Martinez, T. et al, Agramunt, J., Algora, A., Domingo-Pardo, C., Jordan, M. D., Rubio, B., et al. (2014). MONSTER: a TOF Spectrometer for beta-delayed Neutron Spectroscopy. Nucl. Data Sheets, 120, 78–80.
Abstract: beta-delayed neutron (DN) data, including emission probabilities, P-n, and energy spectrum, play an important role in our understanding of nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics and nuclear technologies. A MOdular Neutron time-of-flight SpectromeTER (MONSTER) is being built for the measurement of the neutron energy spectra and branching ratios. The TOF spectrometer will consist of one hundred liquid scintillator cells covering a significant solid angle. The MONSTER design has been optimized by using Monte Carlo (MC) techniques. The response function of the MONSTER cell has been characterized with mono-energetic neutron beams and compared to dedicated MC simulations.
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Caballero-Folch, R. et al, Domingo-Pardo, C., Tain, J. L., Agramunt, J., Algora, A., & Rubio, B. (2014). beta-decay and beta-delayed Neutron Emission Measurements at GSI-FRS Beyond N=126, for r-process Nucleosynthesis. Nucl. Data Sheets, 120, 81–83.
Abstract: New measurements of very exotic nuclei in the neutron-rich region beyond N=126 have been performed at the GSI facility with the fragment separator (FRS). The aim of the experiment is to determine half-lives and beta-delayed neutron emission branching ratios of isotopes of Hg, Tl and Pb in this region. This contribution summarizes final counting statistics for identification and for implantation, as well as the present status of the data analysis of the half-lives. In summary, isotopes of Pt, Au, Hg, Ti, Pb, Bi, Po, At, Rn and Fr were clearly identified and several of them (Hg208-211, Tl211-215, Pb214-218) were implanted with enough statistics to determine their half-lives. About half of them are expected to be neutron emitters, in such cases it will become possible to obtain the neutron emission probabilities, P-n.
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Estienne, M., Fallot, M., Cormon, S., Algora, A., Bui, V. M., Cucoanes, A., et al. (2014). Contribution of Recently Measured Nuclear Data to Reactor Antineutrino Energy Spectra Predictions. Nucl. Data Sheets, 120, 149–152.
Abstract: The aim of this work is to study the impact of the inclusion of the recently measured beta decay properties of the Tc-102,Tc-104,Tc-105,Tc-106,Tc-107, Mo-105, and Nb-101 nuclei in the calculation of the antineutrino (anti-nu) energy spectra arising after the fissions of the four main fissile isotopes U-235,U-238, and (PU)-P-239,241 in PWRs. These beta feeding probabilities, measured using the Total Absorption Technique (TAS) at the JYFL facility of Jyvaskyla, have been found to play a major role in the gamma component of the decay heat for Pu-239 in the 4-3000 s range. Following the fission product summation method, the calculation was performed using the MCNP Utility Reactor Evolution code (MURE) coupled to the experimental spectra built from beta decay properties of the fission products taken from evaluated databases. These latest TAS data are found to have a significant effect on the Pu isotope energy spectra and on the spectrum of U-238 showing the importance of their measurement for a better assessment of the reactor anti-nu energy spectrum, as well as importance for fundamental neutrino physics experiments and neutrino applied physics.
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Morales, A. I., Algora, A., Molina, F., & Rubio, B. (2014). Half-Life Systematics across the N=126 Shell Closure: Role of First-Forbidden Transitions in the beta Decay of Heavy Neutron-Rich Nuclei. Phys. Rev. Lett., 113(2), 022702–5pp.
Abstract: This Letter reports on a systematic study of beta-decay half-lives of neutron-rich nuclei around doubly magic Pb-208. The lifetimes of the 126-neutron shell isotone Pt-204 and the neighboring Ir200-202, Pt-203, Au-204 are presented together with other 19 half-lives measured during the “stopped beam” campaign of the rare isotope investigations at GSI collaboration. The results constrain the main nuclear theories used in calculations of r-process nucleosynthesis. Predictions based on a statistical macroscopic description of the first-forbidden beta strength reveal significant deviations for most of the nuclei with N < 126. In contrast, theories including a fully microscopic treatment of allowed and first-forbidden transitions reproduce more satisfactorily the trend in the measured half-lives for the nuclei in this region, where the r-process pathway passes through during beta decay back to stability.
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Grodner, E. et al, Gadea, A., Algora, A., Agramunt, J., Domingo-Pardo, C., Molina, F., et al. (2014). Hindered Gamow-Teller Decay to the Odd-Odd N = Z Ga-62: Absence of Proton-Neutron T=0 Condensate in A=62. Phys. Rev. Lett., 113(9), 092501–5pp.
Abstract: Search for a new kind of superfluidity built on collective proton-neutron pairs with aligned spin is performed studying the Gamow-Teller decay of the T = 1, J(pi) = 0(+) ground state of Ge-62 into excited states of the odd-odd N = Z nucleus Ga-62. The experiment is performed at GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Shwerionenforshung with the Ge-62 ions selected by the fragment separator and implanted in a stack of Si-strip detectors, surrounded by the RISING Ge array. A half-life of T-1/2 = 2 82.9(14) ms is measured for the Ge-62 ground state. Six excited states of Ga-62, populated below 2.5 MeV through Gamow-Teller transitions, are identified. Individual Gamow-Teller transition strengths agree well with theoretical predictions of the interacting shell model and the quasiparticle random phase approximation. The absence of any sizable low-lying Gamow-Teller strength in the reported beta-decay experiment supports the hypothesis of a negligible role of coherent T = 0 proton-neutron correlations in Ga-62.
