New insight in the level structure of <Superscript>153</Superscript>Er

The high-spin level structure of the ¹⁵³Er nucleus has been reinvestigated by in-beam γ-ray and electron spectroscopy with (¹⁴N,pxn) reaction. Excitation energies, spin and parity assignments are unambiguously established for the two lowest isomers T _1/2≃ 380 ns and T_1/2\simeq 10 ns. The characteristics of the third one (T _1/2≃ 250 ns) at 5.2 MeV are still questionable but its main decay modes are better known. An extension of the level scheme is proposed up to 8.4 MeV.Experimental results have been discussed in terms of shell model multiplets and compared with the other structures observed in N=85 neighbouring nuclei. Received: 8 November 1999 / Revised version: 13 December 1999     

Nuclear structure of neutron-rich nuclei near closed shells from excited-state g-factor measurements

New techniques to measure the g factors of picosecond-lived excited states of neutron-rich nuclei produced as radioactive beams are discussed along with their applications to study nuclear structure near ¹³² ₅₀Sn₈₂ and in the region between N=20 and N=28.     

Shapes of the neutron-rich 88-94Kr nuclei

Neutron-rich, ^88-94Kr nuclei, populated in spontaneous fission of ²⁴⁸Cm, have been studied with EUROGAM 2, by measuring prompt γ-rays. Many new excited states in even-even Kr isotopes have been identified. For the first time spins and parities were determined experimentally in these nuclei. Our results indicate that the quadrupole deformation of Kr isotopes will appear only above N = 58, as observed in Sr and Zr nuclei. The newly found 3^- level at 1506.4 keV in ⁹⁰Kr suggests the exsistence of a new region of increased octupole correlations, probably associated with the ν(d _5/2 h _11/2) pair of Δl = Δj = 3 orbitals. Received: 18 September 2000 / Accepted: 18 October 2000     

Systematics of related high-spin isomers in 144Sm and other N = 82 nuclei

An in-beam experiment with the reaction ¹²²Sn(²⁷Al,4np) at 127 MeV was performed at the Nordball multi-detector array in Roskilde. It provided evidence for a new high-spin isomer in ¹⁴⁴Sm. This isomer with T _1/2= (2.6 ± 0.5) ns at an excitation energy E _x= 9232 keV seems to belong to a family of isomers of similar configuration in neighbouring N= 82 nuclei. Received: 16 November 1997     

Configuration assignments and decay of 126La high-spin bands

High spin states of ¹²⁶La have been populated using the reaction ¹¹⁶Sn+¹⁴N at 68 MeV. γ-rays and conversion electrons were detected with the GAREL array. Multipolarities of the lowest-lying in-band dipole transitions have been determined from the deduced internal conversion coefficients. Experimental B(M1)/B(E2) ratios have been derived for the bands and compared with calculated values using the D?nau-Frauendorf geometrical model. Configurations are proposed for the bands comparing them with cranked shell model calculations and on the basis of the measured B(M1)/B(E2) ratios. The β-decay of ¹²⁶La has also been revisited. The population of the ¹²⁶Ba levels gives a probable spin value of five for the decaying high-spin ¹²⁶La state with T _1/2≈ 64 s which may indicate a signature inversion in the πh_11/2νh_11/2 band. Received: 12 October 1999     

Evidence for a proton halo in 27P through measurements of reaction cross-sections at intermediate energies

Measurements of reaction cross-sections ( σ_R's) for some proton-rich nuclei ( N = 11–15 isotones) on carbon target at intermediate energies have been performed on RIBLL of HIRFL. A larger enhancement of the σ_R for ²⁷P has been observed than for its neighboring nuclei. A large difference between the proton and neutron density distributions (proton halo) is necessary to explain the enhanced cross-section for ²⁷P within the framework of the Glauber model. Density distributions with HO-type core plus Yukawa-square tail and rms radii for ²⁷P have been deduced from the measured σ_R data for the first time, which conform the long tail in its densities as predicted by RMF calculations. Received: 23 May 2001 / Accepted: 7 November 2001     

