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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ATLAS Collaboration(Aaboud, M. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Bailey, A. J., Barranco Navarro, L., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo, F. L., et al. (2018). Measurement of the suppression and azimuthal anisotropy of muons from heavy-flavor decays in Pb plus Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Rev. C, 98(4), 044905–34pp.
Abstract: ATLAS measurements of the production of muons from heavy-flavor decays in root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collisions and root s = 2.76 TeV pp collisions at the LHC are presented. Integrated luminosities of 0.14 nb(-1) and 570 nb(-1) are used for the Pb+Pb and pp measurements, respectively, which are performed over the muon transverse momentum range 4 < pT < 14 GeV and for five Pb+Pb centrality intervals. Backgrounds arising from in-flight pion and kaon decays, hadronic showers, and misreconstructed muons are statistically removed using a template-fitting procedure. The heavy-flavor muon differential cross sections and per-event yields are measured in pp and Pb+Pb collisions, respectively. The nuclear modification factor R-AA obtained from these is observed to be independent of pT, within uncertainties, and to be less than unity, which indicates suppressed production of heavy-flavor muons in Pb+Pb collisions. For the 10% most central Pb+Pb events, the measured R-AA is approximately 0.35. The azimuthal modulation of the heavy-flavor muon yields is also measured and the associated Fourier coefficients v(n) for n = 2, 3, and 4 are given as a function of pT and centrality. They vary slowly with pT and show a systematic variation with centrality which is characteristic of other anisotropy measurements, such as that observed for inclusive hadrons. The measured R-AA and v(n) values are also compared with theoretical calculations.
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Kaya, L. et al, & Gadea, A. (2018). Millisecond 23/2(+) isomers in the N=79 isotones Xe-133 and Ba-135. Phys. Rev. C, 98(5), 054312–16pp.
Abstract: Detailed information on isomeric states in A approximate to 135 nuclei is exploited to shell-model calculations in the region northwest of doubly magic nucleus Sn-132. The N = 79 isotones Xe-133 and Ba-135 are studied after multinucleon transfer in the Xe-136 + Pb-208 reaction employing the high-resolution Advanced GAmma Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy and in a pulsed-beam experiment at the FN tandem accelerator of the University of Cologne Germany utilizing a Be-9 + Te-130 fusion-evaporation reaction at a beam energy of 40 MeV. Isomeric states are identified via delayed gamma-ray spectroscopy. Hitherto tentative excitation energy spin and parity assignments of the 2017-keV J(pi) = 23/2(+) isomer in Xe-133 are confirmed and a half-life of T-1/2 = 8.64(13) ms is measured. The 2388-keV state in Ba-135. is identified as a J(pi) = 23/2(+) isomer with a half-life of 1.06(4) ms. The new results show a smooth onset of isomeric J(pi) = 23/2(+) states along the N = 79 isotones and close a gap in the high-spin systematics towards the recently investigated J(pi) = 23/2(+) isomer in Nd-139. The resulting systematics of M2 reduced transition probabilities is discussed within the of the nuclear shell model. Latest large-scale shell-model calculations employing the SN100PN, GCN50:82, SN100-KTH and a realistic effective interaction reproduce the experimental findings generally well and give insight into the structure of the isomers.
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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(Lerendegui-Marco, J. et al.), Domingo-Pardo, C., Tain, J. L., & Tarifeño-Saldivia, A. (2018). Radiative neutron capture on Pu-242 in the resonance region at the CERN n_TOF-EAR1 facility. Phys. Rev. C, 97(2), 024605–21pp.
Abstract: The spent fuel of current nuclear reactors contains fissile plutonium isotopes that can be combined with uranium to make mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. In this way the Pu from spent fuel is used in a new reactor cycle, contributing to the long-term sustainability of nuclear energy. However, an extensive use of MOX fuels, in particular in fast reactors, requires more accurate capture and fission cross sections for some Pu isotopes. In the case of Pu-242 there are sizable discrepancies among the existing capture cross-section measurements included in the evaluations (all from the 1970s) resulting in an uncertainty as high as 35% in the fast energy region. Moreover, postirradiation experiments evaluated with JEFF-3.1 indicate an overestimation of 14% in the capture cross section in the fast neutron energy region. In this context, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) requested an accuracy of 8% in this cross section in the energy region between 500 meV and 500 keV. This paper presents a new time-of-flight capture measurement on Pu-242 carried out at nTOF-EAR1 (CERN), focusing on the analysis and statistical properties of the resonance region, below 4 keV. The Pu-242(n, gamma) reaction on a sample containing 95(4) mg enriched to 99.959% was measured with an array of four C6D6 detectors and applying the total energy detection technique. The high neutron energy resolution of nTOF-EAR1 and the good statistics accumulated have allowed us to extend the resonance analysis up to 4 keV, obtaining new individual and average resonance parameters from a capture cross section featuring a systematic uncertainty of 5%, fulfilling the request of the NEA.
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