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IDS Collaboration(Lica, R. et al), & Morales, A. I. (2018). Evolution of deformation in neutron-rich Ba isotopes up to A=150. Phys. Rev. C, 97(2), 024305–12pp.
Abstract: The occurrence of octupolar shapes in the Ba isotopic chain was recently established experimentally up to N = 90. To further extend the systematics, the evolution of shapes in the most neutron-rich members of the Z = 56 isotopic chain accessible at present, Ba-148,Ba-150, has been studied via beta decay at the ISOLDE Decay Station. This paper reports on the first measurement of the positive-and negative-parity low-spin excited states of 150Ba and presents an extension of the beta-decay scheme of Cs-148. Employing the fast timing technique, half-lives for the 2(1)(+) level in both nuclei have been determined, resulting in T-1/2 = 1.51(1) ns for Ba-148 and T-1/2 = 3.4(2) ns for Ba-150. The systematics of low-spin states, together with the experimental determination of the B(E2 : 2(+) -> 0(+)) transition probabilities, indicate an increasing collectivity in Ba148-150, towards prolate deformed shapes. The experimental data are compared to symmetry conserving configuration mixing (SCCM) calculations, confirming an evolution of increasingly quadrupole deformed shapes with a definite octupolar character.
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n_TOF Collaboration(Wright, T. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., Giubrone, G., Tain, J. L., & Tarifeño-Saldivia, A. (2017). Measurement of the U-238(n,gamma) cross section up to 80 keV with the Total Absorption Calorimeter at the CERN n_TOF facility. Phys. Rev. C, 96(6), 064601–11pp.
Abstract: The radiative capture cross section of a highly pure (99.999%), 6.125(2) grams and 9.56(5) x 10(-4) atoms/barn areal density U-238 sample has been measured with the Total Absorption Calorimeter (TAC) in the 185 m flight path at the CERN neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF. This measurement is in response to the NEA High Priority Request list, which demands an accuracy in this cross section of less than 3% below 25 keV. These data have undergone careful background subtraction, with special care being given to the background originating from neutrons scattered by the 238U sample. Pileup and dead-time effects have been corrected for. The measured cross section covers an energy range between 0.2 eV and 80 keV, with an accuracy that varies with neutron energy, being better than 4% below 25 keV and reaching at most 6% at higher energies.
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AGATA Collaboration(Vogt, A. et al), & Gadea, A. (2017). High-spin structures in Xe-132 and Xe-133 and evidence for isomers along the N=79 isotones. Phys. Rev. C, 96(2), 024321–14pp.
Abstract: The transitional nuclei Xe-132 and Xe-133 are investigated after multinucleon-transfer (MNT) and fusionevaporation reactions. Both nuclei are populated (i) in Xe-136 + 2(08P)b MNT reactions employing the highresolution Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA, (ii) in the Xe-136 + Pt-198 MNT reaction employing the GAMMASPHERE spectrometer in combination with the gas-detector array CHICO, and (iii) as an evaporation residue after a Te-130(alpha, xn) Xe134-xn fusion-evaporation reaction employing the HORUS gamma-ray array at the University of Cologne. The high-spin level schemes are considerably extended above the J(pi) = (7(-)) and (10+) isomers in Xe-132 and above the 11/2(-) isomer in Xe-133. The results are compared to the high-spin systematics of the Z = 54 as well as the N = 78 and N = 79 chains. Furthermore, evidence is found for a long-lived (T-1/2 >> μs) isomer in Xe-133 which closes a gap along the N = isotones. Shell-model calculations employing the SN100PN and PQM130 effective interactions reproduce the experimental findings and provide guidance to the interpretation of the observed high-spin features.
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Aydin, S. et al, Gadea, A., & Huyuk, T. (2017). High-spin states and lifetimes in S-33 and shell-model interpretation in the sd-fp space. Phys. Rev. C, 96(2), 024315–10pp.
Abstract: The structure of the S-33 nucleus was investigated in the Mg-24(N-14, alpha p) fusion-evaporation reaction using a 40-MeV N-14 beam. The level scheme was extended up to an excitation energy of 11.7 MeV and spin 19/2+. Lifetimes of the intermediate-and high-spin states have been investigated by the Doppler shift attenuation method. Data were compared with different shell-model calculations where effective interactions involving two main shells, the sd and the fp, are used.
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AGATA Collaboration(John, P. R. et al), & Gadea, A. (2017). In-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy of the neutron-rich platinum isotope Pt-200 toward the N=126 shell gap. Phys. Rev. C, 95(6), 064321–8pp.
