E0 transition and coupling between quadrupole and pairing-vibrational modes

Using a theory of mode-mode coupling between the two-phonon 0⁺ mode and the pairing-vibrational mode, we have extensively investigated the first excited 0⁺(0₂²) states in spherical and transitional nuclei. The results tell us that the 0₂⁺ states in a wide range of nuclei are strongly mixed states of both the modes. By making use of these results, the matrix elements for the E0 transitions from the 0₂⁺ states to the ground states are calculated for the Zn, Ge, Se, Kr, Sr, Zr, Mo, Ru, Pd, Cd and Sn isotopes. For some of the Cd and Sn isotopes, the matrix elements between the 0₂⁺ and 0₂⁺ states are also obtained. These numerical calculations make a rather good fit to the E0 experiments.     

Collective bands in doubly even Sn nuclei

Starting from a simplified picture treating proton two-particle two-hole excitations coupled with spherical quadrupole vibrations, in interaction with the low-lying quadrupole vibrational states in the doubly even Sn nuclei, we are able to account for a regular ΔJ = 2 band structure on top of excited J^π = 0⁺ states. We compare in some detail results for ¹¹⁶Sn concering energy spectra and E2 transition rates.     

AbsoluteE0 andE2 transition rates and collective states in116Sn

AbsoluteE0 andE2 transition rates in¹¹⁶Sn have been measured using several newly developed techniques. ManyE2 transitions are observed to have a collective character withB(E2) values of up to 60 W.u. The presence of deformed excited states in¹¹⁶Sn is discussed in view of the results obtained.     

E0 transitions in 70Ge and shape-coexistence interpretation of even-mass Ge isotopes

The branching ratios of E0 and E2 transitions depopulating the 0⁺₂ and 0⁺₃ states in ⁷⁰Ge have been studied using conversion-electron and γ-ray spectroscopy, as well as a new internal-pair measurement technique. A value of 3.7 (2) ns has been obtained in a remeasurement of the half-life of the 0⁺₂ state. Two new E0 transitions, 0⁺₃ → 0⁺₂ and 0⁺₃ → 0⁺₁, have been observed. A comparison of the measured X(E0/E2), ρ²(E0) and B(E2) values for the excited 0⁺ states in ⁷⁰Ge with the corresponding ¹⁵⁰Sm data supports a recent shape-coexistence interpretation of the even-mass Ge isotopes.     

Decay characteristics of 0 2 + and 0 3 + states in112Cd and114Cd

Absolute rates ofE0 andE2 transitions depopulating 0 ₂ ⁺ and 0 ₃ ⁺ states in¹¹²Cd and¹¹⁴Cd have been determined using conversion-electron andγ-ray spectroscopy, and double Coulomb excitation. The collectivity of these states is established and discussed.     

Discovery of a very low-lying 0+ state in 98Sr and shape coexistence implication in 98Sr

Using the on-line mass separator OSTIS for studies of short-lived fission products, we found two modes for the β-decay of ⁹⁸Rb with respective half-lives of 96 and 114 ms. The latter decay populates a 0⁺ state in ⁹⁸Sr at the unusually low energy of 215.5 keV, which is by far the lowest 0⁺ excited state observed in even-even nuclei. The half-lives of the 0⁺ and the 2₁⁺ states in ⁹⁸Sr were found to be respectively 25 ns and 4 ns. The transition probabilities, the reduced E0 matrix element and the observed level structure suggest shape coexistence for ⁹⁸Sr: the spheroidal 0₁⁺ ground state shows a rotational band with the 2⁺, 4⁺, (6⁺) levels, whereas the presumably spherical 0₂⁺ excited state may be connected with the 2⁺ level of a vibrational band. A simple model is proposed.     