β-decay half-lives of very neutron-rich isotopes of elements from Ti to Ni

The unknown β-decay half-lives of 22 isotopes far off stability (5 < T _Z < 10) in the region from Ti to Ni were measured at GSI, Darmstadt. The nuclei were produced in a fragmentation reaction of 500 A.MeV ⁸⁶Kr-projectile impinging on a thick Be target. The isotopes of interest were separated and identified with the fragment separator, FRS, by a combination of Bρ,Z, and ToF techniques. An additional range separation was performed by a selective implantation into granular detectors. The spatial and time correlations of the implant with the consecutively detected β-particles were used to determine the unknown half-lives. For nuclei far off stability, β-decay chains were measured and analyzed as well, leading to an even more reliable evaluation of the lifetimes. The large discrepancies found between the measured and the theoretical values emphasize that most recent theoretical work is not an improvement over calculations made almost a decade ago. Received: 1 October 1997     

Simplex s = ±i excitations in 141Xe

Excited levels in ¹⁴¹Xe, populated in spontaneous fission of ²⁴⁸Cm, were studied by means of prompt -ray spectroscopy, using the EUROGAMM2 array. Level scheme of ¹⁴¹Xe obtained in this work shows patterns characteristic of simplex symmetry with s=+i and s=-i bands present but low value of D₀ moment indicates that octupole correlations in Xe isotopes are systematically lower than in Ba nuclei. Received: 9 March 2000 / Accepted: 4 May 2000     

Shape coexistence near the double-midshell nucleus 111Rh

The decay of ¹¹¹Ru obtained from fast on-line chemical and mass separation has been investigated by β-γ-t and γ-γ coincidence techniques. Earlier spin and parity assignments of ¹¹¹Rh levels based on extrapolations of level systematics are confirmed. In particular, the K=1/2 intruder band is supported by the hindrance of E2 transitions between deformed and spherical states and enhancement of intraband E2 transitions. The excitation energies of intruder band members in Rh isotopes show a minimum at ¹⁰⁹Rh₆₄, with two neutrons less than ¹¹¹Rh at the N=66 midshell. This trend, which differs from the one in the higher-Z neighbouring elements Ag and Cd with minima at N=66, follows the evolution of deformation observed in the lower-Z elements Ru and Mo. Received: 25 June 1997 / Revised version: 10 September 1997     

Properties of N=84, even-even nuclei populated in the spontaneous fission of 248Cm

Excited states in the neutron-rich, N=84 nuclei ¹³⁴Sn, ¹³⁶Te and ¹³⁸Xe, populated in the spontaneous fission of ²⁴⁸Cm, were studied to medium spins using the EUROGAM2 array. OXBASH code calculations support the experimental identification of maximum aligned configurations in these isotopes. Empirical shell model calculations agree with the proposed excitation energy of the neutron h_9/2 excitation in the ¹³²Sn region. A discrepancy between the observed and calculated excitation energy of the I^π= 12⁺ level in ¹³⁶Te indicates possible admixtures of collective excitations in this nucleus. Clear signs of collective excitations are observed in ¹³⁸Xe. Received: 10 November 1999 / Revised version: 22 December 1999     

Measurement of the electric quadrupole moments of 26–29Na

The nuclear electric quadrupole moments of the isotopes ²⁶Na, ²⁷Na, ²⁸Na and ²⁹Na were measured by -NMR spectroscopy in single crystals of LiNbO₃ and NaNO₃. High degrees of nuclear polarization were produced by optical pumping of the sodium atoms in a fast beam with a collinear laser beam. The polarized nuclei were implanted into the crystals and NMR signals were observed in the -decay asymmetries. Preparatory measurements also yielded improved values for the magnetic moments of ^27-31Na and confirmed the spin I=3/2 for ³¹Na. The results are discussed in comparison with large-basis shell model calculations. Received: 1 February 2000 / Accepted: 3 April 2000     

