The reaction mechanism in the system132Xe+56Fe at 5.73 MeV/u: Evidence for a new type of strongly damped collisions

We present data for the¹³²Xe+⁵⁶Fe-system at 5.73 MeV/u laboratory energy. Due to inverted kinematics, where Xe is the projectile, we were able to measure energy spectra as well as angular distributions for reaction products with 20≦Z≦60 with unitZ-resolution; i.e. target- and projectile-like fragments have been investigated. The reaction shows a well focussed quasielastic component, where charge transfer from the light to the heavy collision partner dominates. This apparent tendency towards more asymmetric fragmentation is explained by a potential energy surface which favours such charge transfer in order to minimize the asymmetry energy of the liquid drop. The strongly damped component which constitutes the major part of the reaction cross section exhibits characteristics of a fusion-fission reaction with typical fission fragment kinetic energies and 1/sinΘ _c.m. angular distributions. The maximum cross section is found for the symmetric fragmentation, no clear indication is observed for a diffusion process leading to target- and projectile-like fragments. Our data are difficult to reconcile either with the standard diffusion models or with an equilibrated compound nucleus fission picture. We tentatively conclude that an essential part of the fully damped cross section originates from partial waves for which the compound nucleus has no fission barrier.     

Study of the heavy products from84Kr+238U collisions at 522 MeV

Angular distributions and integral cross sections for heavy reaction products from⁸⁴Kr +²³⁸U collisions at 522 MeV were measured using catcher foil techniques and off-line X-ray identification of individual reaction product isotopes. There is no evidence for a fission-fusion mechanism being responsible for the formation of the “gold finger”. The data show that usual deep inelastic collisions account for the formation of all products with 70≦Z≦86. Compared to existing data atE≦605 MeV, the deduced mass distribution indicates reduced fission probabilities forZ≧80 fragments at 522 MeV. This is consistent with the expected dependence of fission probability on excitation energy and especially on angular momentum.     

Predictions of QCD fragmentation models ine + e − annihilation up to\sqrt s = 200 GeV

Results on event and single particle characteristics are presented for the three most successful perturbative QCD+fragmentation models in the c.m. energy range 12.0≦W≦200 GeV. The models were optimised to describe the properties of the large sample of hadronic events obtained by TASSO atW=35 GeV. The energy evolution of the observables across the range spanned by the PETRA and PEP data, 12.0≦〈W〉≦41.5 GeV, is reasonably well described by all the models. However, for some quantities the predictions of the different models diverge at higher energies; distributions of observables are shown at c.m. energies of 93 and 200 GeV, where data are expected from thee ⁺ e ^? colliders currently under construction. The ability to describe simultaneously, with the same parameter values, hadronic event features both at PETRA/PEP and LEP/SLC energies will provide a severe test of the models. The effects of top quark production on the event properties are illustrated for a top mass of 60 GeV/c². Predictions are given for the rates of multijet events up toW=200 GeV, where ≧4-jet events dominate the cross section and will form a background to events containing heavy states which decay into hadron jets.     

Inclusive fragment production in84Kr +197Au atE/A=35 MeV

Inclusive cross sections of intermediate mass fragments from the reaction⁸⁴Kr+¹⁹⁷Au atE/A=35 MeV were measured over the range 8°≦Θ _lab≦70° with a low detection threshold. A moving-source parameterization was used to fit the double-differential cross sections. The integrated cross section for fragment production exceeds the total reaction cross section thus indicating a large probability for multi-fragment processes. The deduced large temperature parameters can be explained by assuming emission from a rotating source. From the comparison to reactions with¹²C and⁴⁰Ar projectiles at E/A=30 MeV a systematics of inclusive fragment production as a function of the projectile mass is obtained.     

Light charged particle emission and fission in238U+238U collisions at 1,740 MeV

Inclusive⁴He and⁴H energy spectra and heavy fragment coincidence correlations have been measured for reactions of 7.31 MeV/u²³⁸U with²³⁸U and^?197Au targets. The H/He production cross sections are in the range 15–26 mb, and their emission spectra are very similar for the two systems. The observed strong kinematic shifts with angle are reproduced in shape and magnitude by Monte Carlo simulations of particle evaporation from projectile-like and target-like fragments, indicating competition between charged particle emission and sequential fission. No evidence is found for high energy charged particle emission associated with ultra-highZ composite systems. Heavy fragment measurements indicate an abundance of quasielastic and deeply inelastic reaction fragments, as well as sequential fission of target and projectile nuclei. For²³⁸U nuclei, the fission occurs predominantly in an asymmetric mode, reminiscent of fission at low excitation energy. For²³⁸+²³⁸U reactions in the vicinity of the grazing angle, the frequency of single sequential fission (with survival of the partner fragment) is twice as large as double sequential fission in which both the target and projectile undergo fission. In²³⁸U+¹⁹⁷Au reactions, the survival probability of the heavy fragments is even greater. The surprisingly high survival probabilities of high-Z fragments imply a preponderance of very soft collisions in these very-heavy-ion reactions, at least at energies not very far over the Coulomb barrier.     

