Super-allowed α decay above doubly-magic <Superscript>100</Superscript>Sn and properties of <Superscript>104</Superscript>Te = <Superscript>100</Superscript>Sn ⊗ α

α-decay half-lives for ^{104, 105, 106}Te and ^{108, 109, 110}Xe close above the doubly-magic ¹⁰⁰Sn are calculated from systematic double-folding potentials. The derived α preformation factors are compared to results for ^{212, 213, 214}Po and ^{216, 217, 218}Rn above the doubly-magic ²⁰⁸Pb. α-decay energies of Q _α = 5.42±0.07MeV and 4.65±0.15MeV are predicted for ¹⁰⁴Te and ¹⁰⁸Xe; the corresponding half-lives are T _1/2 ≈ 5ns for ¹⁰⁴Te and of the order of 60μs for ¹⁰⁸Xe. Additionally, the properties of rotational bands in ¹⁰⁴Te are analyzed, and the first excited 2⁺ state in ¹⁰⁴Te is predicted at E _x = 650±40keV; it decays preferentially by γ emission with a reduced transition strength of 10 Weisskopf units to the ground state of ¹⁰⁴Te and with a minor branch by α emission to the ground state of ¹⁰⁰Sn.     

Search for solar axions generated by the Primakoff effect with resonance absorption by <Superscript>169</Superscript>Tm

We searched for resonant excitation of the first excited state of the ¹⁶⁹Tm nucleus by axions formed inside the Sun by the Primakoff effect, A + ¹⁶⁹Tm → ¹⁶⁹Tm* → ¹⁶⁹Tm + γ (8.41keV). Gamma quanta with an energy of 8.41keV were registered by a sectionalized Si(Li) detector installed in a low-background setup. As a result, we set a new upper limit for the photon to axion coupling constant, g _Aγ (GeV⁻¹)m _A (eV) ≤ 1.06 × 10⁻⁵, which for a hadronic axion model corresponds to a mass limit of m _A ≤ 169 eV at a 90% confidence level.     

Measurement of the lifetime of the first 2+ state in 124Ba

The lifetime of the first 2⁺ state in the nucleus ¹²⁴Ba has been measured by γ-γ coincidence recoil-distance Doppler shift method. The ¹⁰⁹Ag(¹⁹F, 4n)¹²⁴Ba reaction at a beam energy of 75 MeV was employed to populate excited states in ¹²⁴Ba. The mean lifetime was determined to be 275(12) ps using the differential decay curve method. The value of B(E2;0₁ ⁺→ 2₁ ⁺) for ¹²⁴Ba deduced from the lifetime is in reasonable agreement with the prediction of the proton-neutron interacting boson model(IBM-2) without Pauli blocking effect. Received: 23 February 1998     

High-spin states in <Superscript>36</Superscript>Ar and their underlying shell model configurations

Eight high-spin states in ³⁶Ar below 10MeV excitation energy, among them a prospective J ^π = 8^- state at 9408keV and the J? 8 levels of the recently discovered superdeformed rotational band, have been observed by n-γ coincidence measurements with the ³³S(α, nγ) reaction at E _α = 14.4 and 13.4MeV. High-spin assignments of, respectively, J ^π = 6⁺ and 5^- were obtained for the E _p = 1209 and 1462keV (E _x = 9682 and 9927keV) resonances of the ³⁵Cl (p,γ) reaction by a measurement of γ-ray angular distributions. The spectrum of the high-spin and of the E _x? 7.4MeV levels is decomposed according to the underlying shell model configurations with n = 0, 1, 2, 4 particles excited from the N = 2 into the N = 3 major shell. The role of four-particle excitations, all connected with large prolate distortions, is elucidated for the entire A = 36-40 mass region. Received: 21 December 2001 / Accepted: 25 March 2002     

Nuclear deformation and the two-neutrino double- β decay in <Superscript>124, 126</Superscript>Xe , <Superscript>128, 130</Superscript>Te , <Superscript>130, 132</Superscript>Ba and <Superscript>150</Superscript>Nd isotopes

The two-neutrino double-beta decay of ^{124, 126}Xe , ^{128, 130}Te , ^{130, 132}Ba and ¹⁵⁰Nd isotopes is studied in the Projected Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (PHFB) model. Theoretical 2ν β^-β^- half-lives of ^{128, 130}Te , and ¹⁵⁰Nd isotopes, and 2ν β⁺β⁺ , 2ν β⁺ EC and 2ν ECEC for ^{124, 126}Xe and ^{130, 132}Ba nuclei are presented. Calculated quadrupolar transition probabilities B(E2 : 0⁺ → 2⁺) , static quadrupole moments and g -factors in the parent and daughter nuclei reproduce the experimental information, validating the reliability of the model wave functions. The anticorrelation between nuclear deformation and the nuclear transition matrix element M _2ν is confirmed.     

