Study of the structure of neutron halo using neutron transfer reaction

To estimate the probability of two-neutron configurations in halo nuclei, we propose an experimental method of studying neutron-neutron correlations at periphery of such nuclei by measuring two-neutron transfer reaction. The experimental study of ⁶He + A ↦ ⁴He + B for various targets is performed using ⁶He beam of Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (JINR, Dubna) at energy of about 15 MeV/u and technique of nuclear photoemulsions. Searching for events of two-nucleon transfer reaction and their processing is performed using the PAVICOM-setup at P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute.     

Effect of nuclear-reaction mechanisms on the population of excited nuclear states and isomeric ratios

Experimental data on the cross sections for channels of fusion and transfer reactions induced by beams of radioactive halo nuclei and clustered and stable loosely bound nuclei were analyzed, and the results of this analysis were summarized. The interplay of the excitation of single-particle states in reaction-product nuclei and direct reaction channels was established for transfer reactions. Respective experiments were performed in stable (⁶Li) and radioactive (⁶Не) beams of the DRIBs accelerator complex at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, and in deuteron and ³Не beams of the U-120M cyclotron at the Nuclear Physics Institute, Academy Sciences of Czech Republic (?e? and Prague, Czech Republic). Data on subbarrier and near-barrier fusion reactions involving clustered and loosely bound light nuclei (⁶Li and ³He) can be described quite reliably within simple evaporation models with allowance for different reaction Q-values and couple channels. In reactions involving halo nuclei, their structure manifests itself most strongly in the region of energies below the Coulomb barrier. Neutron transfer occurs with a high probability in the interactions of all loosely bound nuclei with light and heavy stable nuclei at positive Q-values. The cross sections for such reactions and the respective isomeric ratios differ drastically for nucleon stripping and nucleon pickup mechanisms. This is due to the difference in the population probabilities for excited single-particle states.     

Study of fusion and nucleon transfer channels in the <Superscript>197</Superscript>Au + <Superscript>6</Superscript>He reaction in an energy range of <Superscript>6</Superscript>He to 20 Mev/A

New data on the cross sections of reactions occurring during the interaction of ⁶He nuclei with ¹⁹⁷Au at energies of ⁶He from 40 to 120 MeV are presented. The experiments were performed in the ACCULINNA secondary beam separator of the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. To identify the reaction products, the activation method for measuring the gamma activity of the target assembly of thin foils was used. The excitation functions for fusion reactions involving the evaporation of up to ten neutrons from the compound nucleus as well as reactions with the emission of charged particles and nucleon transfer in the investigated energy region are obtained. Data analysis was carried out using two codes: ALICE-MP and NRV. The cross sections for the (⁶He, xn) reactions occurring through the compound nucleus are mostly in agreement with the results of model calculations based on the statistical approach. It is shown that, up to the energies of 114 MeV, the cross-section drop in the complete fusion reactions is negligible. The experimental excitation functions of reactions leading to the formation of isotopes of mercury and gold (transfer reaction) indicate that the main contribution to their formation is made by direct processes and that evaporation reactions (⁶He, pxn) and (⁶He, αxn) play a minor role, as is evidenced by a comparison of the measured cross sections with the calculation results.     

Study of the neutron halo structure in interaction of 6He with nuclei of photoemulsion

To investigate the structure of the halo of Borromean nuclei, we have studied quasi-free scattering of the proton by constituents of halo-nuclei ⁶He. The experimental study is performed using the ⁶He beam of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (JINR) at an energy of about 10?MeV/u and the technique of nuclear photoemulsions. Searching for events of quasi-free scattering and their processing is performed using the PAVICOM-setup at the Lebedev Physical Institute.     

The role of configurations of neutron halo in the formation of the model vertex function for description of the two-neutron transfer reaction

The nuclear vertex functions for virtual decay of halo nuclei ⁶He → α + n + n (¹¹Li-⁹Li + n + n) for dineutron and cigarlike configurations of the neutron halo have been analytically investigated using the diagram method of direct nuclear reactions. These vertex functions describe the one-step process of two-neutron transfer. It is shown that the angular and energy distributions of the reaction products (α particles, ⁹Li, etc.) in different ranges of variables correspond to different structural elements of the halo. The vertex function describing the two-step process of halo neutron transfer has also been analyzed.     