Yrast bands in N = 91 isotones

The in-beam spectroscopy on N = 91 isotones has been carried out using the ¹²C + ¹⁵⁰Nd reaction. The νi _13/2 and νh _11/2 bands of ¹⁵³Sm have been extended up to 33/2⁺ and 31/2^-, respectively. Two new γ-rays have been located on the top of the unfavored band with νi _13/2 configuration in ¹⁵⁷Dy. Two identical relationships have been established in the low-spin region of the yrast νi _13/2 configuration between ¹⁵³Sm and ¹⁵⁵Gd, and between unfavored bands of ¹⁵⁵Gd and ¹⁵⁷Dy. Here all these nuclei have the same neutron number N = 91. Received: 28 June 2000 / Accepted: 20 October 2000     

Structure of 136Te and the problem of mass of 134Te

Neutron-rich, N=84 nuclei from the ₁₃₂Sn region, populated in spontaneous fission of ₂₄₈Cm, have been studied with EUROGAM 2. Excited states and their spins and parities in the ₁₃₆Te nucleus were established up to 17ħ. OXBASH code calculations support the experimental identification of maximum aligned configurations in ₁₃₆Te. Empirical shell model calculations for the I_π= 14₊ level in ₁₃₆Te indicate that the adopted mass of the ₁₃₄Te nucleus should be lowered by 200(80) keV. Received: 3 August 1998     

Magnetic properties of the υj15/2 intruder orbital in the superdeformed minimum of 197Pb

This work has established eight cross-talk transitions between the two signature partner superdeformed (SD) bands in ¹⁹⁷Pb with the EUROBALL IV spectrometer. Directional correlations from oriented states measurements confirm the ΔI = 1 character of these transitions. The flat behaviour of the dynamical moment of inertia and the agreement between the experimental and microscopic HF+BCS values of (g _K - g _R)K/Q ₀ suggest that the configuration of the SD bands is based upon the υ[752]5/2^- neutron intruder orbital. The derived effective spin gyromagnetic factor g _s ^eff is found to be not quenched, and is close to the theoretical g _s ^free value. Received: 14 June 2000 / Accepted: 14 September 2000     

High-spin structure of the neutron-rich odd-odd 106, 108 45Rh and 110, 112 47Ag isotopes

The ^{106, 108}Rh and ^{110, 112}Ag nuclei have been produced as fission fragments following the fusion reaction ²⁸Si + ¹⁷⁶Yb at 145 MeV bombarding energy and studied with the Eurogam2 array. The yrast high-spin states of these four odd-odd nuclei, which are observed for the first time, consist of rotational bands in which the odd proton occupies the πg _9/2 subshell and the odd neutron the νh _11/2 subshell. Their behaviour as a function of spin values does not vary with the number of neutrons: as observed in the odd-N neighbouring nuclei, the motion of the odd neutron remains decoupled from the motion of the core, from N = 61 to N = 65. Moreover, the staggering observed in the yrast bands of odd-odd isotopes is strongly reduced as compared to the large values displayed by the rotational bands built on the πg _9/2 subshell in the odd-A Rh and Ag isotopes. The results of particle-rotor calculations indicate that this reduction is related to a change of the core deformation. Received: 1 June 2001 / Accepted: 23 July 2002 / Published online: 10 December 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: porquet@csnsm.in2p3.fr RID="b" ID="b"Present address: CSNSM IN2P3-CNRS and Université Paris-Sud 91405 Orsay, France. RID="c" ID="c"Present address: NAC, Faure, ZA 7131, South Africa. RID="d" ID="d"Present address: Department of Nuclear Physics, ANU, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. Communicated by D. Schwalm     

High-spin states following multi-nucleon transfer

High-spin states in neutron-rich nuclei, populated following deep-inelastic multi-nucleon transfer, have been studied using the GAMMASPHERE array at the LBNL, USA. A ⁶⁴Ni beam at an energy ∼ 15% above the Coulomb barrier was incident upon a thick ²⁰⁸Pb target, leading to the population of more than 130 different nuclei. The strongest channels correspond to nuclei close to the projectile and target, although transfer of up to 50 nucleons has been observed. New high-spin states in neutron-rich ^60,62Fe and ^68,70,72Zn nuclei have been observed. Some limitations of this method of high-spin spectroscopy are discussed, including the apparent difficulty of populating odd-odd and odd-even isotopes via this type of reaction. The data have been searched for superdeformed (SD) states in the A = 190-200 region, but no evidence for their presence has been found. Received: 14 April 2000 / Accepted: 12 September 2000     

