357, and 602 keV were observed following the beta-delayed neutron emission from Cd-133(85), populated in the projectile fission of a U-238 beam at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN within the EURICA project. The new experimental information is compared to the results of a modern realistic shell-model calculation, the first one in this region very far from stability, focusing in particular on the pi 0g(9/2)(-1) circle times nu 1f(7/2) particle-hole multiplet in In-132(83). In addition, theoretical estimates based on a scaling of the two-body matrix elements for the pi h(11/2)(-1) circle times nu g(9/2) analog multiplet in Tl-208(127), one major proton and one major neutron shell above, are presented.

Abstract: The gamma decay from the high-lying states of Ce-140 excited via inelastic scattering of O-17 at a 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. Angular distributions of scattered ions and emitted gamma rays were measured, as well as their differential cross sections. The excitation of 1(-) states below the neutron separation energy is similar to the one obtained in reactions with the alpha isoscalar probe. The comparison between the experimental differential cross sections and the corresponding predictions using the distorted-wave Born approximation allowed us to extract the isoscalar component of identified 1(-) pygmy states. For this analysis the form factor obtained by folding microscopically calculated transition densities and optical potentials was used.