The strength of octupole correlations in neutron-rich Xe isotopes

Excited levels in ¹⁴⁰Xe and ¹⁴²Xe nuclei, populated in the spontaneous fission of ²⁴⁸Cm, were studied by means of prompt γ-ray spectroscopy, using EUROGAM2 array. We report the first observation of an octupole band in ¹⁴²Xe and extend the octupole band in ¹⁴⁰Xe. Level schemes of ¹⁴⁰Xe and ¹⁴²Xe obtained in this work show patterns characteristic of ocupole-vibrational bands. Properties of octupole bands in Xe isotopes indicate that octupole correlations in these nuclei are lower than in the corresponding Ba nuclei. The electric dipole moment of ¹⁴²Xe was found to be larger than in other Xe isotopes, contrary to theoretical predictions. This may be due to the special role of the N = 88 neutron number. Received: 18 November 2002 / Accepted: 15 December 2002 / Published online: 25 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: urban@fuw.edu.pl Communicated by D. Schwalm     

围绕Z=56和N=88丰中子核区八极形变的研究

介绍了通过测量重核裂变产生的瞬发γ谱方法,对围绕Ｚ＝５６、Ｎ＝８８丰中子核区高自旋态八极形变的研究,并对Ｘｅ、Ｂａ、Ｃｅ和Ｌａ等丰中子核链的八极形变特性进行了讨Through study of the prompt γ rays in spontaneous fission, the octupole deformation in neutron rich Xe, Ba, Ce and La isotopes around Z =56, N =88 region was assigned. The properties of the octupole deformation in these nuclei were also discussed. 论．     

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     

Study of the124Xe and126Xe structure

The level structure of¹²⁴Xe and¹²⁶Xe is studied on the basis ofβ ⁺ decay of¹²⁴Cs and¹²⁶Cs. The Cs isotopes were produced in the Xe(p, n) Cs reactions at a proton energy ofE≈9.5 MeV. Decay schemes are proposed for these nuclei. The available experimental data are compared with the predictions of various models.     

Is it possible to enhance the nuclear Schiff moment by nuclear collective modes?

The nuclear Schiff moment is predicted to be enhanced in nuclei with static quadrupole and octupole deformation. The analogous suggestion of the enhanced contribution to the Schiff moment from the soft collective quadrupole and octupole vibrations in spherical nuclei is tested in the framework of the quasiparticle random phase approximation with separable quadrupole and octupole forces applied to the odd ^217–221Ra and ^217–221Rn isotopes. In this framework, we confirm the existence of the enhancement effect due to the soft modes, but only in the limit when the frequencies of quadrupole and octupole vibrations are close to zero. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Nuclear pears: Recent developments and future prospects

We report studies of examples of reflection-asymmetric nuclei which are difficult to access using compound nucleus reactions. The octupole radium isotopes withN>132 and radon isotopes are not accessible by reactions employing stable targets and beams; we have shown that multinucleon transfer reactions can populate these nuclei with sufficient yield for their structure to be determined. We report high-spin studies in^{218, 220, 222}Rn and^{222, 224, 226, 228, 230}Ra: these show that the Ra isotopes withA<228 have the characteristics of octupole deformed nuclei whereas the Rn isotopes behave like octupole vibrators. Measurements of theB(E1)/B(E2) ratios indicate that the electric dipole moment in these nuclei is constant with spin. The most octupole deformed nuclei are predicted to be uranium isotopes withN≈132; measurements of the very fissile nucleus²²⁶U suggest that it is octupole deformed and has a large intrinsic electric dipole moment. Finally, we speculate that the best examples of pear shapes are the hyperdeformed minima predicted to lie low in uranium isotopes withN≈140; their signature of high-multiplicity low-energyE1 photon cascades should be detectable using present-day high-efficiency germanium arrays.     

Odd-even staggering in nuclear charge radii of neutron-rich europium isotopes

Nuclear magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments and changes in mean square charge radii for the neutron-rich^155–159Eu isotopes have been measured using resonance ionization spectroscopy at the IRIS facility. It has been found that the isotopes withN>92, unlike the isotopes with 89≦N≦92, have an ordinary character of odd-even staggering in nuclear charge radii. This means that the octupole deformation attributed previously to the europium nuclei around¹⁵⁴Eu does not display itself in the charge radii of heavier europium isotopes.     

