Chen, Z. Q. et al, & Montaner-Piza, A. (2019). Proton Shell Evolution below Sn-132: First Measurement of Low-Lying beta-Emitting Isomers in Ag-123,Ag-325. Phys. Rev. Lett., 122(21), 212502–6pp.
Abstract: The beta-delayed gamma-ray spectroscopy of neutron-rich Ag-123,Ag-325 isotopes is investigated at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory of RIKEN, and the long-predicted 1/2(-) beta-emitting isomers in Ag-123,Ag-325 are identified for the first time. With the new experimental results, the systematic trend of energy spacing between the lowest 9/2(+) and 1/2(-) levels is extended in Ag isotopes up to N = 78, providing a clear signal for the reduction of the Z = 40 subshell gap in Ag towards N = 82. Shell-model calculations with the state-of-the-art V-MU plus M3Y spin-orbit interaction give a satisfactory description of the low-lying states in Ag-123,Ag-325. The tensor force is found to play a crucial role in the evolution of the size of the Z = 40 subshell gap. The observed inversion of the single-particle levels around Ag-123 can be well interpreted in terms of the monopole shift of the pi 1g(9/2) orbitals mainly caused by the increasing occupation of nu 1h(11/2) orbitals.
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Watanabe, H. et al, & Montaner-Piza, A. (2019). New isomers in (125)Pd(79)( )and Pd-127(81): Competing proton and neutron excitations in neutron-rich palladium nuclides towards the N=82 shell closure. Phys. Lett. B, 792, 263–268.
Abstract: The neutron-rich isotopes of palladium have attracted considerable interest in terms of the evolution of the N = 82 neutron shell closure and its influence on the r-process nucleosynthesis. In this Letter, we present the first spectroscopic information on the excited states in Pd-125(79) and Pd-127(81) studied using the EURICA gamma-ray spectrometer, following production via in-flight fission of a high-intensity U-238 beam at the RIBF facility. New isomeric states with half-lives of 144(4) ns and 39(6) μs have been assigned spins and parities of (23/2(+)) and (19/2(+)) in Pd-125 and Pd-127, respectively. The observed level properties are compared to a shell-model calculation, suggesting the competition between proton excitations and neutron excitations in the proton-hole and neutron-hole systems in the vicinity of the doubly magic nucleus Sn-132.
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Guadilla, V. et al, Algora, A., Tain, J. L., Agramunt, J., Aysto, J., Jordan, D., et al. (2019). Large Impact of the Decay of Niobium Isomers on the Reactor (v)over-bar(e) Summation Calculations. Phys. Rev. Lett., 122(4), 042502–6pp.
Abstract: Even mass neutron-rich niobium isotopes are among the principal contributors to the reactor antineutrino energy spectrum. They are also among the most challenging to measure due to the refractory nature of niobium, and because they exhibit isomeric states lying very close in energy. The beta-intensity distributions of Nb-100gs,Nb-100m and Nb-102gs,Nb-02m beta decays have been determined using the total absorption.-ray spectroscopy technique. The measurements were performed at the upgraded Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility at the University of Jyvaskyla. Here, the double Penning trap system JYFLTRAP was employed to disentangle the beta decay of the isomeric states. The new data obtained in this challenging measurement have a large impact in antineutrino summation calculations. For the first time the discrepancy between the summation model and the reactor antineutrino measurements in the region of the shape distortion has been reduced.
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Guadilla, V. et al, Tain, J. L., Algora, A., Agramunt, J., Gelletly, W., Jordan, D., et al. (2018). Characterization and performance of the DTAS detector. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 910, 79–89.
