On the influence of shell structure in dissipative collisions

A kinematically complete study of the symmetric systems ¹⁴⁴Sm+¹⁴⁴Sm and ¹⁵⁴Sn+¹⁵⁴Sm has been performed at energies 30% in excess of the interaction barrier. They have been chosen because of their different internal structure: ¹⁴⁴Sm has a closed N = 82 neutron shell and a spherical ground-state configuration; ¹⁵⁴Sm with ten neutrons outside this shell is strongly deformed. The observed gross features of both reactions like energy, angular and total mass or element distributions are very similar; the ratio of the mass variances as function of the total kinetic energy loss indicates the number of exchanged nucleons to be comparable in all stages of the reactions. At small energy losses, however, the element distributions of the ¹⁴⁴Sm + ¹⁴⁴Sm reaction are considerably broader, pointing at an enhanced proton transfer at the cost of the number of exchanged neutrons in this system. This observation is attributed to the influence of the closed shell which seems to block the transfer of neutrons at low excitation energies. These results can be explained quantitatively by the different gradients of the shell-corrected potential energy surfaces of the two systems.     

Neutron-hole strength distributions in heavy nuclei: (II). The 144, 148, 152Sm(3He, α) 143, 147, 151Sm and the 144, 148, 150, 152, 154Sm(p,d) 143, 147, 149, 151, 153Sm reactions

Valence and deep-lying neutron-hole strengths corresponding to orbits near and well below the Fermi surface have been observed in high-resolution studies of the ^{144, 148, 152}Sm(³He, α) and of the ^{144, 148, 150, 152, 154}Sm(p, d) reactions at 70 and 42 MeV bombarding energy, respectively. The explored excitation energy range was 28 MeV for the (³He, α) experiment and about 12 MeV in the (p, d) study. Complete angular distributions have been measured in both cases and the data was analyzed within the framework of the distorted waves Born approximation theory of direct reactions.For the neutron closed shell target (¹⁴⁴Sm), in addition to the well-known fragmentation of the 2d_{$\text{5}\text{2}$} and 1g_{$\text{7}\text{2}$} valence-hole strength, a new bump observed around 7.6 MeV excitation energy is excited in both reactions. This structure corresponds to the 1g_{$\text{9}\text{2}$} inner-hole strength in ¹⁴³Sm and the analysis of the (³He, α) data suggests that more than 50% of the l = 4 strength can be found between 6 and 12 MeV. When one goes to the heavier Sm isotopes, the energy spacing between valence-hole states located above and just below the N = 82 shell decreases strongly and disappears in ¹⁵¹Sm as a result of increasing deformation.Combining good energy resolution and detailed analysis of the two reactions, rather complete spectroscopic information is obtained for the valence-hole strength distributions. With regard to inner-hole states, the energy spectra exhibit a narrow structure whose centroid energy decreases from 4.4 to 2.9 MeV when the mass number increases from A = 147 to A = 153. The main peak displays an asymmetric shape with an extremely large high-energy tail. The 1h_{$\text{11}\text{2}$} hole strength is split into the Nilsson Orbitals. The narrow bumps are found to carry a large fraction of the l = 5 and l = 2 hole strengths in ^{147,149,151,152}Sm isotopes. In the high-energy tail of the structures one observes overlapping and increasing spreading of the g_{$\text{7}\text{2}$}, 2d_{$\text{5}\text{2}$} and possibly 1g_{$\text{9}\text{2}$} inner-hole strengths due to the disappearance of the N = 82 shell gap between N = 83 and N = 89 neutron numbers. The experimental hole strengths distributions are compared where possible to the predictions of the quasiparticle-phonon nuclear model or to the simple Nilsson model.     

Skyrme-Hartree-Fock Description of the Nuclear Structure in Ca Isotopes (Ⅰ)Binding Energy and Shell Effects,Radii and Density Distributions

The ground state properties of Ca isotopes far from stability line were systematically studied using the Skyrme Hartree Fock model.The shell effects on the binding energy and two neutron separation energy are discussed.The isospin dependency of the unclear radii and nucleon density distributions and the shell effects on these properties are also studied.It is shown that the neutron magic number affests the width of nuclear surface and the nucleon density distributions beyond the nuclear surface.The change of proton rms radii R_rms with neutron number excess I=(N-Z)/A follows R_rms=3/5(1+αI+βI²)r_pZ^1/3.The effect of the centrifugal potential on the nuclear density in the outer trach of nuclear surface is clearly shown.     