On the evolution of the mass asymmetry in damped heavy-ion collisions

TotaT kinetic energy vs. fragment mass distributions have been measured in the reactions of⁶⁴Zn projectiles with¹¹⁴Sn,^natAg and¹³⁹La nuclei at incidence energies of 20–50% above the Coulomb barrier. Conclusions are drawn on the possible influence of nuclear structure effects on the energy dissipation and the mass drift behaviour of the present collision systems.     

‘Slow’ residues observed in the reaction20Ne+208Pb at E/A=8.6, 11.4 and 15.0 MeV/u

Velocity distributions of heavy residuesA _Res>A _tar,Z _Res>Z _tar identified by means ofα spectroscopy, have been investigated at the velocity filter SHIP in reactions²⁰Ne+²⁰⁸Pb at projectile energies E/A=8.6, 11.4 and 15.0 MeV/u. Besides products from complete or nearly complete fusion, characterized by velocity distributions peaking atν/ν _CN?0.8–1.0, heavy residues with mean velocities of about half of the compound nucleus velocity were observed. The Z-distribution of this component was found to peak atZ=87. It is interpreted as residues from fusion of target nuclei with projectile fragments produced by nearly symmetric break-up. The experimental results were compared with predictions of theoretical models: cross sections for incomplete fusion were calculated using the sum-rule model of Wilcynski et al., while residue cross sections were calculated using the evaporation code HIVAP. A fair agreement between experimental and calculated mass distributions of heavy residues and transferred projectile fragments is achieved if an energy dissipation of ?23% (at E/A=8.6 MeV/u) and ?8% (at E/A=11.4 MeV/u) of the incident projectile energy is introduced. The observed peak of theZ-distribution atZ=87 is predominantly effected due to a higher fission probability of products withZ>87 during the deexcitation process and experimental limitations in the identification of products withZ≦86 by means of a spectroscopy, which cause a decrease of the observed production rates towards lowerZ.     

Pion and proton emission in interactions induced by relativistic heavy nuclei withZ≧12

The emission of pions and protons in interactions between heavy nuclei from the cosmic radiation (12≦Z≦26) and photoemulsion nuclei has been studied. The angular and energy distributions of target protons are similar to corresponding distributions in proton-nucleus interactions for emission angles >30°. In heavy ion interactions a forward peak of high energy target protons (E>200 MeV)is observed. The energy spectrum of target protons for angles <30° is remarkably flat for heavy ion interactions. For increasing disintegration of the target nucleus the number of produced pions per emitted recoil target proton is almost constant in heavy ion interactions, while it decreases rapidly in proton-nucleus interactions. The logtgΘ distributions of pions have small standard deviations even in interactions with a large target disintegration.     

Parton densities from deep inelastic scattering to hadronic processes at super collider energies

We give several sets of parton densities derived from recent measurements of structure functions in deep inelastic scattering. The difference among these densities reflects the uncertainties from deep inelastic data of different experiments, allowing an estimate of the error band for the predictions one may obtain for any given hadronic process at higher energy. The densities are available at any scaleQ ²≦5.10⁹ GeV² andx≧5.10^?5 and include next-to-leading corrections as well as threshold effects due to heavy flavours. A comparison with a large set of data in a wide range of scales (Drell-Yan,W andZ production, etc.) is also presented.     

Excitation energy dependence of fragment characteristics for the photofission of 232Th

Independent and cumulative product yields were measured for the photofission of ²³²Th with bremsstrahlung with endpoint energies 6.5, 7.0, 8.0, 11.0, 12.0, and 14.0 MeV, applying γ spectrometric techniques on catcherfoils and pneumatically transported ²³²Th-samples. The independent heavy fragment yields for the fission of the ²³²Th compound nucleus at excitation energies in the vicinity of the fission barrier were deduced. Postneutron mass, isobaric charge, isotopic mass distributions, isotonic and elemental yield distributions and proton odd-even effects were obtained from these independent yields. In the mass distributions a maximum yield is observed for mass splits with heavy fragments in the region of A = 142, corresponding with a high production of Ba(Z = 56) - isotopes. A slightly increased yield is also observed for mass splits with heavy mass in the vicinity of A = 134. The latter effect increases with increasing compound nucleus excitation energy. The similarity between the mass distributions of the N = 142 fissioning systems ²³²Th, ²³⁴U and ²³⁶Pu is striking. For low excitation energy the proton odd-even effect in the element distributions amounts to 30%, while on the other hand no sizeable neutron odd-even effect could be deduced from the isotonic distributions. The proton odd-even effects remain constant up to compound nucleus excitation energies of about 7.85 MeV. For higher compound nucleus excitation energies the proton odd-even effect drops rapidly. A possible explanation of these observations in terms of pair breaking at the outer barrier is proposed.     

Untersuchungen isomerer Übergänge in140Pr und142Pr

The lifetimes of isomeric transitions in¹⁴⁰Pr and¹⁴²Pr have been measured in a pulsed-beam experiment at the Erlangen EN-Tandem accelerator with the aid of the reactions¹⁴⁰Ce (p, nγ)¹⁴⁰Pr and¹³⁹La (α, nγ)¹⁴²Pr. In the energy range 50 keV≦Eγ≦1.5 MeV we found a new delayed transition in¹⁴²Pr and established two previously reported isomers in¹⁴⁰Pr.     

