Abstract: The lifetimes of the low-lying excited states 2(+) and 4(+) have been directly measured in the neutron-deficient Sn-106,Sn-108 isotopes. The nuclei were populated via a deep-inelastic reaction and the lifetime measurement was performed employing a differential plunger device. The emitted gamma rays were detected by the AGATA array, while the reaction products were uniquely identified by the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer. Large-Scale Shell-Model calculations with realistic forces indicate that, independently of the pairing content of the interaction, the quadrupole force is dominant in the B(E2; 2(1)(+) -> 0(g.s)(+)) values and it describes well the experimental pattern for Sn104-114 ; the B(E2;(+)(4) -> 2(1)(+)) values, measured here for the first time, depend critically on a delicate pairing-quadrupole balance, disclosed by the very precise results in Sn-108.

Abstract: Level lifetimes of the yrast (5/2(-)) to 13/2(-) states in the neutron-rich nucleus Ti-53, produced in a multinucleon-transfer reaction, have been measured for the first time. The recoil distance Doppler-shift method was employed and lifetimes of the excited states were extracted by a lineshape analysis aided by GEANT4-based Monte-Carlo simulations. The experiment was performed at the Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds facility in Caen, France, by using the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array for the gamma-ray detection coupled to the large-acceptance variable mode spectrometer for an event-by-event particle identification and the Cologne plunger for deep-inelastic reactions. Reduced transition probabilities, deduced from the lifetimes, give new information on the nuclear structure of Ti-53, and are used to benchmark different shell-model calculations using established interactions in the f p shell.

Abstract: Background: The heaviest T-z = 0 doubly-magic nucleus, Sn-100, and the neighboring nuclei offer unique opportunities to investigate the properties of nuclear interaction. For instance, the structure of light-Sn nuclei has been shown to be affected by the delicate balance between nuclear-interaction components, such as pairing and quadrupole correlations. From Cd to Te, many common features and phenomena have been observed experimentally along the isotopic chains, leading to theoretical studies devoted to a more general and comprehensive study of the region. In this context, having only two proton holes in the Z = 50 shell, the Cd isotopes are expected to present properties similar to those found in the Sn isotopic chain. Purpose: The aim of this work was to measure lifetimes of excited states in neutron-deficient nuclei in the vicinity of Sn-100. Methods: The neutron-deficient nuclei in the N approximate to Z approximate to 50 region were populated using a multinucleon transfer reaction with a Cd-106 beam and a Mo-92 target. The beamlike products were identified by the VAMOS++ spectrometer, while the gamma rays were detected using the AGATA array. Lifetimes of excited states were determined using the recoil distance Doppler-shift method, employing the Cologne differential plunger. Results: Lifetimes of low-lying states were measured in the even-mass Cd-102-(108) isotopes. In particular, multiple states with excitation energy up to MeV, belonging to various bands, were populated in approximate to 3 Cd-106 via inelastic scattering. The transition strengths corresponding to the measured lifetimes were compared with those resulting from state-of-the-art beyond-mean-field calculations using the symmetry-conserving configuration-mixing approach. Conclusions: Despite the similarities in the electromagnetic properties of the low-lying states, there is a fundamental structural difference between the ground-state bands in the Z = 48 and Z = 50 isotopes. The comparison between experimental and theoretical results revealed a rotational character of the Cd nuclei, which have prolate-deformed ground states with beta(2) approximate to 0.2. At this deformation Z = 48 becomes a closed-shell configuration, which is favored with respect to the spherical one.

Abstract: The structure of As-83,As- 85, and As-87 have been studied in fusion-fission reaction( 238)U+9Be. Fission fragments were identified in mass and atomic number using the VAMOS++ spectrometer and the coincident gamma rays were detected in the gamma-ray tracking array AGATA. New transitions in 83As and 85As are reported and placed in the level schemes. A level scheme of the excited states in 87As is proposed for the first time. The data are interpreted in frame of large-scale shell-model calculations, SU3 symmetries, and beyond mean-field frameworks. A spherical regime at magic number N = 50 is predicted and the location of the proton g9/2 orbital is proposed for the first time. Development of collectivity in a prolate deformed, gamma-soft regime in the open shell cases 85As and 87As, most neutron-rich isotopes beyond N = 50, is concluded. Data and theoretical calculations give confidence to a relatively high extrapolated excitation energy about 4 MeV of the 9/2+ state in 79Cu, one proton above 78Ni.

Abstract: The reduced transition probabilities for the 4+1 -2+1 and 2+1 -0+1 transitions in 92Mo and 94Ru and for the 4+1 -2+1 and 6+1 -4+1 transitions in 90Zr have been determined in this experiment making use of a multinucleon transfer reaction. These results have been interpreted on the basis of realistic shell-model calculations in the f5=2, p3=2, p1=2, and g9=2 proton valence space. Only the combination of extensive lifetime information and large scale shell-model calculations allowed the extent of the seniority conservation in the N = 50 g9=2 orbital to be understood. The conclusion is that seniority is largely conserved in the first 71g9=2 orbital.