Collective states in even Sn nuclei

0⁺, 2⁺, 4⁴ and 3^? states in ^112–124Sn have been studied with the (p, p′γ) reaction and in Coulomb excitation. Absolute E2 transition rates between these levels have been extracted with the aid of the Winther-de Boer code. For ^116,118Sn, B(E2; 4₁⁺ → 2₁⁺) ≈ 20 W.u., suggesting a two-phonon character of the 4₁⁺ states. For the lighter and heavier isotopes, this value is significantly smaller. All observed values of B(E2; 2₂⁺ → 2₁⁺) and B(E2; 2₃⁺→ 2₁⁺) are about 5 W.u. Also. values of B(E3; 0₁⁺ → 3^?₁) have been measured for all stable even Sn nuclei. In ¹¹⁶Sn the branching ratio (3₁^? → 0₁⁺)/(3₁^? → 2₁⁺) has been measured. From this we obtain a half-life of 0.34±0.07 ps for the first 3^? level in ¹¹⁶Sn and B(E1; 3₁^? → 2₁⁺) = (1.4±0.3) × 10^?5'e² · b, corresponding to a hindrance factor of 10³.     

Electromagnetic decay of excited 0+ states in 64, 66, 68Zn

The E0 and E2 transitions depopulating the excited 0⁺ states in ^64,66,68Zn are investigated. Several methods of γ-ray, conversion-electron and internal-pair spectrometry are employed, including a new time measurement technique. A total of 5 E0 transitions are observed and the monopole strengths ρ²(0_i⁺ → 0_i⁺) for most of them are extracted. The results and the nature of the excited 0⁺ states are discussed in terms of several nuclear models.     

The deformation of the ground and excited states in the Ag and Sn nuclei

The microscopic calculation of the potential energies in the ground and excited states of Ag and Sn nuclei has been performed. The single particle Nilsson potential and the shell correction Strutinski method have been used. The weak sensitivness to nonaxial deformation has been found for even neighbours of these nuclei. The small tendency towards prolate deformation of the ground and excited one-quasiparticle states originating from theg _9/2 proton subshell in^101–105Ag odd isotopes has been noticed. The behaviour with quadrupole e and hexadecapole ε₄ deformation of the ground and two-quasiparticle excited 0⁺ states originating from thed _5/2,g _9/2 andg _7/2 proton subshells andh _11/2 neutron subshell in^112–118Sn has been investigated. The small quadrupole deformation of the excited 0⁺ states has been found what is in agreement with the experimental data concerning the rotational bands build on the first excited 0⁺ states in Sn isotopes.     

Coulomb excitation of 115Sn

Coulomb excitation of the nucleus ¹¹⁵Sn was studied with beams of ⁴He and ¹⁶O. Level energies, spins, mean-lives and B(E2) and B(M1) transition probabilities were obtained. Spin $\text{3}\text{2}$⁺ states were observed at 497.35 and 1280.08 keV and spin $\text{5}\text{2}$⁺ states were observed at 986.54 and 1416.78 keV. A state of 612.79 keV was observed to be indirectly excited by decay of the Coulomb excited states. Eleven B(E2) values and nine B(M1) values were obtained for the transitions between the low-lying states. In contrast to previous particle transfer results which suggested a clear distinction between shell-model and collective $\text{3}\text{2}$⁺ and $\text{5}\text{2}$⁺ states, our results suggest the collective strength is shared by the two $\text{3}\text{2}$⁺ and two $\text{5}\text{2}$⁺ states.     

A measurement of B(E3;0+ → 31−) and some E2 transition probabilities in 132, 134, 136, 138Ba using Coulomb excitation

Reduced transition probabilities, B(E2) and B(E3), have been measured for low-lying 2⁺ and 3^? states in ^{132, 134, 136, 138}Ba using Coulomb excitation by 40 MeV ¹²C ions. The B(E2) values are in general consistent with previous measurements and the B(E3;0⁺ → 3₁^?) values are 0.176 ± 0.022, 0.148 ± 0.018, 0.155 ± 0.018 and 0.133 ± 0.013 e² · b³ for ^{132, 134, 136, 138}Ba respectively. These B(E3) values correspond to about 24 to 17 W.u. and such enhancements suggest that these 3^? states have an essentially collective character which may be attributed to octupole vibrations.     