High-spin states of<Superscript>125</Superscript>Sb: Particle-core excitation coupling

Excited states of¹²⁵Sb have been studied using in-beam γ spectroscopy techniques via the¹²⁴Sn(⁷Li, α2n) reaction at a beam energy of 32 MeV. A high-spin level scheme including 21 new γ-transitions and 14 new excited states have been established. Three isomers have been identified at 1970, 2110 and 2471 keV and the ranges of their half-lives have been estimated from the delayed coincidence data. The level structure of¹²⁵Sb is discussed in terms of particle-core excitation coupling. With the help of empirical shell model calculations the three isomers are proposed to have three-quasiparticle πg_7/2⊗v(h _11/2 s _1/2)₅₋, πg_7/2⊗v(h _11/2 d _3/2)₇₋ and πg_7/2⊗v(h ₁₁^2/2)₁₀ ⁺ configurations, respectively.     

Beta-gamma-gamma directional correlation in103Rh

β-γ-γ directional correlation studies for the cascades (i)β-rays ofE _max=0.12 MeV,γ-rays of 557 keV andγ-rays of 53 keV and (ii)β-rays ofE _max=0.21 MeV,γ-rays of 444 keV andγ-rays of 53 keV have been made. The triple correlation functionsW(θ) were obtained to beW(θ)=1+(−0.153±0.031)P ₂(cosθ)+(0.004±0.035)P ₄(cosθ) forβ-rays ofE _max 0.12 MeV→557→53 keV cascade andW(θ)=1+(0.163±0.042)P ₂(cosθ)+(−0.035±0.058)P ₄(cosθ) forβ rays ofE _max=0.21 MeV→444 keV→53 keV cascade. Spins and parities of the 650, 537 and 93 keV levels of¹⁰³Rh are deduced by triple angular correlation and the internal conversion coefficient studies. Multipolarities of the transitions are also determined.     

Observation of M3 isomeric transition from <Superscript>156m</Superscript>Pm through the βdecay of <Superscript>156</Superscript>Nd

An M3 transition in a doubly odd nucleus of ¹⁵⁶Pm was identified by internal conversion electron measurement through the β-decay of ¹⁵⁶Nd which was separated from the fission products of ²³⁵U using the on-line mass separator KUR-ISOL. The isomeric state at 150.3keV de-excites to the ground state with the M3 transition, and the spin-parity is considered to be 1^-. Nilsson configurations are also discussed on the basis of the systematics.     

Covariant tensor formalism for partial-wave analyses of ψ decays into γB¯, γγV and ψ(2s)↦γχ<Subscript>c0,1,2</Subscript> with χ<Subscript>c0,1,2</Subscript>↦K¯πand 2π<Superscript>+</Superscript>2π<Superscript>-</Superscript>

With accumulation of high statistics data at BES and CLEO-c, many new interesting channels can get enough statistics for partial-wave analysis (PWA). Among them, ψ↦γpˉ,γΛˉ,γΣˉ,γΞˉ channels provide a good place for studying baryon-antibaryon interactions; the double radiative decays ψ↦γγV with V ≡ ρ,ω,φ have a potential to provide information on the flavor content of any meson resonances (R) with positive charge parity (C = +) and mass above 1 GeV through ψ↦γR↦γγV; ψ(2s)↦γχ_c0,1,2 with χ_c0,1,2↦Kˉπ⁺π^- and 2π⁺2π^- decays are good processes to study χ_cJ charmonium decays. Using the covariant tensor formalism, here we provide theoretical PWA formulae for these channels.     

Microscopic study of low-lying yrast spectra in <Superscript>100–108</Superscript>Mo isotopes

Variation-after-projection (VAP) calculations in conjunction with Hartree-Bogoliubov (HB) ansatz have been carried out for A=100−108 molybdenum (Mo) isotopes. In this framework, the yrast spectra with J _max ^π ≥10⁺, B(E2) transition probabilities, quadrupole (β₂) and hexadecapole (β₄) deformation parameters, moment of inertia (I) and square of cranking frequency (ω²) for even-even Mo isotopes have been obtained. The results of the calculation give an indication that it is important to include the hexadecapole-hexadecapole component of the two-body interaction for obtaining various nuclear structure quantities in these Mo isotopes.     