Microscopic analysis of the fission barriers in <Superscript>256</Superscript>Fm and <Superscript>258</Superscript>Fm

The fission barriers of ²⁵⁶Fm and ²⁵⁸Fm have been analyzed in the HFB theory. The potential energy and the effective inertia parameter have been calculated in the two-dimensional deformation space of quadrupole and octupole moments. Fission paths for various octupole moments of the exit point from the fission barrier have been determined. The half-life along each path has been calculated. The shortest half-lives have been obtained for the paths with reflection symmetric shapes of nuclei in both the considered isotopes.     

Nuclear structure studies at Saha Institute of Nuclear Pysics using gamma detector arrays

In-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy, carried out at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in the recent past, using heavy-ion projectiles from the pelletron accelerator centres in the country and multi-detector arrays have yielded significant data on the structure of a large number of nuclei spanning different mass regions. The experiments included the study of two-fold γγ-coincidence events for establishing decay schemes, directional correlation of oriented nuclei (DCO) for help in spin assignments and Doppler shift attenuation for lifetime information. The studies have led to the observation of rotational sequences of states in nuclei near closed shell in the mass A=110 region, vibrational spectra in nuclei with A ∼ 60, interplay between single-particle and collective modes of excitation in the doubly-odd bromine isotopes, decoupled bands with large quadrupole deformation in ⁷⁷Br, shape transition with rotational frequency within a band in ¹³⁵Pm and octupole collectivity in ¹⁵³Eu. Particle-rotor-model and cranked-shell-model calculations have been carried out to provide an understanding of the underlying nuclear structure.     

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     

Isotopic dependence of the shape of Se nuclei in the collective-model representation

The energy structure of low-lying excited states in the nuclei of even selenium isotopes is considered on the basis of a soft-nucleus model. The nuclei are treated as nonaxial rotors, longitudinal and transverse vibrations of their surface being taken into account in the quadrupole-deformation approximation featuring an admixture of an octupole deformation. The parameters of a phenomenological collective model for the ^{72,74,76,78,80,82}Se nuclei are found both in the case of β vibrations (longitudinal vibrations) and in the presence of additional γ vibrations (transverse vibrations) of the nuclear surface.     

The breaking of intrinsic reflection symmetry in nuclear ground states

Negative-parity excited states of doubly even nuclei have earlier been attributed to vibrational excitations. This paper shows that an interpretation starting from a reflection asymmetric intrinsic state is more appropriate for certain nuclei in the radium region. Theoretical evidence for stable octupole deformation comes from a deformed shell-model calculation in which we use a single-particle potential with a realistic radial shape and a finite-range interaction for the surface energy. The octupole effect systematically improves the agreement between theoretical and experimental masses. The low-lying O⁺ excitations observed in experiment are compatible with the calculated collective octupole potentials. The possibility of obtaining further evidence from the spectroscopy of odd-mass nuclei is considered in an exactly solvable model, which shows that the smaller energy splitting observed in odd-A parity doublets mainly reflects single-particle fragmentation of the collective mode. The systematics of theoretical shell structure and experimental spectroscopy suggests the presence of other regions of octupole collectivity near the limits of stability.     

Systematics of low-lying octupole states in the doubly-even nuclei from Ge to Sr

Low-lying octupole states of doubly-even ^78–86Kr isotopes have been studied with inelastic scattering of 51.9 MeV protons. It is shown that in the doubly-even nuclei from Ge to Sr with N = 42–50, the lowest octupole vibrational energies of nuclei with equal neutron excess are almost the same. The transition strengths of these states increase with Z.     

Magnetic moments of K isomers as indicators of octupole collectivity

The relation between the quadrupole-octupole deformation and the structure of high-K isomers in heavy even-even nuclei is studied through a reflection asymmetric deformed shell model including a BCS procedure with constant pairing interaction. Two-quasiparticle states with K ^?? = 4^?, 5^?, 6^?, 6⁺ and 7^? are considered in the region of actinide nuclei (U, Pu and Cm) and rare-earth nuclei (Nd, Sm and Gd). The behaviour of two-quasiparticle energies and magnetic dipole moments of these configurations is examined over a wide range in the plane of quadrupole and octupole deformations (?? ₂ and ?? ₃. In all considered actinide nuclei, the calculations show that there is pronounced sensitivity of the magnetic moments to the octupole deformation. In the rare-earth nuclei, the calculations for ^{154, 156}Gd show stronger sensitivity of the magnetic moment to the octupole deformation than in the other considered cases.     