Effect of shell structure in the fusion reactions

The fusion reactions are studied in the central collisions ⁸²Se+ + ¹³⁴Ba and ⁸²Se+ + ¹³⁸Ba by the improved isospin-dependent quantum molecular-dynamics model, where the nucleus ¹³⁸Ba has a closed neutron shell N = 82 . Comparing the shell correction energies and fusion probabilities of these two reactions with the ones of other asymmetric or more symmetric reaction systems that form the same compound nuclei, we find the dependence of the fusion reaction on the nuclear shell structure of the colliding nuclei. The experimental data of the fusion probabilities are described well by the present model. The result suggests that the neutron shell closure N = 82 promotes fusion.     

(p,t) Reaction studies on some even isotopes of samarium

The (p, t) reaction on the even isotopes¹⁴⁴Sm,¹⁴⁸Sm and¹⁵⁰Sm has been investigated at an incident proton energy of 25.5 MeV. Angular distributions have been measured for transitions to the ground state and excited states up to an excitation energy of about 2.5 MeV. Especially theL=0 angular distributions are discussed.     

CHARGE DENSITY DISTRIBUTIONS OF DEFORMED NUCLEI

A simple calculation method for charge for charge density distributions of deformed nuclei by using macroscopic model has been proposed.The calculations of charge density distributions for ¹⁹²Os,¹⁵⁴Gd,¹⁵²Sm,¹⁷⁴Yb, and ^{144,148,150,152}Sm nuclei have been performed.The results show that the calculated charge densities are in good agreement with experiments.Consequently,on the base of experimental data of the transition probabilities for ground state to 2⁺,4⁺,6⁺ rotational states or its electric multipole moments,The charge density distributions of deformed nuclei can be predicted theoretically by this method.     

The sub-barrier fusion of40Ar with144,148,154Sm

The cross sections for production of evaporation residues (σ _er) and for fusion-fission (σ _ff) have been measured for⁴⁰Ar+^{144, 148, 154}Sm at sub-barrier energies by observation of x-ray emission from radioactive products and by direct,ΔE?E identification of fission fragments, respectively. These isotopes span the transition region from spherical (¹⁴⁴Sm) to strongly deformed (¹⁵⁴Sm) equilibrium shapes. The cross section for fusion,σ _fus=σ _er+σ _ff, is found to vary markedly at low energies with the isotope number and, hence, with the quadrupole collectivity of the target. The thresholds for fusion of¹⁴⁸Sm and¹⁴⁴Sm are, respectively, ～3.5 MeV and ～7 MeV (c.m.) higher than for fusion with¹⁵⁴Sm. These differences and the energy dependence of the fusion cross sections are discussed in terms of the effect of nuclear deformation on heavy-ion fusion. A comparative analysis of results for¹⁶O+Sm and⁴⁰Ar+Sm in terms of static deformation indicates thatσ _fus for the Ar+Sm system at very low energies is enhanced relative to the prediction for a one-dimensional barrier based on a fit toσ _fus for¹⁶O+Sm. This may be an indication that additional degrees of freedom (such as formation of a neck or fragment elongation) may be important for fusion with the larger projectile. At energies above the fusion barrier, values ofσ _fus for^{144, 148}Sm are nearly equal, but are significantly smaller than for¹⁵⁴Sm. This is in contrast to the results of previous experiments with¹⁶O projectiles in whichσ _fus (¹⁶O+¹⁴⁸Sm) andσ _fus (¹⁶O+¹⁵⁴Sm) were nearly equal above the barrier. These differences, observed for^{144, 148}Sm and¹⁵⁴Sm at energies above the barrier may reflect a new mechanism which is not encompassed by a static theory.     

Fast dissipative collisions

At a bombarding energy of 14.7 MeV/u the charge, mass and angular distributions have been measured as a function of energy loss for reaction products induced by ⁹⁸Mo and ⁹²Mo projectiles on targets of ⁹⁸Mo, ¹⁴⁷Sm, ¹⁵⁴Sm and ⁹²Mo, ¹⁵⁴Sm, ²³⁸U, respectively. An analysis of the product distributions shows the presence of a non-equilibrium sharing of the excitation energy, an exponential growth of the charge and mass variances, a complete $\text{N}\text{Z}$ equilibration and a large yield of non-binary complex fragments. Monte Carlo simulations are found to be an indispensable tool of the analysis.     

