Energy levels of92Nb from 92Zr(p,nγ)92Nb

The energy levels of⁹²Nb were studied by means of the⁹²Zr(p, nγ) reaction. The deexcitation γ-rays were observed with a high-resolution Ge(Li) detector in the proton energy range 3.00–4.80 MeV in steps of about 25 keV. Many new excited states of ⁹²Nb were populated by this reaction. Excitation energies up to 1.77 MeV were determined with high precision, and a level scheme of ⁹²Nb is proposed. From a Hauser-Feshbach analysis, the γ-decay scheme and other information, the spin-parities of many levels were assigned.     

High-spin states in 90Nb

The high-spin states in ⁹⁰Nb have been studied by in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy using the 35 MeV ⁸⁹Y(α, 3nγ)⁹⁰Nb and 33 MeV ⁹⁰Zr(³He, p2nγ)⁹⁰Nb reactions. A new isomeric state with half-life 0.44±0.02 σs and J^π = 11^? has been located in this nucleus. The level scheme derived from these measurements is compared with shell-model calculations.     

High-spin states above 3.5 MeV in 91Nb

High-spin states in ⁹¹Nb populated by the ⁸⁹Y(α, 2nγ) reaction were studied at 24.0 MeV and 35.7 MeV incident α-particle energy. Gamma-gamma coincidence and γ-ray angular distribution measurements were made. Several high-spin states in ⁹¹Nb were observed at 35.7 MeV bombarding energy which were not observable at 24.0 MeV. The shell model structure of these states is discussed.     

Excited states of 96Nb from the 96Zr(p,nγ)96Nb reaction

The γ-ray spectra of the ⁹⁶Zi(p, nγ)⁹⁶Nb reaction have been measured with Ge(Li) detectors at different bombarding proton energies between 1.3 and 5.1 MeV. γγ coincidences were observed at E_p = 4.7 and 5.0 MeV. On the basis of experimental results a level scheme of ⁹⁶Nb was deduced, and γ-threshold energies and γ-branching ratios were determined. Computed Hauser-Feshbach (p, n′) cross sections have been compared with experimental data obtained from the γ-ray measurements, and level spins and parities have been determined. The energies of ⁹⁶Nb levels were calculated on the basis of the parabolic rule, derived from the cluster-vibration model. The Racah multipole decomposition method was used also for the theoretical interpretation of several ⁹⁶Nb multiplet states.     

Study of proton transfer reactions to low-lying multiplets in 90Y and 92Nb

The (d, ³He) and (α, t) proton transfer reactions on ⁹¹Zr were studied at incident energies of 24.3 and 35.4 MeV, respectively. Angular distributions were measured from 6° to 50° (⁹⁰Y) and 60° (⁹²Nb). High detection efficiency and good energy resolution were obtained by using a magnetic spectrograph in connection with a multiwire proportional chamber. For the low-lying multiplet levels in both nuclei angular momentum transfers and spectroscopic factors were determined by DWBA analysis. In ⁹²Nb the states at 0, 0.135, 0.29, 0.36 and the sum of the states at 0.48 and 0.50 MeV show typical l = 4 shapes. They belong to the ($\text{1}\text{g}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>9</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{π}$)($\text{2}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{ν}$) sextet. The corresponding multiplet in ⁹⁰Y is weakly populated ($\text{dσ}\text{dΩ}\text{≦ 20 μb/sr}$), and l = 4 shapes are found for the levels at 0.68, 0.78, 0.95, 1.05 and 1.30 MeV proving previous assignments. The members of the low-lying ($\text{2}\text{p}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{π}$)($\text{2}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{ν}$) doublets in ⁹⁰Y and ⁹²Nb exhibit a characteristic l = 1 angular shape. The levels at 1.42, 1.57, 1.64, 1.76 and 1.81 MeV in ⁹⁰Y are excited both by l = 1 and l = 3 resulting from a strong mixing of the ($\text{2}\text{p}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{π}$)^?1($\text{2}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{ν}$) and $\text{(1}\text{f}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{π)}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$ ($\text{2}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{ν}$) multiplets. Only the level at 2.03 MeV displays a pure l = 3 shape. From the spectroscopic information on the ($\text{2}\text{p}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{π}$)($\text{2}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{ν}$) and ($\text{1}\text{g}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>9</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{π}$)($\text{2}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{ν}$) multiplets in ⁹⁰Y and ⁹²Nb the g.s. configuration mixing in ⁹¹Zr is deduced.     