E0 transitions in 114,116,118Sn

Low-lying 0⁺ states have been excited in the (p, p′) reaction via the$\text{s}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ isobaric analog resonance in ^114,116Sn and in radioactive decay in ¹¹⁸Sn. From conversion electron measurements, values of $\text{X =}\text{B(}\text{EO}\text{;0}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{→ 0}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)}\text{B(}\text{E}\text{2; 0}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{→2}{}_1{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)}$ are obtained from the 1953 keV state in ¹¹⁴Sn, 1757 and 2027 keV states in ¹¹⁶Sn and 1758 and 2056 keV states in ¹¹⁸Sn.     

The (p-d-t) process in strong (p,t) transitions

The (p-d-t) process in ⁴⁸Ca(p, t)⁴⁸Ca(p, t)⁴⁶Ca(0⁺, g.s.; 2⁺, 1.34 MeV) and ¹¹⁶Sn(p, t)¹¹⁴Sn(0⁺, g.s.) at 20 MeV was investigated. The calculations showed that the two-step process is important in all the transitions investigated, and is enhanced in the Sn transition by the pairing correlations in the BCS ground states.     

Levels in 156Gd studied in the (n, γ) reaction

Levels up to 2.3 MeV in ¹⁵⁶Gd have been studied using the (n, γ) reaction. Energies and intensities of low-energy γ-rays and electrons emitted after thermal neutron capture have been measured with a curved-crystal spectrometer, Ge(Li) detectors and a magnetic electron spectrometer. High-energy (primary) γ-rays and electrons have been measured with Ge(Li) detectors and a magnetic spectrometer. The high-energy γ-ray spectrum has also been measured in thermal neutron capture in 2 keV resonance neutron capture. The neutron separation energy in ¹⁵⁶Gd was measured as S_n = 8535.8 ± 0.5 keV.About 600 transitions were observed of which ~50% could be placed in a level scheme containing more than 50 levels up to 2.3 MeV excitation energy. 42 of these levels were grouped into 15 excited bands. In addition to the β-band at 1050 keV we observe 0⁺ bands at 1168, 1715 and 1851 keV. Other positive-parity bands are: 1⁺ bands at 1966, 2027 and 2187 keV; 2⁺ bands at 1154 (γ-band) and 1828 keV; and 4⁺ bands at 1511 and 1861 keV. Negative-parity bands are observed at 1243 keV (1^?), 1366 keV (0^?), 1780 keV (2^?) and 2045 keV (4^?). Reduced E2 and E0 transition probabilities have been derived for many transitions. The ground band, the β- and γ-bands and the 0⁺ band at 1168 keV have been included in a phenomenological four-band mixing calculation, which reproduces well the experimental energies and E2 transition probabilities.The lowest three negative-parity (octupole) bands of which the 0^? and the 1^? bands are very strongly mixed, were included in a Coriolis-coupling analysis, which reproduces well the observed energies. The E1 transition probabilities to the ground band are also well reproduced, while those from the higher-lying 0⁺ bands to the octupole bands are not reproduced. Absolute and relative transition probabilities have been compared with predictions of the IBA model and the pairingplus-quadrupole model. Both models reproduce well the E2 transitions from the γ-band, while strong disagreements are found for the E2 transitions from the β-band. The IBA model predicts part of the decay features of the higher lying 2⁺₂, 4⁺₁ and 2^?₁ bands.     

Conversion coefficients and E0 transitions in102, 104, 106Pd

In in-beam (p, p′) experiments, electron and γ-spectra were measured in the electron energy range of 500-1840 keV for¹⁰²Pd and¹⁰⁴Pd, and 600–1580 keV for¹⁰⁶Pd. The conversion coefficients of all transitions in this range were obtained with accuracies of about 20%, in some favourable cases 10%. Special attention was given to 0⁺′-0⁺ transitions from the two-phonon triplets to the ground states with the following results for the branching ratios 0⁺′-0⁺ (ground state) to 0⁺′-2⁺ (one-phonon state):¹⁰²Pd:T _k (E0)/T _γ (E2)<(2.1±3.6)·10^{?7 104}Pd:T _k (E0)/T _γ (E2)=(6.0±1.4)·10^{?5 106}Pd:T _k (E0)/T _γ (E2)=(6.0±2.0)·10^?4     