Investigation of total cross sections for reactions induced by <Superscript>6</Superscript>He interaction with silicon nuclei at energies between 5 and 50 MeV/<Emphasis Type="Italic">А</Emphasis>

Experimental excitation functions in terms of the total cross sections for ⁶He + Si nuclear reactions are analyzed in the energy range between 5 and 50 MeV/А, and a brief survey of the procedures used to obtain experimental data is given. Particular attention is given to describing experiments performed in beams of radioactive nuclei from the accelerators of the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, Dubna). The experimental data in question are analyzed on the basis of a semimicroscopic optical model.     

Correlation investigations of the low-energy 10He spectrum

The spectrum of low-lying states in the ¹⁰He nucleus is investigated for the two-neutron transfer reaction ³H(⁸He, p)¹⁰He. The secondary beam of ⁸He nuclei with the energy 21.5 MeV/nucleon and a cryogenic tritium target are used in the experiment. The ¹⁰He ground state is observed in the missing mass spectrum at the energy of 2.1 MeV (Γ ～ 2 MeV) above the decay threshold. Analysis of the angular correlations of the ¹⁰He decay products yields the spin and parity of two excited ¹⁰He states, J ^π = 1^? in the energy range from 4 to 6 MeV and J ^π = 2⁺ at energies above 6 MeV.     

Quasifree proton scattering on halo nuclei as a tool for studying the neutron-halo structure

An experimental method is proposed for investigating the structure of the two-neutron halo in quasifree proton scattering on clusters of halo nuclei. This scattering process is studied in inverse kinematics by using a ⁶He beam incident to a stack of track emulsions. Preliminary data on the reaction ⁶He + p → ⁴He + p + X are compared with the results of simple kinematical calculations for quasifree proton scattering on the clusters forming the halo of the ⁶He nucleus.     

Investigating neutron-neutron and proton-proton correlations in few-nucleon systems in reactions with two nucleons in the final state

The great disagreement between theory and experiment observed in nd and pd interactions indicates that investigations of mechanisms for various processes in few-nucleon systems should be continued. It is planned to investigate the reactions d + ³H → ³He + (nn) and ³He + d → ³H + (pp) in order to study nn and pp correlations in ³He and ³H nuclei. Test measurements of the d + ²H → ²He + (nn) reaction, performed with the deuteron beam at the Institute of Nuclear Physics, confirm that it is methodologically possible to perform the planned experiments.     

Momentum distributions of <Superscript>4</Superscript>He nuclei from the <Superscript>6</Superscript>He and <Superscript>6</Superscript>Li breakup

Experimental data on the momentum distributions of ⁴He nuclei originating from ⁶He and ⁶Li breakup on various targets are presented over a wide beam energy range. The experiment with ⁶He was performed at the DRIBs accelerator complex for radioactive beams at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, Dubna). The intensity of the ⁶He beam used was 5 × 10⁶ particles per second and its energy was 10 MeV per nucleon. The momentum distributions of breakup products were measured by means of the MSP-144 magnetic spectrometer. The distribution width was shown to be virtually independent of the target mass. A small value of this width, σ ～ 28 MeV/c, confirms the presence of a halo in ⁶He. The measurements performed with ⁶Li beams of energy 18 and 46 MeV per nucleon at the U-400M accelerator yielded a width value of σ ～ 50 MeV/c for the momentum distributions of ⁴He nuclei, which is intermediate between that for ⁶He and those for stable nuclei. A compilation of the widths of the momentum distributions of fragments originating from the breakup of various nuclei is presented versus the binding energy of one or two neutrons in these nuclei, the target mass and the projectile energy.     