Spin-parity assignments for the excited states of 91Nb from the 91Zr(p,nγ)91Nb reaction

The energy levels of ⁹¹Nb were studied by means of the (p, nγ) reaction. The de-excitation γ-rays were observed with a Ge(Li) detector in the proton energy range from 3.25 to 5.51 MeV in steps of about 30 keV. Resonances attributed to isobaric analog states in the compound system ⁹¹Nb were observed in the excitation functions of the de-excitation γ-rays. From an analysis of these analog resonances, a Hauser-Feshbach analysis and the γ-decay scheme, the spin-parities of the levels up to 2792.6 keV (22 levels) were assigned.     

Polarization of preequilibrium proton emission in the 93Nb + 14N reaction

Spin polarization of protons emitted at 20° and 40° in the ⁹³Nb + ¹⁴N reaction at 95 MeV has been measured by the double scattering method using a polarimeter particularly designed for protons having a continuous energy distribution.The result shows that the polarization is small for low-energy protons, but increases smoothly with the increase of proton energy, reaching around + 20 % at about 20 MeV in the center-of-mass system. Energy and angular distributions of protons measured in the same reaction indicate coexistence of equilibrium and preequilibrium components in the proton emission of interest, the fraction of the preequilibrium component increasing with the increasing proton energy. If we assume that protons emitted in equilibrium are completely unpolarized, and that the value of polarization (P) for the preequilibrium component is independent of proton energy, the present result is consistent with $\text{P ? + 22 \%}$ for the emission at 20° and $\text{P ? + 38 \%}$ for the emission at 40°.The result is discussed in terms of the hot-spot model for precompound decay.     

High resolution investigation of 91Mo and 92Mo via (p,d) and (p,t) reactions on 90Mo

The (p, d) and (p, t) reactions on ⁹²Mo have been studied at a proton energy of 28.0 MeV. Using an Enge split-pole spectrograph, resolutions of 11–15 keV for the detected deuterons and tritons were obtained. A total of 87 levels up to 4.9 MeV in ⁹¹Mo and 25 levels up to 4.0 MeV in ⁹⁰Mo were found, several of which were previously unknown. By comparing the measured angular distributions with DWBA calculations l-values and spectroscopic factors were determined. The results are compared with data from previous experiments on ⁹¹Mo and ⁹⁰Mo, with experiments on other N = 49 and 48 nuclei, and with theoretical calculations.     

Proton-hole states in 115In observed in the 116Sn(d, 3He) reaction

The ¹¹⁶Sn(d, ³He)¹¹⁵In reaction has been investigated at E_d = 50 MeV. Thirteen transitions to states up to 3 MeV excitation energy were studied. The measured angular distributions were compared with DWBA calculations and transferred angular momenta and spectroscopic factors were deduced. Levels at 1.04, 2.23 and 2.52 MeV were found to be excited most likely by l = 3 angular momentum transfer in contrast to previous investigations at lower incident energies in which no l = 3 transitions have been observed.     

Light-particle emission in the reaction of 93Nb + 14N at 132, 159 and 208 MeV

Nonequilibrium light-particle emissions have been investigated in the reaction ⁹³Nb + ¹⁴N at 132, 159 and 208 MeV by measuring inclusive differential cross sections of p, d, t, ³He and α. The experimental data were analyzed in terms of three models: (i) an extended exciton model, (ii) a coalescence model, and (iii) a moving thermal source model. The angle-integrated energy spectra of the protons were well described by the extended exciton model in which projectile nucleons were assumed to be transferred to the target one by one, but those of composite particles were not. On the other hand, the composite particle spectra (except for α at forward angles) were successfully described by the coalescence model using spectra consistent with those for the protons. Extracted coalescence radii P₀ were about 140 MeV/c for d and t, and about 220 MeV/c for α. The light-particle spectra were also fitted by the moving-source model assuming isotropic emission from a source moving with approximately half of the beam velocity and with much higher temperature than that of the compound nucleus. Extracted temperatures followed the systematics of a recent compilation for the various reactions. A discussion of these analyses is given.     