Shell-model structure of exotic nuclei beyond <Superscript>132</Superscript>Sn

We report on a study of exotic nuclei around doubly magic ¹³²Sn in terms of the shell model employing a realistic effective interaction derived from the CD-Bonn nucleon-nucleon potential. The short-range repulsion of the bare potential is renormalized by constructing a smooth low-momentum potential, V_low-k, that is used directly as input for the calculation of the effective interaction. In this paper we focus attention on the nuclei ¹³⁴Sn and ¹³⁵Sb which, with an N/Z ratio of 1.68 and 1.65, respectively, are at present the most exotic nuclei beyond ¹³²Sn for which information exists on excited states. Comparison shows that the calculated results for both nuclei are in very good agreement with the experimental data. We present our predictions of the hitherto unknown spectrum of ¹³⁶Sn.     

Gamow-Teller transitions from 58Ni to discrete states of 58Cu

Under the assumption that isospin is a good quantum number, symmetry is expected for the transitions from the ground states of T = 1, T _z = ±1 nuclei to the common excited states of the T _z = 0 nucleus situated between the two nuclei. The symmetry can be studied by comparing the strengths of Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions obtained from a (p, n)-type charge-exchange reaction on a target nucleus with T _z = 1 with those from the β-decay of the T _z = - 1 nucleus. The A = 58 system is the heaviest for which such a comparison is possible. As a part of the symmetry study, we measured the GT transitions from ⁵⁸Ni (T _z = 1) to ⁵⁸Cu (T _z = 0) by using the zero-degree (³ He, t) reaction at 150 MeV/nucleon. With the achieved resolution of 50 keV, many hitherto unresolved GT states have been identified. The GT transition strengths were obtained for states up to 8 MeV excitation, i.e., near to the Q window limitation ( Q _EC = 9.37 MeV) of the β-decay from ⁵⁸Zn (T _z = - 1) to ⁵⁸Cu. The strength distribution is compared with that from shell-model calculations. Received: 24 November 2001 / Accepted: 30 January 2002     

The 130Nd↦130Pr↦130Ce decay chain revisited

An investigation of low-lying energy levels of ¹³⁰Pr and ¹³⁰Ce has been made via β-decay. The radioactive parent nuclei were produced via ^94,96Mo + ⁴⁰Ca reactions at 6.8 MeV/nucleon and transported by a He-jet system. Gamma-γ-t, γ-X-t, γ-e^--t coincidence measurements were performed. Internal conversion coefficients have been measured with a magnetic spectrometer. The new β-decay half-life of ¹³⁰Nd has been determined to be 21(3) s. A partial level scheme of ¹³⁰Pr at low-spin has been constructed. The β-decay of ¹³⁰Pr to ¹³⁰Ce suggests the existence of three β-instable isomeric states in ¹³⁰Pr, while only one half-life T _1/2 = 40(4) s has been measured. Based on the present work and low-lying excited states in neighbouring odd-mass nuclei, the spins and parities of isomeric states in ¹³⁰Pr are proposed to be 2⁺, (4,5)⁺ and (7,8^±). The ground state in ¹³⁰Pr is still undetermined. Received: 20 August 2001 / Accepted: 6 November 2001     

Breaking of the SU(4) limit for the Gamow-Teller strength in N ∼ Z nuclei

We have performed large-scale shell model calculations of the Gamow-Teller strength distributions in N ∼ Z pf -shell nuclei. These calculations were motivated by the experimental attempts to measure the low-lying GT strength for the even-even N = Z + 2 or N = Z - 2 nuclei ⁴⁶Ti , ⁵⁰Cr , ⁵⁴Fe and ⁶²Ge , where a sizable low-energy GT strength could be interpreted as reminiscence of SU(4) symmetry; in the limit of exact SU(4) symmetry the GT_- strength would be concentrated in a single transition to the lowest T = 0, J = 1⁺ state in the daughter. We confirm that the SU(4) symmetry is strongly broken by the spin-orbit interaction and by increasing neutron excess.