Levels in 110Pd, 112Pd, 114Pd and 116Pd from the beta decays of the on-line mass separated Rh isotopes

The energy levels of even ^110–116pd nuclei have been studied from β-decays of odd-odd ^110–116Rh isotopes produced at the on-line isotope separator IGISOL. Two β-decaying states with I^π = 1⁺ and I ⩾4 have been identified in all the cases. New level schemes with preliminary spin assignments have been constructed for ¹¹²Pd, ¹¹⁴Pd and ¹¹⁶Pd. Similarities with the level structures of their Xe isotones have been pointed out.     

Octupole Deformations of Even-Even Rn,Th, and U Nuclei in Relativistic Mean Field Theory

The octupole deformations and other ground state properties of even-even Rn, Th and U isotopes are investigated systematically within the framework of the reflection asymmetric relativistic mean field （RAS-RMF） model. The calculation results reproduce the binding energies and the quadrupole deformations well. The calculation results indicate these nuclei at ground states evolve from neaxly-spherical （N = 130） shape to quadrupole deformation shape with the increase of the neutron number. It is also found that among the Rn isotopes, only^222,224 Rn axe oetupole deformed and the octupole deformations for them are small. However, more nuclei （N ≌ 134 148） in Th and U isotopes are octupole deformed and the octupole deformations for some of them are significant （｜β3｜- 0.1 or even larger）.     

Collective states fed by weak α-transitions in the 230U chain

The ²³⁰U decay chain has been investigated using Ge(Li) spectrometers in singles and coincidence measurements. The internal-conversion spectra have been studied in a β-spectrometer with a Si(Li) detector placed in a homogeneous magnetic field. A total of 31 γ-ray transitions, 14 of which have not been reported before, have been observed in the decay of ²³⁰U and its descendants. All transitions could be unambiguously placed in the individual level schemes. The new band-heads at 805 and 914 keV in ²²⁶Th and ²²²Ra, respectively, are proposed as 0⁺ quadrupole-pairing vibrations. No evidence has been found for the existence of 0⁺ two-phonon harmonic octupole states in these nuclei. A possible anharmonicity of the octupole vibrations is discussed.     

Onset of deformation in neutron-rich krypton isotopes

Beta-decay properties of neutron-rich₃₅Br isotopes confirm the predicted smooth onset of quadrupole deformation for Z<37 already below N=60. The observed increase of the energy of the first 2⁺ state in the N=56 nucleus⁹²Kr may indicate octupole softness.     

Mean square charge radii of radium isotopes and octupole deformation in the 220–228Ra region

The first investigation of isotope shifts in both the atomic and ionic resonance lines of radium has been carried out using the technique of on-line collinear fast-beam laser spectroscopy at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The measurements cover 19 isotopes in the mass range 208⩽A⩽232 with half-lives between 23 ms and 1600 y. The differences in the nuclear mean square charge radii δ〈r²〉 have been evaluated and - together with earlier published spins and moments from the hyperfine structure - related to nuclear deformation. In particular the inversion of the odd-even staggering effect for the isotopes ²²¹Ra, ²²³Ra and ²²⁵Ra can be interpreted by the presence of octupole instability and adds weight to the concept of near-stable octupole deformation in the odd-A isotopes which already explained their spins and magnetic moments.     

Octupole vibrations in the even mercury and lead isotopes

Prominent groups are observed corresponding to excited states in the region of 2.6 MeV in the scattering of 24 and 27 MeV α-particles from ^{198, 200, 202, 204}Hg and ^{204, 206, 208}Pb. For each of the Pb isotopes the state concerned is identified with the known 3^? octupole vibration. Angular distribution measurements for scattering to the Pb and ²⁰⁴Hg states are in agreement with octupole-vibration coupled-channels predictions, and systematic trends suggest that the states observed in the isotopes ^{198, 200, 202}Hg can also be attributed to octupole vibrations.