Electron scattering on two-neutron halo nuclei: The case of 6He

The formalism to describe electron scattering reactions on two-neutron halo nuclei is developed. The halo nucleus is described as a three-body system (core +n + n), and the wave function is obtained by solving the Faddeev equations in coordinate space. We discuss elastic and quasielastic scattering using the impulse approximation to describe the reaction mechanism. We apply the method to investigate the case of electron scattering on ⁶He. Spectral functions, response functions, and differential cross sections are calculated for both neutron knockout and α knockout by the electron.     

Two-neutron elastic transfer 4He(6He,4He)6He at E = 151 MeV

Using the framework of the coupled reaction channels (CRC) the elastic scattering and the elastic transfer in the system ⁶He + ⁴He measured at E = 151 MeV have been analysed. It is shown that the structure observed in the backward range of the angular distributions is influenced by the interference of the elastic 2n-transfer with a two-step process passing through the 2⁺ excitation in ⁶He. The two-neutron transfer mechanism is studied in the microscopic approach and it is found that for the ground-state transition the one step dominates by a factor 10 over the two-step mechanism at this energy. Received: 29 October 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

Three-body continuum structure and response functions of halo nuclei (I): 6He

Three-body scattering states of the Borromean two-neutron halo nuclei are explored in a core + n + n model using the method of hyperspherical harmonics. We analyse the continuum structure (the properties of the continuum wave functions) separately from the continuum response (the magnitudes of one-step transitions from the ground state to the continuum). Predictions are made for the positions and strengths of the isoscalar monopole, electric dipole and quadrupole excitations, as well as for nuclear inelastic and charge-exchange response functions, for the ⁶He nucleus. The known 2⁺ resonance in ⁶He is reproduced. We find 1⁻ strength concentrations at lower energies in the proximity of the three-body threshold, and predict new 2⁺, 1⁺ (and possibly 0⁺) resonances at slightly higher energies in ⁶He.     

A radiochemical study on the existence of dineutron

A radiochemical study has been made to search for dineutron² n produced in the simultaneous two-neutron emission of the excited⁶He nuclei,⁶He^*, induced in the reaction of⁹Be+n→-⁶He^*+α with fast neutrons in a reactor. It was attempted to detect the radio-activity of²⁸Mg as a product of the reaction² n+²⁷Al→²⁸Mg+p. The²⁸Mg radioactivity observed in heterogeneous samples composed of the² n-producing target Be and the² n-detecting target Al separately was not found to be more than that of a side reaction,²⁷Al{(n, p)(n _th, γ)+(n _th, γ)(n, p)}²⁸Mg, whereas it clearly exceeded that of the side reaction in alloy samples made of Be and Al metals. The former experiment gives an upper limit of the production rate of the dineutron in the bound state 1×10^?7 per event of the simultaneous two-neutron emission. A tentative explanation for the excessive²⁸Mg radioactivity observed in the latter experiment is the following two-step process,⁹Be+n→⁶He+α and²⁷Al+⁶He→+²⁸Mg+α+p, rather than the process induced by the dineutron in a virtual state.     

Energy dependence of the total cross section for the reaction of 4He ions with silicon nuclei

Directly measured data on the total cross section for the reaction of projectile ⁴He ions with silicon nuclei at energies below 25 MeV/nucleon are presented. The energy dependence of the parameters of a semimicroscopic potential is determined from the measured values of this cross section. This investigation was performed at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia) and at the Department of Physics at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland).     

Investigating the nuclear fusion and nucleon transfer channels in the 197Au + 6He reaction at 6He energies up to 20 MeV/A

New data on the cross sections of reactions that proceed during the interaction of ⁶He and ¹⁹⁷Au nuclei in the ⁶He energy range of 40 to 120 MeV are reported. The experiments were performed using the secondary beam of the ACCULINNA separator at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (FLNR), JINR. Reaction products are identified by means of activation method to measure the gamma activity of a thin-foil target assembly. Excitation functions for ⁶He fusion reactions with subsequent emission of up to 10 neutrons from the compound nucleus are measured. Cross sections for reactions with emission of charged particles and nucleon transfer were also measured. The experimental cross sections for the (⁶He, xn) reactions that proceed via the formation of a compound nucleus agree in general with calculations using models that involve the statistical approach. It is shown that the complete fusion reaction cross section drops slightly up to an energy of 114 MeV. The experimental excitation functions for the reactions resulting in the formation of mercury and gold isotopes indicate that the main contribution to their formation comes from direct processes, while the evaporation reactions (⁶He, pxn) and (⁶He, αxn) are of minor importance.     

