Abstract: .In a fusion-evaporation reaction, nuclei are produced by evaporating light-charged particles and neutrons from the compound nucleus. Typically, a nucleus of interest is produced as a result of a part of the total cross-section and, in order to guarantee a good channel discrimination, a particle detector, like the EUCLIDES 4 Si-ball array, is necessary. EUCLIDES has been quoted in more than a hundred publications resulting from many experiments performed in combination with the EUROBALL and GASP -ray spectrometers. The present paper reports on the upgraded version of EUCLIDES, that is presently coupled to the new GALILEO -ray spectrometer, installed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, INFN. The design, characteristics and performance of the EUCLIDES array are presented and discussed.

Abstract: .The U-235(n, f ) cross section was measured at n_TOF relative to Li-6(n, t) and B-10(n,alpha) , with high resolution ( L=183.49(2) m) and in a wide energy range (25meV-170keV) with 1.5% systematic uncertainty, making use of a stack of six samples and six silicon detectors placed in the neutron beam. This allowed us to make a direct comparison of the yields of the U-235(n, f ) and of the two reference reactions under the same experimental conditions, and taking into account the forward/backward emission asymmetry. A hint of an anomaly in the 10-30keV neutron energy range had been previously observed in other experiments, indicating a cross section systematically lower by several percent relative to major evaluations. The present results indicate that the cross section in the 9-18keV neutron energy range is indeed overestimated by almost 5% in the recently released evaluated data files ENDF/B-VIII.0 and JEFF3.3, as a consequence of a 7% overestimate in a single GMA node in the IAEA reference file. Furthermore, these new high-resolution data confirm the existence of resonance-like structures in the keV neutron energy region. The results here reported may lead to a reduction of the uncertainty in the 1-100keV neutron energy region. Finally, from the present data, a value of 249.7 +/- 1.4( stat )+/- 0.94( syst ) b<bold>eV has been extracted for the cross section integral between </bold>7.8 and 11eV, confirming the value of 247.5 +/- 3 b<bold>eV recently established as a standard</bold>.

Abstract: Understanding the origin and dynamics of hadron structure and in turn that of atomic nuclei is a central goal of nuclear physics. This challenge entails the questions of how does the roughly 1 GeV mass-scale that characterizes atomic nuclei appear; why does it have the observed value; and, enigmatically, why are the composite Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) abnormally light in comparison? In this perspective, we provide an analysis of the mass budget of the pion and proton in QCD; discuss the special role of the kaon, which lies near the boundary between dominance of strong and Higgs mass-generation mechanisms; and explain the need for a coherent effort in QCD phenomenology and continuum calculations, in exa-scale computing as provided by lattice QCD, and in experiments to make progress in understanding the origins of hadron masses and the distribution of that mass within them. We compare the unique capabilities foreseen at the electron-ion collider (EIC) with those at the hadron-electron ring accelerator (HERA), the only previous electron-proton collider; and describe five key experimental measurements, enabled by the EIC and aimed at delivering fundamental insights that will generate concrete answers to the questions of how mass and structure arise in the pion and kaon, the Standard Model's NG modes, whose surprisingly low mass is critical to the evolution of our Universe.

Abstract: Lifetimes of high-spin states have been measured in the semi-magic (N = 50) nucleus Ru-94. Excited states in Ru-94 were populated in the Ni-58(Ca-40, 4p)Ru-94* fusion-evaporation reaction at the Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL) accelerator complex. DSAM lifetime analysis was performed on the Doppler broadened line shapes in energy spectra obtained from gamma-rays emitted while the residual nuclei were slowing down in a thick 6 mg/cm(2) metallic Ni-58 target. In total eight excited-state lifetimes in the angular momentum range I = (13-20)h have been measured, five of which were determined for the first time. The corresponding B(M1) and B(E2) reduced transition strengths are discussed within the framework of large-scale shell model calculations to study the contribution of different particle-hole configurations, in particular for analyzing contributions from core-excited configurations.

Abstract: We study the amplitudes of the -VP decay for the different polarizations of the vector meson V, using a formalism where the mapping from the quark degrees of freedom to the meson ones is done with the P-3(0) model. We extend the formalism to a case, with the operator -5, that can account for different models beyond the Standard Model and study in detail the -K*0K- reaction for the different polarizations of the K*0. The results are shown in terms of the parameter that differs for each model. We find that is very different for each of the third components of the vector spin, M=+/- 1,0, and in particular the magnitude |M=-1 is very sensitive to the parameter, which makes the investigation of this magnitude very useful to test different models beyond the Standard Model.