Excited states of 154Tm

A high-spin level structure of the nucleus ¹⁵⁴Tm has been established for the first time up to 6.14 MeV. The ¹¹⁸Sn + ⁴⁰Ca reaction at 205 MeV associated with the recoil shadow method was used to identify the I ^π = (19)⁺ isomeric state at 2.74 MeV. In-beam γ-ray and conversion electron spectroscopy have been applied on the ¹⁴⁴Sm(¹⁴N, 4n)¹⁵⁴Tm reaction at 95 MeV to build the level scheme. The level structure of ¹⁵⁴Tm is compared to other structures observed in N = 85 neighbouring nuclei. Received: 4 January 2002 / Accepted: 15 March 2002     

A study of the 144Sm(d,p) reaction at 19 MeV

The ¹⁴⁴Sm(d, p) reaction has been studied at an incident deuteron energy of 19 MeV using the injector-tandem accelerator and the multichannel magnetic speetrograph of the University of Oxford. Angular distributions have been measured for transitions to levels of ¹⁴⁵Sm up to an excitation energy of 3.2 MeV. Theoretical (d, p) distributions have been calculated using the program DWUCK. and orbital angular momentum transfers and spectroscopic factors have been deduced by comparing these calculations with the experimental data. The spectroscopic information derived from this study is more complete than that previously reported and many new assignments have been made. The level scheme of ¹⁴⁵Sm has been found to resemble closely the level schemes of the other N = 83 nuclei.     

Near-barrier transfer in16O +144, 154Sm

The production of nitrogen and carbon fragments in the reactions induced by¹⁶O on¹⁴⁴Sm and¹⁵⁴Sm targets was studied at two bombarding energies (65 MeV and 72 MeV) around the interaction barrier. The measured angular distributions exhibit the characteristic behaviour of direct transfer reactions, and theQ-value spectra are typically centered at the values predicted by kinematic selectivity. The comparison between fusion and charged-particle transfer cross sections shows that whereas fusion is the most important process at the highest bombarding energy, transfer reactions become comparable or even dominant (as in the¹⁴⁴Sm case) at near-barrier energies. The different transfer probabilities observed for the two systems are analyzed in terms of nuclear deformation.     

Elastic Transfer Reactions of 25MeV/u 6He on 9Be Target

Angular distributions for elastic transfer in the ⁶He+⁹Be system were measured at the incident ⁶He laboratory energy of E=150MeV. From a distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) analysis,³He spectroscopic amplitude in ⁹Be were extracted and compared with values obtained by shell model calculations. The result shows that the spectroscopic amplitude is much greater than 0.70.     

Near-barrier quasi-elastic cross sections and barrier distribution of 32S+90,96Zr

Quasi-elastic cross sections have been measured for ³²S+^90,96Zr with high accuracy near the Coulomb barrier at backward angles and the barrier distributions are extracted from them. We find that barrier distribution of ³²S+⁹⁶Zr is flat and extends to low energies. The sub-barrier fusion cross sections are strongly enhanced because of such barrier distribution. Compared with the reaction of ³²S+⁹⁰Zr, ³²S+⁹⁶Zr has stronger neutron transfers up to the six-neutron pickup, which is due to the positive Q values of neutron transfers in the latter. This indicates that the neutron transfer may play a role in the enhancement of sub-barrier fusion for ³²S+⁹⁶Zr.     

Effect of nuclear shell structure on fusion reaction

The dependence of the fusion reaction on the nuclear shell structure was investigated for the two reaction systems ⁸²Se + ¹³⁸Ba and ⁸²Se + ¹³⁴Ba, where the nucleus ¹³⁸Ba has a closed neutron shell N=82, while the nucleus ¹³⁴Ba has a neutron number 78. Evaporation residues for these fusion reactions were measured near the Coulomb barrier region. The measured evaporation residue cross sections for the reaction system ⁸²Se + ¹³⁸Ba were two orders of magnitude larger than those for the reaction system ⁸²Se + ¹³⁴Ba in the excitation energy region of 20–30 MeV. The evaporation residue cross sections were compared with those of the other reaction systems that produce the same compound nucleus as the present systems. It was found that the fusion reaction ⁸²Se + ¹³⁸Ba occurs without hindrance, while that of ⁸²Se + ¹³⁴Ba is considerably hindered, as commonly observed in the massive reaction system with the charge product Z _p Z _t >1800 of projectile and target. This suggests the importance of the shell closure N=82 in the heavy-ion fusion reaction.     