Enhanced neutron pair transfer and collective excitations in the system 206Pb + 118Sn at barrier energies

At energies below the Coulomb barrier, neutron transfer and Coulomb excitation have been measured in a very heavy asymmetric nuclear system, in ²⁰⁶Pb + ¹¹⁸Sn. These are semi-magic nuclei showing super-fluid properties. Particle-γ coincidence techniques using 5 Euroball Cluster detectors (EB), combined in a set-up with the Heidelberg-Darmstadt NaI Crystal Ball (CB), have been used. Position-sensitive detectors allowed the observation of scattering processes covering angles from 110 up to 150 degrees. The fragments are identified via the known γ-decays of the lowest excited states using the high resolution of EB. Using the unique feature of the set-up with the CB, transfer to well-defined final channels with known quantum numbers is selected using the high-efficiency multiplicity filter of the CB with no second γ-ray, i.e. without feeding. The data are analysed using the semi-classical approach and transfer probabilities are obtained. Coulomb excitation has been analysed using known transition probabilities. The enhancement is deduced for the two-neutron transfer populating the low-lying super-fluid 2⁺ states in ¹²⁰Sn and ¹¹⁶Sn, while the 2n transition remains in the ground state for the ^20NPb nuclei. Large enhancements up to EF ≃ 10³ are observed. This is the first observation of neutron pair transfer enhancement for a heavy nuclear binary system with super-fluid properties with experimentally separated levels. The calculations with microscopic 2-neutron wave functions, with configuration mixing over six shell model configurations and using the coupled reaction channels approach, reproduce well the observed probabilities and the enhancement. Received: 27 August 2002 / Accepted: 9 December 2002 / Published online: 25 March 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: oertzen@hmi.de Communicated by D. Schwalm     

Multiphoton mass spectra of XeKr molecules in the range of excited Xe*6<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>[5/2]<Subscript>2, 3</Subscript> atoms

Data on excited states of XeKr molecules in the energy range 78280–77600 cm^?1 are obtained. Using the method of multiphoton laser photoionization of molecules in a supersonic jet, five vibrational progressions of XeKr molecules are obtained, which are attributed to five electronic-vibrational transitions from the ground state of the XeKr molecule of the symmetry 0⁺ to excited states of the symmetry Ω = 0⁺, 1, 2 with the dissociation limit Kr¹ S ₀ + Xe*6p[5/2]₂ and of the symmetry Ω = 1, 2 with the dissociation limit Kr + Xe*6 p [5/2]₃. The molecular constants of the corresponding excited states of the XeKr molecule are estimated.     

A study of the (3He,n) reaction on isotopes of tin

The (³He, n) reaction has been studied on^{112,116,118,120,124}Sn at 25.4 MeV. Angular distributions were measured over the range 0°–25° and the results compared with predictions of zero-range DWBA calculations. In addition to the around-state transitions, L = 0 transitions were also observed to low-lying states in every case. Simple two component wave functions, as well as those obtained from a more sophisticated pairing model, are compared with the data in order to explain the appearance of the anomalously low-lying excited 0⁺ states observed. L = 2 transitions were observed to low-lying 2⁺ states, but the strength of these transitions was much less than expected from the systematics of (t, p) results for N = 50 nuclei.     

Transition charge densities of low-lying collective states in even Zn isotopes

The inelastic electron scattering cross sections for the quadrupole transitions to the 2₁⁺ and 2₂⁺ states in the even Zn isotopes ⁶⁴Zn, ⁶⁶Zn and ⁶⁸Zn and for the hexadecapole transition to the 4⁺₁ state in ⁶⁴Zn have been measured in a momentum transfer range up to q = 2.2 fm^?1. In the frame-work of the vibrational model these states are considered as one- and two-quadrupole-phonon states. The measurements are characterized by high statistical accuracy and by an overall resolution of δE/E₀ = 10^?3 which permitted separation of almost all members of the two-phonon triplet. The measured cross sections are analyzed with phenomenological models as well as with a Fourier-Bessel expansion of the transition charge density. The latter analysis yields realistic error bands for the transition charge densities and model-independent values for the reduced transition probabilities and transition radii.