Abstract: DTAS is a segmented total absorption y-ray spectrometer developed for the DESPEC experiment at FAIR. It is composed of up to eighteen NaI(Tl) crystals. In this work we study the performance of this detector with laboratory sources and also under real experimental conditions. We present a procedure to reconstruct offline the sum of the energy deposited in all the crystals of the spectrometer, which is complicated by the effect of NaI(Tl) light-yield non-proportionality. The use of a system to correct for time variations of the gain in individual detector modules, based on a light pulse generator, is demonstrated. We describe also an event-based method to evaluate the summing-pileup electronic distortion in segmented spectrometers. All of this allows a careful characterization of the detector with Monte Carlo simulations that is needed to calculate the response function for the analysis of total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy data. Special attention was paid to the interaction of neutrons with the spectrometer, since they are a source of contamination in studies of beta-delayed neutron emitting nuclei.
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Caballero-Folch, R. et al, Agramunt, J., Tain, J. L., Algora, A., Domingo-Pardo, C., Guadilla, V., et al. (2018). First determination of beta-delayed multiple neutron emission beyond A=100 through direct neutron measurement: The P-2n value of Sb-136. Phys. Rev. C, 98(3), 034310–10pp.
Abstract: Background: beta-delayed multiple neutron emission has been observed for some nuclei with A <= 100 being the Rb-100 the heaviest beta 2n emitter measured to date. So far only 25 P-2n values have been determined for the approximate to 300 nuclei that may decay in this way. Accordingly it is of interest to measure P-2n values for the other possible multiple neutron emitters throughout the chart of the nuclides. It is of particular interest to make such a measurement for nuclei with A > 100 to test the predictions of theoretical models and simulation tools for the decays of heavy nuclei in the region of very neutron-rich nuclei. In addition the decay properties of these nuclei are fundamental for the understanding of astrophysical nucleosynthesis processes such as the r-process and safety inputs for nuclear reactors. Purpose: To determine for the first time the two-neutron branching ratio the P-2n value for Sb-136 through a direct neutron measurement and to provide precise P-1n values for Sb-136 and Te-136. Method: A pure beam of each isotope of interest was provided by the JYFLTRAP Penning trap at the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) facility of the University of Jyvaskyla Finland. The purified ions were implanted into a moving tape at the end of the beam line. The detection setup consisted of a plastic scintillator placed right behind the implantation point after the tape to register the beta decays and the BELEN detector based on neutron counters embedded in a polyethylene matrix. The analysis was based on the study of the beta- and neutron-growth-and-decay curves and the beta-one-neutron and beta-two-neutron time correlations which allowed us the determination of the neutron branching ratios. Results: The P-2n value of Sb-136 was found to be 0.14(3)% and the measured P-1n values for Sb-136 and Te-136 were found to be 32.2(15)% and 1.47(6)% respectively. Conclusions: The measured P-2n value is a factor 44 smaller than predicted by the finite-range droplet model plus the quasiparticle random-phase approximation (FRDM+QRPA) model used for r-process calculations.
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Jungclaus, A. et al, Gadea, A., & Montaner-Piza, A. (2017). Observation of a gamma-decaying millisecond isomeric state in Cd-128(80). Phys. Lett. B, 772, 483–488.
Abstract: A new high-spin isomer in the neutron-rich nucleus Cd-128 was populated in the projectile fission of a U-238 beam at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. A half-life of T-1/2 = 6.3(8) mswas measured for the new state which was tentatively assigned a spin/parity of (15(-)). The experimental results are compared to shell model calculations performed using state-of-the-art realistic effective interactions and to the neighbouring nucleus Cd-129. In the present experiment no evidence was found for the decay of a 18(+) E6 spin-trap isomer, based on the complete alignment of the two-neutron and two-proton holes in the 0h(11/2) and the 0g(9/2) orbit, respectively, which is predicted to exist by the shell model. (C) 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.
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Guadilla, V. et al, Algora, A., Tain, J. L., Agramunt, J., Jordan, M. D., Montaner-Piza, A., et al. (2017). Experimental study of Tc-100 beta decay with total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy. Phys. Rev. C, 96(1), 014319–10pp.