Abstract: The neutron-rich nucleus Pt-200 is investigated via in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy to study the shape evolution in the neutron-rich platinum isotopes towards the N = 126 shell closure. The two-neutron transfer reaction Pt-198(Se-82, Se-80)Pt-200 is used to populate excited states of Pt-200. The Advanced Gamma Ray Tracking Array (AGATA) demonstrator coupled with the PRISMA spectrometer detects gamma rays coincident with the Se-80 recoils, the binary partner of Pt-200. The binary partner method is applied to extract the gamma-ray transitions and build the level scheme of Pt-200. The level at 1884 keV reported by Yates et al. [S. W. Yates, E. M. Baum, E. A. Henry, L. G. Mann, N. Roy, A. Aprahamian, R. A. Meyer, and R. Estep, Phys. Rev. C 37, 1889 (1988)] was confirmed to be at 1882.1 keV and assigned as the (6(1)(+)) state. An additional gamma ray was found and it presumably deexcites the (8(1)(+)) state. The results are compared with state-of-the-art beyond mean-field calculations, performed for the even-even Pt190-204 isotopes, revealing that Pt-200 marks the transition from the gamma-unstable behavior of lighter Pt nuclei towards a more spherical one when approaching the N = 126 shell closure.
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PreSPEC and AGATA Collaborations(Ralet, D. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., Gadea, A., & Huyuk, T. (2017). Lifetime measurement of neutron-rich even-even molybdenum isotopes. Phys. Rev. C, 95(3), 034320–11pp.
Abstract: Background: In the neutron-rich A approximate to 100 mass region, rapid shape changes as a function of nucleon number as well as coexistence of prolate, oblate, and triaxial shapes are predicted by various theoretical models. Lifetime measurements of excited levels in the molybdenum isotopes allow the determination of transitional quadrupole moments, which in turn provides structural information regarding the predicted shape change. Purpose: The present paper reports on the experimental setup, the method that allowed one to measure the lifetimes of excited states in even-even molybdenum isotopes from mass A = 100 up to mass A = 108, and the results that were obtained. Method: The isotopes of interest were populated by secondary knock-out reaction of neutron-rich nuclei separated and identified by the GSI fragment separator at relativistic beam energies and detected by the sensitive PreSPEC-AGATA experimental setup. The latter included the Lund-York-Cologne calorimeter for identification, tracking, and velocity measurement of ejectiles, and AGATA, an array of position sensitive segmented HPGe detectors, used to determine the interaction positions of the gamma ray enabling a precise Doppler correction. The lifetimes were determined with a relativistic version of the Doppler-shift-attenuation method using the systematic shift of the energy after Doppler correction of a gamma-ray transition with a known energy. This relativistic Doppler-shift-attenuation method allowed the determination of mean lifetimes from 2 to 250 ps. Results: Even-even molybdenum isotopes from mass A = 100 to A = 108 were studied. The decays of the low-lying states in the ground-state band were observed. In particular, two mean lifetimes were measured for the first time: tau = 29.7(-9.1)(+11.3) ps for the 4(+) state of Mo-108 and tau = 3.2(-0.7)(+ 0.7) ps for the 6(+) state of Mo-102. Conclusions: The reduced transition strengths B(E2), calculated from lifetimes measured in this experiment, compared to beyond-mean-field calculations, indicate a gradual shape transition in the chain of molybdenum isotopes when going from A = 100 to A = 108 with a maximum reached at N = 64. The transition probabilities decrease for Mo-108 which may be related to its well-pronounced triaxial shape indicated by the calculations.
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AGATA Collaboration(Vogt, A. et al), & Gadea, A. (2017). Isomers and high-spin structures in the N=81 isotones Xe-135 and Ba-137. Phys. Rev. C, 95(2), 024316–17pp.
Abstract: The high-spin structures and isomers of the N = 81 isotones Xe-135 and Ba-137 are investigated after multinucleon-transfer (MNT) and fusion-evaporation reactions. Both nuclei are populated (i) in Xe-136+ U-238 and (ii) Xe-136+ Pb-208 MNT reactions employing the high-resolution Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA, (iii) in the Xe-136+ Pt-198 MNT reaction employing the gamma-ray array GAMMASPHERE in combination with the gas-detector array CHICO, and (iv) via a B-11+ Te-130 fusion-evaporation reaction with the HORUS gamma-ray array at the University of Cologne. The high-spin level schemes of Xe-135 and Ba-137 are considerably extended to higher energies. The 2058-keV (19/2(-)) state in Xe-135 is identified as an isomer, closing a gap in the systematics along the N = 81 isotones. Its half-life is measured to be 9.0(9) ns, corresponding to a reduced transition probability of B(E2,19/2(-) -> 15/2(-)) = 0.52(6) W.u. The experimentally deduced reduced transition probabilities of the isomeric states are compared to shell-model predictions. Latest shell-model calculations reproduce the experimental findings generally well and provide guidance to the interpretation of the new levels.