A study of the 106Pd(p,d)105Pd and 106Pd(3He,d)107Ag reactions

The ¹⁰⁶Pd(p, d)¹⁰⁵Pd reaction has been studied at 22.9 MeV with an energy resolution of 13 keV. Angular distributions permitted the assignment of l-values and the extraction of spectroscopic factors for 13 states including several previously unresolved l = 2 transitions. The ¹⁰⁶Pd(³He, d)¹⁰⁷Ag reaction has also been studied at 32.8 MeV with a resolution of 20 keV. Angular distributions were obtained, l-values assigned and spectroscopic factors extracted for 14 levels including many not observed previously in a proton transfer reaction. The level structure of ¹⁰⁵Pd and ¹⁰⁷Ag is discussed particularly in terms of quasirotational bands.     

Magnetic moment of the 2− state in 92Nb

The g-factor of the $\text{[π(2}\text{p}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{)}{}^1\text{v(2}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{)}{}^1\text{]}{}_2\text{?}$ state in⁹²Nb(τ = 6.2 μsec) was determined by means of perturbed angular distribution methods using the ⁹²Zr(p, n)⁹²Nb reaction in a liquid alloy. The extracted $\text{v(}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{)}$ magnetic moment is discussed in terms of the core-polarization effect.     

A study of the 90Zr(6Li, 6He)90Nb reaction at E6Li = 93 MeV

The energy spectra of ⁶He nuclei from the ⁹⁰Zr(⁶Li, ⁶He) reaction at E_{⁶Li = 93 MeV} have been measured over the angular range of 7 ° ? θ_lab ? 20 °. The theoretical DWBA analysis of these spectra and angular distributions was performed employing transition densities of bound and resonance states obtained on the basis of the theory of finite Fermi systems. It is shown that up to excitation energies of E_x ≈ 10 MeV in ⁹⁰Nb a direct charge-exchange mechanism dominates in this reaction, while at higher E_x the contribution made by multistep processes increases significantly. It is also shown that the quasi-elastic cross section is determined by a sum of partial contributions of spin-isospin-flip transitions with multipolarities L=0 through L=6.     

An investigation of the 144Sm(α, 3He)145Sm reaction

The ¹⁴⁴Sm(α, ³He)¹⁴⁵Sm stripping reaction has been studied up to 3 MeV excitation energy with a 40 MeV α-beam. Angular distributions have been recorded, and spectroscopic factors are deduced using a standard DWBA procedure. The reaction favours high-l transfers, and is found to be very useful for the investigation of large-j states. From a comparison with the spectroscopic factors known from the ¹⁴⁴Sm(d, p)¹⁴⁵Sm reaction the normalization factor for the (α, ³He) reaction is found to depend strongly on the optical model parameters and on the transferred angular momentum l.     

Cumulative fission yield measurements with 14.7 MeV neutrons on 238U

The fission yield data in the 14 MeV energy neutron induced fission of ²³⁸U play an important role in decay heat calculations and generation-IV reactor designs. In order to accurately measure fission product yields (FPYs) of ²³⁸U induced by 14 MeV neutrons, the cumulative yields of fission products ranging from ⁹²Sr to ¹⁴⁷Nd in the ²³⁸U(n, f) reaction with a 14.7 MeV neutron were determined using an off-line γ-ray spectrometric technique. The 14.7 MeV quasi-monoenergetic neutron beam was provided by the K-400 D-T neutron generator at China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP). Fission products were measured by a low background high purity germanium gamma spectrometer. The neutron flux was obtained from the ⁹³Nb (n, 2n)^92mNb reaction, and the mean neutron energy was calculated using the cross-section ratios for the ⁹⁰Zr(n, 2n)⁸⁹Zr and ⁹³Nb(n, 2n)^92mNb reactions. With a series of corrections, high precision cumulative yields of 20 fission products were obtained. Our FPYs for the ²³⁸U(n, f) reaction at 14.7 MeV were compared with the existing experimental nuclear reaction data and evaluated nuclear data, respectively. The results will be helpful in the design of a generation-IV reactor and the construction of evaluated fission yield databases.     