Investigations into the alpha-decay of <Superscript>195</Superscript>At

The low-energy nuclear structure and decay properties of the neutron-deficient isotopes ¹⁹⁵At and ¹⁹¹Bi have been studied. ¹⁹⁵At was produced in the reaction ¹⁴²Nd(⁵⁶Fe,p2n)¹⁹⁵At and ¹⁹¹Bi as the daughter activity of ¹⁹⁵At. The activities were implanted in a position-sensitive silicon detector after being separated from the primary beam by a gas-filled recoil separator. The 1/2⁺ intruder state was determined to be the ground state in ¹⁹⁵At with an alpha-decay energy of E _α = 6953(3) keV and a half-life T _1/2 = 328(20) ms. Another state with an alpha-decay energy E _α = 7075(4) keV and a half-life T _1/2 = 147(5) ms was found to decay to a 148.7(5) keV excited state in ¹⁹¹Bi for which a spin and parity of 7/2^- were deduced. Consequently, the same 7/2^- character was assigned to the initial state at 32(7) keV in ¹⁹⁵At on the basis of unhindered alpha-decay. The 9/2^- state, being the ground state in heavier odd-mass astatine isotopes, was not observed. Received: 16 September 2002 / Accepted: 19 December 2002 / Published online: 25 March 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: heikki.kettunen@phys.jyu.fi RID="b" ID="b"Present address: Laboratory of Radiochemistry, P.O. Box 55, FIN-00014, University of Helsinki, Finland. RID="c" ID="c"Present address: Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, P.O. Box 14, FIN-00881 Helsinki, Finland. Communicated by W. Henning     

The low-spin structure of <Superscript>115</Superscript>Xe

The low-spin band structure of neutron-deficient ¹¹⁵ ₅₄Xe has been studied following a low-energy (212.3 MeV) ⁶⁰Ni(⁵⁸Ni,2pnγ) reaction performed at IReS, Strasbourg, with the Garel⁺ spectrometer. The relative excitation energies of νh_11/2 (isomeric), νg_7/2, and νd_5/2 bandheads have been established. Received: 23 March 2000     

Decay of 1.643 h <Superscript>95</Superscript>Ru and its daughter's level structure

The decay of ⁹⁵Ru has been investigated by means of γ-ray spectroscopy. The ⁹⁵Ru nuclei were produced by the reaction ⁹²Mo( α, n) ⁹⁵Ru at a beam energy of 17MeV. High-purity Ge detectors have been used singly and in coincidence to study γ-rays in the decay of ⁹⁵Ru to ⁹⁵Tc. 132 γ-rays are reported, among them, energies and intensities for 127 transitions have been determined. A decay scheme of ⁹⁵Ru with 31 levels is proposed which accommodates 127 of these transitions. Spins and parities for three new levels are proposed from calculated log ft values, measured γ-ray branching ratios, and in-beam experiment results of the daughter nucleus ⁹⁵Tc. Combining with the high-spin states observed by in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy of previous decay works, the structure of the excited states of ⁹⁵Tc is discussed in the framework of the projected shell model.     

Level structure of 123Cs observed from 123Ba decay and described using the IBFM and CQPC models

The decay of ¹²³Ba to ¹²³Cs has been studied with mass-separated sources. Singles spectra of γ-rays, X-rays and conversion electrons as well as γ - γ - t, γ - e ⁻ - t, and X - e ⁻ - t coincidences were recorded. A level scheme of ¹²³Cs has been constructed including 26 new excited states and 82 transitions. The existence of a I ^π = 11/2⁻, T _1/2 = 1.7 s isomer, bandhead of the h _11/2 band, is confirmed. Its excitation energy equals 156.3 keV. A new T _1/2 = 114 ns isomer has been established at 232 keV using the in-beam recoil catcher technique. It is assigned to the I ^π = 9/2⁺ bandhead of the gpg _9/2 band. Collective bands based on the 1/2⁺ ground state and first 3/2⁺ excited state are proposed. The level structure is described in the frame of the interacting boson-fermion and core-quasiparticle coupling models.     