A simple universal fit formula to experimental nuclear stopping power data

Recent experimental data was fitted by using a simple universal relation between nuclear stopping power and particle energy in the range of about 10^?4≦?≦10². Comparison with previous and recent theoretical predictions is made.     

Investigation of α-induced reactions on niobium and tantalum

Excitation functions of (α,xn yp) reactions on⁹³Nb withy≦6 andx≦10 have been measured in four different irradiations from 16 to 171 MeV bombarding energy by Ge(Li) spectroscopy of the residual activity of stacked foils. Similarly, previous measurements of¹⁸¹Ta(α,x n y p) reactions from 15 to 103 MeV were extended up to 170 MeVα-energy for residual nuclei withy≦4 andx≦12. Including isomeric states a total number of 37 residual activities could be identified in⁹³Nb+α. From the rather complexγ-decay spectra altogether 28 different excitation functions of sizable length could be established. For181Ta+α 10 different residual activities were analyzed so that together with the former data a set of 15 excitation functions is available. The whole set of excitation functions provides a large data basis for probing the validity of combined equilibrium and preequilibrium reaction models in a wide energy range.     

Scattering of fast muons by copper nuclei

The relative probability forK-capturePK ₉₃₆/PK ₅₃₉≦0.05 and forL-capturePL ₉₃₆/PL ₅₃₉=4.4±0.7 yield a total transition energyQ _EC in the energy Intervall 981≦Q _EC ≦1,021keV. The high-energy γ-spectrum and the half-life of¹⁹¹Pt were remeasured.     

Direct photon production from pions and protons at 200 GeV/c

Direct photon production has been studied by an experiment performed with the NA3 spectrometer at CERN, using incident negative and positive beams at 200 GeV/c interacting with an isoscalar Carbon target. Two different triggers have been used; one of them requires the photon conversion. The experiment is sensitive to direct photons produced with 3.0≦P _T ≦6 GeV/c and center-of-mass rapidity ?0.4≦y ^*≦1.2. Inclusive cross sections are given for incident π^± and protons, and compared with second order QCD predictions; finally an estimation of the gluon structure function of the nucleon is given.     

Excitation functions of nuclear reactions producing11C

Excitation functions of the reactions⁹Be(³He,n),¹⁰B(d,n),¹¹B(p,n),⁹Be(α,2n),¹¹B(d,2n) and¹²C(n,2n), all leading to the residual nucleus¹¹C, were measured with activation techniques. Projectile energies have been chosen to populate the composite systems¹²C^* and¹³C^* in energy ranges overlapping for 31MeV≦E ^*(¹²C)≦38MeV and 26 MeV≦E ^*(¹³C)≦33Mev, respectively. The attainable thick target yields are highest forp+¹¹B. Statistical model calculations fail to quantitatively reproduce the experimental data although preequilibrium decay modes have been taken into account.     

The influence of pairing and nuclear structure on the thermal-neutron-induced fission of235U

The mass separated fission product beam provided by the mass separator “Lohengrin” has been used to determine the nuclear charge distribution for the thermal-neutron-induced fission of²³⁵U for all light fission products in the region 80≦A≦107. The measurements were performed at the most probable kinetic energy of the fission products. By using the known fission product mass yields, the independent yields for a total number of 100 nuclides were obtained under the condition of the most probable kinetic energy. The proton pairing effect modulates the average nuclear charge of the fission fragments and the isobaric charge distribution widths in a regular fashion. The probabilities of breaking a pair and of forming fragments with an energetically unfavourable neutron-to-proton ratio are found to compete with each other. Both probabilities depend on the mass split and reach their maximum values in the region of the most probable masses. The odd-even-proton effect is found to vary smoothly between 16% for the most abundant mass splits and 40% for the rare mass splits. The odd-even-neutron effect exhibits maxima nearN=50 andN=60, where it reaches 16%. These maxima and the extremely low Tcyield (0.13±0.05%) are discussed with regard to fragment shell effects.     

Study of high energetic electrons emitted during heavy ion collisions

Double differential cross sectionsd ² σ/dΩdE were measured for high energetic electrons emitted in heavy ion collisions. Electrons were detected in the energy range of 60 keV-500 keV for various target projectile combinations 66≦Z _u =Z _t +Z _p ≦145 and projectile velocities between 7 % and 10 % of the speed of light. Clear evidence was found that these electrons stem from the united atom formed during the collision. Slope and height of the spectra are discussed with respect to the momentum distribution of strongly bound states (i.e. theL-shell) at momenta far above the mean value. In addition for the systems S, Ni, Br→Pb electrons were detected in coincidence withK x-rays of Pb. By this method the contribution of theK-shell of the combined system to the total spectrum could be separated. Binding energies of theK-shell were estimated by a slope comparison between the coincident and single spectrum. The resulting values are close to the united atom limit.