Transverse asymmetry of $^3\!\stackrel{\rightarrow}{\rm He}$ and the magnetic form factor of the neutron

Multi-nucleon transfer reactions in ⁴⁰Ca + ²⁰⁸Pb have been studied at several bombarding energies close to the Coulomb barrier. Light reaction products have been identified in mass and charge with a time-of-flight spectrometer. The energy spectra of the inclusive two-neutron pick-up channel show a population in a narrow region of excitation energies which corresponds to the predicted energy of pairing-vibration states in ⁴²Ca.Received: 30 September 2003, Revised: 9 December 2003, Published online: 13 July 2004PACS: 25.70.Hi Transfer reactions - 24.10.-i Nuclear reaction models and methods - 21.60.Cs Shell model - 21.10.Pc Single-particle levels and strength functionsA.M. Vinodkumar: Present address: Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.     

Studying of the neutron halo structure in quasi-free proton scattering from 6He Halo nucleus

An experimental method based on an analysis of the neutron-neutron correlations in reactions induced by halo nuclei in nuclear photoemulsion is proposed for studying the two-neutron halo structure. Photoemulsion stacks were exposed to a beam of radioactive ⁶He nuclei. Preliminary data on interaction of the ⁶He halo nucleus to hydrogen are compared with the results of the kinematic calculation for the reaction of quasi-free proton scattering from clusters making up the ⁶He halo nucleus. A fraction of quasi-free scattering events with “survival” of the dineutron is evaluated for scattering of protons by the dineutron configuration of the ⁶He nucleus.     

Selectivity of the 12C(18O, 16O)14C reaction

A study about the ¹²C(¹⁸O, ¹⁶O)¹⁴C two-neutron transfer reaction was performed at the Catania INFN-LNS laboratory at 84 MeV incident energy. The ¹⁶O ejectiles produced in the reactions were momentum analyzed and identified by the MAGNEX spectrometer. The Q-value spectrum of ¹⁴C shows several known bound and resonant states, in particular states with 2p-4h configuration respect to the ¹⁶O core. The integrated cross sections show an enhanced yield for the two-neutron transfer compared to the one-neutron transfer. These results are some experimental evidences that the (¹⁸O, ¹⁶O) reaction proceeds mainly by the direct transfer of the neutron pair, instead of a second order process.     

Resonance states of hydrogen nuclei 4H and 5H obtained in transfer reactions with exotic beams

To investigate ⁵H resonance states with a better instrumental resolution, we utilized the two-neutron transfer reaction ³H(t, p)⁵H accomplished with the use of a cryogenic liquid-tritium target and 57.5-MeV triton beam. As a result of this study, a valuable fraction of protons detected at ? _lab=18°–32° in ptn coincidence events was attributed to the states of the ⁵H nucleus. Two resonance states situated at 1.8±0.1 and 2.7±0.1 MeV above the t + n + n decay threshold were obtained in the missing mass energy spectrum of the ⁵H nucleus. The peak located close to E5_H was clearly seen in the ⁵H spectrum obtained from the energy distributions of ³H nuclei emitted in the reaction ²H(⁶He, ⁵H)³He at ? _lab=17°–32°. The width (Γ_obs≤0.5 MeV) obtained for the two ⁵H resonance states is surprisingly small. A state of ⁴H with E _res=3.3 MeV and γ ²=2.3 MeV was obtained in the reaction ²H(t, p)⁴H from the spectra of protons leaving the target at ? _lab=18°–32° and detected in coincidence with neutrons emitted in the decay of ⁴H nuclei.