Analyzing powers of the continuum spectra: 65 MeV polarized protons on 12C, 28Si, 45Sc, 58Ni, 93Nb, 165Ho, 166Er and 209Bi

Analyzing powers of the continuum spectra were measured for 65 MeV protons from ¹²C, ²⁸Si, ⁴⁵Sc, ⁵⁸Ni, ⁹³Nb, ¹⁶⁵Ho, ¹⁶⁶Er, ${}^{209}\text{Bi}\text{(}\text{p}\text{,}\text{p\#}\text{prime;}\text{X}\text{)}$ and ($\text{p}$, dX) reactions and from ⁹³Nb, ²⁰⁹Bi($\text{p}$, αX) reactions. The analyzing powers of the continuum spectra were found to be small at forward angles where the pre-equilibrium process is important. However they do not show a systematic tendency. This feature indicates the importance of the spin-dependent interaction as well as nuclear structure effects. On the other hand, the analyzing powers were very large and positive at backward angles where the shape of the energy spectra resembles that of an evaporation spectrum. The maximum values of the analyzing power in the backward hemisphere depend on the target mass for the A < 45 mass region and they are as large as 15%, 20% and 35% for ${}^{93}\text{Nb}\text{(}\text{p}\text{,}\text{p}\text{′}\text{X}\text{)}$, ($\text{p}$, dX), ($\text{p}$, αX) reactions at E_X = 20 MeV, respectively. These large values are mainly due to the entrance channel effect. There is no appreciable even-odd mass effect on the analyzing power for medium-mass nuclei. These features were unexpected from the conventional pre-equilibrium reaction models.     

Proton-hole states in 57Co studied with the 58Ni(d, 3He) 57Co reaction at 78 MeV

The ⁵⁸Ni(d, ³He)⁵⁷Co reaction was measured at a bombarding energy of 78 MeV. Energy levels up to 7.0 MeV excitation energy in ⁵⁷Co were studied. Angular distributions of the ³He particles, corresponding to transitions to the ground state and to 42 excited states in ⁵⁷Co, were analyzed in the range of θ_lab = 2.7° to 25°. Exact finite-range DWBA calculations were employed to extract l-values and spectroscopic factors. Shell-model calculations were carried out in an fp-shell model space. In addition, calculations of the energy levels in ⁵⁷Co were performed in the SU(6) particle-vibration model (PTQM). Satisfactory agreement is observed between the experimental results and both theoretical predictions.     

The 59Co (d, 3He)58Fe reaction and 58Fe levels in the particle-vibration coupling model

The ⁵⁹Co(d, ³He)⁵⁸Fe reaction at a deuteron energy of 33.3 MeV was used to populate proton hole states in ⁵⁸Fe. Angular distributions were measured for the states up to 6 MeV excitation. From DWBA analysis, l-values and spectroscopic factors were extracted. The particle-vibration coupling model was used to interpret the positive-parity states observed in the present experiment as well as the related properties of ⁵⁸Fe established so far. The model calculation has reproduced rather well the level properties of ⁵⁸Fe.     

The 19F(p,d)18F reaction studied at Ep = 19.3 MeV

The ¹⁹F(p, d)¹⁸F reaction was used at E_p = 19.3 MeV to study the level properties of ¹⁸F up to 6 MeV excitation energy. Angular distributions were measured over the angular range θ_lab = 10°–70° with an overall resolution of 35 keV. The experimental data were analyzed by DWBA theory to obtain l_n and C²S_l values, which were compared with existent theoretical nuclear structure calculations.     

Low-lying levels of 92Nb from the 92Zr(3He,t) and 92Zr(3He,p2nγ) reactions

The structure of ⁹²Nb has been investigated using the 33.8 MeV ⁹²Zr(³He, t) and (³He, p2nγ) reactions. Several previously unobserved levels, including several belonging to the $\text{π(}\text{g}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>9</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{)ν(}\text{g}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>9</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$ multiplet, are reported. The results are discussed in terms of the shell model.