Structure of low-spin states in the doubly-odd 182Ir nucleus

Low-spin states of ¹⁸²Ir were populated through the β⁺ /EC decay of ¹⁸²Pt . Two strong E2 transitions were observed for the first time: a 25.7keV transition in ¹⁸²Ir and a 34.0keV transition in Re of probable mass A = 178 . Spin and parity, I ^π = 3⁺ , are firmly assigned to the ¹⁸²Ir ground state (g.s.). For the excited states, the parity is established and the spin determined or restricted. These assignments support most of the interpretations of the level structure previously suggested. The systematics for the known 5⁺ → 3⁺ transitions in π h _9/2 ⊗ ν 1/2^-[521] bands is presented. Using a semi-microscopic two-quasiparticle axial-rotor coupling model, particle configurations have been attributed or suggested for most of the coupled states lying at low energy in ¹⁸²Ir .     

Phenomenological applications of<Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis><Subscript>T</Subscript>factorization

We discuss applications of the perturbative QCD approach in the exclusive non-leptonic two-bodyB-meson decays. We briefly review its ingredients and some important theoretical issues on the factorization approach. PQCD results are compatible with present experimental data for charmless B-meson decays. We predict the possibility of large direct CP asymmetry in B⁰ → π⁺π⁻ (23 +7%) and B⁰ →K ⁺π⁻ (− 17 ± 5%). We also investigate the branching ratios, CP asymmetry and isospin symmetry breaking in radiativeB →(K*/ρ)γ decays.     

Improved (1s)<Superscript>2</Superscript> variational model for helium

The ground-state energy of neutral helium is estimated variationally with a trial wavefunction of the form ϕ≈e ^−γ(rA/a _o)ⁿe^−γ(rB/a _o)ⁿ. This model represents a modification of traditional textbook examinations of this problem via inclusion of the power “n” as a second nonlinear variational parameter in addition to the usual effective nuclear charge γ and leads to an upper-limit on the ground state energy of −2.86107 E _h (E _h =1 hartree) in comparison with the traditional (n=1) result of −2.84766 E _h . This result represents a reduction of the percentage overestimate from the true ground-state energy (−2.90373 E _h ) of from 1.93 to 1.47. In comparison with the maximum accuracy obtainable from an uncorrelated trial wavefunction, −2.86168 E _h , the present trial wavefunction reduces the percentage overestimate from 0.49 (n=1) to 0.021. The optimum values of (n, γ) are determined to be ≈(0.897, 1.825).     

Total strength of the magnetic dipole resonance in <Superscript>31</Superscript>P

The γ decay of the resonance-like structure observed in the ³⁰Si(pγ)³¹P reaction in the energy range E _p = 1.4–2.7 MeV of accelerated protons has been investigated. The excitation function of this reaction and the spectra and angular distributions of the γ rays formed in the decay of resonances with E _p = 1482, 2350, and 2505 keV have been measured. The M1 resonance on the ground and the first excited states of ³¹P with E _p = 1266 keV is identified. The total strength of the M1 resonance on the ground state of this nucleus is determined. The position and total strength of this resonance on the ground state are explained taking into account pairing forces.     

Partial wave analysis of πproduction in two-photon collisions at LEP

The reaction γγ → π⁺π^-π⁰ with quasi-real photons is studied with a total integrated luminosity of 663pb^-1, collected by the L3 detector at LEP at center-of-mass energies from 183 to 209GeV. The results of an energy-dependent partial wave analysis in the mass region 1.1≤M(π⁺π^-π⁰)≤2.2GeV are presented. The reaction is dominated by a₂(1320) formation. A strong signal consistent with the first radial excitation of the isovector tensor state, a₂(1700), is present and confirms the previous L3 observation. Its two-photon partial width is found to be Br(3π) = 0.37^+0.12_-0.08keV, the relative branching ratio of ρ(770)π to f₂(1270)π is 3.4±0.4. For all observed states the product of γγ partial width and 3π branching ratios is measured.     

Inelastic excitation of <Superscript>187</Superscript>Re

Excited states in ¹⁸⁷Re populated by inelastic scattering of a 500 MeV ⁸²Se beam have been studied by means of in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy. Levels built on the 5/2⁺[402] and 9/2^-[514] one-quasiparticle states were measured up to I ^π = (21/2⁺) and (21/2^-), respectively. In addition, several new levels including an isomer at 1682 keV with a half-life of 114(23) ns have been found. Quasiparticle configurations of the levels and the transition rates are discussed. Received: 12 December 2002 / Accepted: 13 March 2003 / Published online: 13 May 2003