Abstract: The beta decay of Tc-100 has been studied by using the total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy technique at the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility in Jyvaskyla. In this work the new Decay Total Absorption gamma-ray Spectrometer in coincidence with a cylindrical plastic beta detector has been employed. The beta intensity to the ground state obtained from the analysis is in good agreement with previous high-resolution measurements. However, differences in the feeding to the first-excited state as well as weak feeding to a new level at high excitation energy have been deduced from this experiment. Theoretical calculations performed in the quasiparticle random-phase approximation framework are also reported. Comparison of these calculations with our measurement serves as a benchmark for calculations of the double beta decay of Mo-100.
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Kucuk, L. et al, Orrigo, S. E. A., Montaner-Piza, A., Rubio, B., Gelletly, W., Algora, A., et al. (2017). Half-life determination of T-z =-1 and T-z =-1/2 proton-rich nuclei and the beta decay of Zn-58. Eur. Phys. J. A, 53(6), 134–10pp.
Abstract: We have measured the beta-decay half-lives of 16 neutron-deficient nuclei with T-z = -1/2 and -1, ranging from chromium to germanium. They were produced in an experiment carried out at GANIL and optimized for the production of Zn-58, for which in addition we present the decay scheme and absolute Fermi and Gamow-Teller transition strengths. Since all of these nuclei lie on the rp-process pathway, the T-1/2 values are important ingredients for the rp-process reaction flow calculations and for models of X-ray bursters.
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Morales, A. I. et al, Algora, A., Rubio, B., Orrigo, S. E. A., Agramunt, J., Gelletly, W., et al. (2017). Simultaneous investigation of the T=1(J(pi)=0(+)) and T=0(J(pi)=9(+)) beta decays in Br-70. Phys. Rev. C, 95(6), 064327–11pp.
Abstract: The beta decay of the odd-odd nucleus Br-70 has been investigated with the BigRIPS and EURICA setups at the Radioactive Ion Beam Factory (RIBF) of the RIKEN Nishina Center. The T = 0(J(pi) = 9(+)) and T = 1(J(pi) = 0(+)) isomers have both been produced in in-flight fragmentation of Kr-78 with ratios of 41.6(8)% and 58.4(8)%, respectively. A half-life of t(1/2) = 2157(-49)(+53) ms has been measured for the J pi = 9(+) isomer from gamma-ray time decay analysis. Based on this result, we provide a new value of the half-life for the J pi = 0(+) ground state of Br-70, t(1/2) = 78.42 +/- 0.51 ms, which is slightly more precise, and in excellent agreement, with the best measurement reported hitherto in the literature. For this decay, we provide the first estimate of the total branching fraction decaying through the 2(1)(+) state in the daughter nucleus Se-70, R(2(1)(+)) = 1.3 +/- 1.1%. We also report four new low-intensity gamma-ray transitions at 661, 1103, 1561, and 1749 keV following the beta decay of the J pi = 9(+) isomer. Based on their coincidence relationships, we tentatively propose two new excited states at 3945 and 4752 keV in 70Se with most probable spins and parities of J(pi) = (6(+)) and (8(+)), respectively. The observed structure is interpreted with the help of shell-model calculations, which predict a complex interplay between oblate and prolate configurations at low excitation energies.
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Guadilla, V. et al, Algora, A., Tain, J. L., Agramunt, J., Jordan, D., Monserrate, M., et al. (2017). Characterization of a cylindrical plastic beta-detector with Monte Carlo simulations of optical photons. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 854, 134–138.
Abstract: In this work we report on the Monte Carlo study performed to understand and reproduce experimental measurements of a new plastic beta-detector with cylindrical geometry. Since energy deposition simulations differ from the experimental measurements for such a geometry, we show how the simulation of production and transport of optical photons does allow one to obtain the shapes of the experimental spectra. Moreover, taking into account the computational effort associated with this kind of simulation, we develop a method to convert the simulations of energy deposited into light collected, depending only on the interaction point in the detector. This method represents a useful solution when extensive simulations have to be done, as in the case of the calculation of the response function of the spectrometer in a total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy analysis.
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