Beta-decay of nuclei near the neutron shell <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis> = 126

A self-consistent approach to the weak interaction rates is presented. It is based on the generalized energy-density functional method and continuum QRPA. The study has been made of the β-decay total energy releases, half-lives and β-delayed neutron emission branchings for recently identified near-spherical nuclei with charge numbers Z = 76–79 approaching the closed neutron shell at N = 126. Together with our previous calculations near N = 28, 50, 82 this provides an important update to the standard set of weak rates for the r-process modeling, radioactive beam experiments and advanced reactor applications. Within the fully microscopic framework a significant competition is found of the Gamow-Teller and first-forbidden decay contributions to the total half-lives.     

Study on Deformation and Shape Coexistence for 188Pb

The deformation and shape coexistence in ¹⁸⁸Pb have been investigated in terms of the Projected Shell Model. Comparing the experimental data with the calculated results, it is shown that three shape configurations of sphere (Z=82 shell closure), oblate (two particle-two hole in proton h_9/2 orbital) and prolate (multi-particle-hole)coexist each other in the low-lying excited states and the prolate band exhibits a mixture between two kinds of multi-particle-hole configurations, which means that the neutron i_13/2 alignment happens gradually in this case. The mixing is discussed and the mixing coefficients are given. The oblate band structure is predicted and the 2⁺ prolate state is estimated to be in the energy range of 804—80keV.     

Anomaly in the Charge Radii and Nuclear Structure

The axially deformed relativistic mean field theory is applied to study the isotope shift of charge distributions of odd-Z Pr isotope chain. The nuclear structure associated with the shell and the isotope effect is investigated. The mechanism of the kink in the isotope shift at the neutron magic number N = 82 is revealed to be dependent on the neutron energy level structure at the Fermi energy, demonstrating that the spin-orbit coupling interaction and p-n attraction are well described by the relativistic mean field theory.     

Isotope shift measurements and charge radii of152–158Yb

Isotope shifts have been measured for the neutron deficient even Yb isotopes up to the neutron shell closure at N=82. The isotope shifts were measured using the 556-nm atomic resonance transition from the¹ S ₀ ground state to the³ P ₁ level. The heavier isotopes of Yb have been investigated by Buchinger et al./1/. The change in (r ²) observed for Yb isotopes with N=82–90 has considerably different behavior than for the lighter rare earths.     

Fusion-evaporation cross-sections for 48Ca + 154Sm near the Coulomb barrier

Measurements of fusion-evaporation cross-sections for the system ⁴⁸Ca + ¹⁵⁴Sm have been performed in the sub- and near-barrier energy range. Barrier-passing cross-sections have been obtained by adding recently measured capture-fission cross-sections at the same energies, and the barrier distribution for capture has been extracted. The data have been analyzed within a coupled-channel model, and a large subbarrier cross-section enhancement is observed, due to the ground-state prolate deformation of ¹⁵⁴Sm. The ⁴⁸Ca + ¹⁵⁴Sm capture cross-sections are compared to existing data on ¹⁶O + ¹⁸⁶W fusion, leading to the same CN, where a few higher-energy points have also been measured. The evaporation residue cross-sections for the two systems above the barrier indicate that complete fusion is inhibited for ⁴⁸Ca + ¹⁵⁴Sm by 40% in that energy region, with respect to ¹⁶O + ¹⁸⁶W.     

Mass excess of 147Tb

The mass excess of ¹⁴⁷Tb has been determined from the Q-value measurement of the ¹⁴⁴Sm(^14N, ¹¹Be)¹⁴⁷Tb reaction to be ?71.00 ± 0.05 MeV. The two-proton separation energy provides little evidence for a magic proton shell closure at Z = 64.