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AGATA Collaboration(Klintefjord, M. et al), Gadea, A., & Perez-Vidal, R. M. (2017). Measurement of lifetimes in Fe-62,Fe-64, Co-61,Co-63, and Mn-59. Phys. Rev. C, 95(2), 024312–11pp.
Abstract: Lifetimes of the 4(1)(+) states in Fe-62,Fe-64 and the 11/2(1)(-) states in Co-61,Co-63 and Mn-59 were measured at the Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL) facility by using the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) and the large-acceptance variable mode spectrometer (VAMOS++). The states were populated through multinucleon transfer reactions with a U-238 beam impinging on a Ni-64 target, and lifetimes in the picosecond range were measured by using the recoil distance Doppler shift method. The data show an increase of collectivity in the iron isotopes approaching N = 40. The reduction of the subshell gap between the nu 2p(1/2) and nu 1g(9/2) orbitals leads to an increased population of the quasi-SU(3) pair (nu 1g(9/2), nu 2d(5/2)), which causes an increase in quadrupole collectivity. This is not observed for the cobalt isotopes withN < 40 for which the neutron subshell gap is larger due to the repulsive monopole component of the tensor nucleon-nucleon interaction. The extracted experimental B(E2) values are compared with large-scale shell-model calculations and with beyond-mean-field calculations with the Gogny D1S interaction. A good agreement between calculations and experimental values is found, and the results demonstrate in particular the spectroscopic quality of the Lenzi, Nowacki, Poves, and Sieja (LNPS) shell-model interaction.
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IDS Collaboration(Andel, B. et al), Algora, A., & Nacher, E. (2024). β decay of the ground state and of a low-lying isomer in Bi-216. Phys. Rev. C, 109(6), 064321–18pp.
Abstract: A detailed beta -decay study of the low- and high -spin states in 216 Bi has been performed at the ISOLDE Decay Station at the CERN-ISOLDE facility. In total, 48 new levels and 83 new transitions in the beta -decay daughter 216 Po were identified. Shell -model calculations for excited states in 216 Bi and 216 Po were performed using the H208 and the modified Kuo-Herling particle effective interactions. Based on the experimental observations and the shell -model calculations, the most likely spin and parity assignments for the beta -decaying states in 216 Bi are (3 – ) and (8 – ), respectively.
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Gjestvang, D. et al, & Algora, A. (2023). Examination of how properties of a fissioning system impact isomeric yield ratios of the fragments. Phys. Rev. C, 108(6), 064602–12pp.
Abstract: The population of isomeric states in the prompt decay of fission fragments-so-called isomeric yield ratios (IYRs)-is known to be sensitive to the angular momentum J that the fragment emerged with, and may therefore contain valuable information on the mechanism behind the fission process. In this work, we investigate how changes in the fissioning system impact the measured IYRs of fission fragments to learn more about what parameters affect angular momentum generation. To enable this, a new technique for measuring IYRs is first demonstrated. It is based on the time of arrival of discrete gamma rays, and has the advantage that it enables the study of the IYR as a function of properties of the partner nucleus. This technique is used to extract the IYR of 134Te, strongly populated in actinide fission, from the three different fissioning systems: 232Th(n, f), 238U(n, f), at two different neutron energies, as well as 252Cf(sf). The impacts of changing the fissioning system, the compound nuclear excitation energy, the minimum J of the binary partner, and the number of neutrons emitted on the IYR of 134Te are determined. The decay code TALYS is used in combination with the fission simulation code FREYA to calculate the primary fragment angular momentum from the IYR. We find that the IYR of 134Te has a slope of 0.004 +/- 0.002 with increase in compound nucleus (CN) mass. When investigating the impact on the IYR of increased CN excitation energy, we find no change with an energy increase similar to the difference between thermal and fast fission. By varying the mass of the partner fragment emerging with 134Te, it is revealed that the IYR of 134Te is independent of the total amount of prompt neutrons emitted from the fragment pair. This indicates that neutrons carry minimal angular momentum away from the fission fragments. Comparisons with the FREYA+TALYS simulations reveal that the average angular momentum in 134Te following 238U(n, f) is 6.0 h over bar . This is not consistent with the value deduced from recent CGMF calculations. Finally, the IYR sensitivity to the angular momentum of the primary fragment is discussed. These results are not only important to help understanding the underlying mechanism in nuclear fission, but can also be used to constrain and benchmark fission models, and are relevant to the gamma -ray heating problem of reactors.
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