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Gottardo, A. et al, Gadea, A., & Algora, A. (2014). Isomeric decay spectroscopy of the Bi-217 isotope. Phys. Rev. C, 90(3), 034317–6pp.
Abstract: The structure of the neutron-rich bismuth isotope Bi-217 has been studied for the first time. The fragmentation of a primary U-238 beam at the FRS-RISING setup at GSI was exploited to perform gamma-decay spectroscopy, since μs isomeric states were expected in this nucleus. Gamma rays following the decay of a t(1/2) = 3 μs isomer were observed, allowing one to establish the low-lying structure of Bi-217. The level energies and the reduced electric quadrupole transition probability B(E2) from the isomeric state are compared to large-scale shell-model calculations.
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Wendt, A. et al, & Algora, A. (2014). Isospin symmetry in the sd shell: Transition strengths in the neutron-deficient sd shell nucleus Ar-33. Phys. Rev. C, 90(5), 054301–7pp.
Abstract: Reduced transition strengths of the deexciting transitions from the first two excited states in Ar-33 were measured in a relativistic Coulomb excitation experiment at the GSI Helmholtz center. The radioactive ion beam was produced by fragmentation of a primary Ar-36 beam on a Be-9 target followed by the selection of the reaction product of interest via the GSI Fragment Separator. The (33A)r beam hit a secondary Au-197 target with an energy of approximately 145 MeV/nucleon. An array of high-purity germanium cluster detectors and large-volume BaF2 scintillator detectors were employed for gamma-ray spectroscopy at the secondary target position. The Lund-York-Cologne Calorimeter was used to track the outgoing ions and to identify the nuclear reaction channels. For the two lowest energy excited states of Ar-33 the reduced transition strengths have been determined. With these first results the T-z = -3/2 nucleus Ar-33 is now, together with Na-21 (T-z = -1/2), the only neutron-deficient odd-A sd shell nucleus in which experimental transition strengths are available. The experimental values are compared to results of shell-model calculations which describe simultaneously mirror-energy differences and transition-strength values of mirror pairs in the sd shell in a consistent way.
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Tain, J. L., Agramunt, J., Algora, A., Aprahamian, A., Cano-Ott, D., Fraile, L. M., et al. (2015). The sensitivity of LaBr3:Ce scintillation detectors to low energy neutrons: Measurement and Monte Carlo simulation. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 774, 17–24.
Abstract: The neutron sensitivity of a cylindrical circle minus 1.5 in x 1.5 in LaBr3:Ce scintillation detector was measured using quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams in the energy range from 40 keV to 2.5 MeV. In this energy range the detector is sensitive to gamma-rays generated in neutron inelastic and capture processes. The experimental energy response was compared with Monte Carlo simulations performed with the Geant4 simulation toolkit using the so-called High Precision Neutron Models. These models rely on relevant information stored in evaluated nuclear data libraries. The performance of the Geant4 Neutron Data Library as well as several standard nuclear data libraries was investigated. In the latter case this was made possible by the use of a conversion tool that allowed the direct use of the data from other libraries in Geant4. Overall it was found that there was good agreement with experiment for some of the neutron data bases like ENDF/B-VII.0 or JENDL-3.3 but not with the others such as ENDF/B-VI.8 or JEFF-3.1.
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Molina, F. et al, Rubio, B., Agramunt, J., Algora, A., Domingo-Pardo, C., Gadea, A., et al. (2015). T-z =-1 -> 0 beta decays of Ni-54, Fe-50, Cr-46, and Ti-42 and comparison with mirror (He-3,t) measurements. Phys. Rev. C, 91(1), 014301–19pp.
Abstract: We have studied the beta decay of the T-z = -1, f(7/2) shell nuclei Ni-54, Fe-50, Cr-46, and Ti-42 produced in fragmentation reactions. The proton separation energies in the daughter T-z = 0 nuclei are relatively large (approximate to 4-5 MeV) so studies of the. rays are essential. The experiments were performed at GSI as part of the Stopped-beam campaign with the RISING setup consisting of 15 Euroball Cluster Ge detectors. From the newly obtained high precision beta-decay half-lives, excitation energies, and beta branching ratios, we were able to extract Fermi and Gamow-Teller transition strengths in these beta decays. With these improved results it was possible to compare in detail the Gamow-Teller (GT) transition strengths observed in beta decay including a sensitivity limit with the strengths of the T-z = +1 to T-z = 0 transitions derived from high resolution (He-3,t) reactions on the mirror target nuclei at RCNP, Osaka. The accumulated B(GT) strength obtained from both experiments looks very similar although the charge exchange reaction provides information on a broader energy range. Using the “merged analysis” one can obtain a full picture of the B(GT) over the full Q(beta) range. Looking at the individual transitions some differences are observed, especially for the weak transitions. Their possible origins are discussed.
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Orrigo, S. E. A. et al, Rubio, B., Agramunt, J., Algora, A., & Molina, F. (2015). β-delayed γ-proton decay in 56Zn: analysis of the charged-particle spectrum. Acta Phys. Pol. B, 46(3), 709–712.
Abstract: A study of the beta decay of the proton-rich T-z = 2 nucleus Zn-56 has been reported in a recent publication. A rare and exotic decay mode, beta-delayed gamma-proton decay, has been observed there for the first time in the fp shell. Here, we expand on some of the details of the data analysis, focussing on the charged particle spectrum.
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