Accurate characterisation of the C(3)<Superscript>1</Superscript>Σ<Superscript>+</Superscript> state of the NaRb molecule

We present a first detailed experimental study of the C(3)¹Σ⁺ state of the NaRb molecule converging to the Na(3p) + Rb(5s) states of separated atoms. Two different high resolution spectroscopic methods have been applied: the Fourier transform spectroscopy of laser induced fluorescence and the V-type optical-optical double resonance polarization labeling spectroscopy. The entire data field for the C¹Σ⁺ state of Na⁸⁵Rb and Na⁸⁷Rb consists of rovibrational levels with v'=0–64 and J'=4–123. The data were incorporated into a direct fit of a single potential energy curve to the level energies using the Inverted Perturbation Approach method. As the experimental data extend to the “shelf" region of the potential at large internuclear separations of 8.5 ?, the C state's suitability for photoassociation yielding cold heteronuclear NaRb is discussed. Electronic supplementary material Online Material     

The evaluation of the branching ratios of the decays φ(1020)→2π<Superscript>+</Superscript>2π<Superscript>−</Superscript>π<Superscript>0</Superscript>, π<Superscript>+</Superscript>π<Superscript>−</Superscript>3π<Superscript>0</Superscript>

Combining the Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka rule in the decay φ→ρπ→π⁺π^?π⁰ with the ρ→4π decay amplitudes, we calculate the φ→2π⁺2π^?π⁰ and φ→π⁺π^?3π⁰ ones. The partial widths of the above φ decays are evaluated, and the excitation curves in e⁺e^? annihilation are obtained, assuming reasonable particular relations among the parameters characterizing the anomalous terms of the HLS Lagrangian. The evaluated branching ratios B_φ→π⁺_π^?_3π⁰ ≈ 2 × 10^?7 and B_φ→2π⁺_2π^?_π⁰ ≈ 7 × 10^?7 are such that, with the luminosity L=500 pb^?1 attained at DAΦNE φ factory, one may already possess about 1685 events of the decays φ→5π.     

Emission spectroscopy of the A<Superscript>1</Superscript>Π–X<Superscript>1</Superscript>Σ<Superscript>+</Superscript> system of AlH

The high-resolution emission spectrum of the A¹ Π–X¹Σ⁺ transition of AlH was observed in the 18 000–25 000 cm^-1 spectral region using a conventional spectroscopic technique. The AlH molecules were excited in an Al hollow-cathode lamp filled with a mixture of Ne carried gas and a trace amount of NH₃. The emission from the discharge was observed with a plane grating spectrograph and recorded by a photomultiplier tube. In total 163 transition wave numbers belonging to six bands (0-0,1 and 1-0,1,2,3) were precisely measured and rotationally analysed. In the final fit the present data have been combined with available high-resolution measurements of the vibration-rotation bands by White et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 99, 8371 (1993)]. This procedure enabled extracting molecular constants for the A¹ Π and X¹ Σ⁺ states of AlH. A very slight local perturbation has been discovered in the v=1 vibration level of the A¹ Π state at J=5. This was probably caused by the interaction with the a³Π state.     

Radiation widths of resonances in the <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar(pγ)<Superscript>41</Superscript>K reaction

The excitation function for the ⁴⁰Ar(pγ)⁴¹K reaction at the accelerated proton energy E _p= 450–2700 keV is studied. Positions of 168 resonances identified as levels of the ⁴¹K nucleus are observed in this energy range. The data for the proton energy E _p < 1 MeV and E _p > 2 MeV are obtained for the first time. Relative yields of γ rays observed in the decay of the resonances are calculated from a comparison with the yield of the calibrating resonance at E _p= 1102 keV. Total radiation widths of the resonances are calculated on the basis of the data obtained.     

Role of various mechanisms in the formation of a <Superscript>12</Superscript>C nucleus in the reaction <Superscript>13</Superscript>C(<Superscript>3</Superscript>He, <Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis>)<Superscript>12</Superscript>C

The contributions of various mechanisms to the production of the final nucleus ¹²C in the reaction ¹³C(³He, α)¹²C are estimated. These are neutron stripping and the transfer of the heavy cluster ⁹Be in the pole approximation or via a sequential transfer of virtual ⁸Be and a neutron. It is shown that the sequential mechanism of heavy-cluster transfer must be taken into account in order to describe correctly experimental data over the whole angular range.     

Investigation of the reaction D(<Superscript>4</Superscript>He, γ)<Superscript>6</Superscript>Li at ultralow energies

The cross section of the reaction D(⁴He, γ)⁶Li with titanium and zirconium deuterides as targets is measured for incident ⁴He⁺ ion energies of 30 and 36 keV, respectively. The ion beam is generated by a Hall pulsed plasma accelerator. For the first time, upper limits on the cross section of the reaction D(⁴He, γ)⁶Li at ultralow energies are imposed (at 90% confidence level): σ ≤ 1.2 × 10^?35 cm² for the TiD₂ target and E(⁴He⁺) = 30 keV, and σ ≤ 7 × 10^?36 cm² for the ZrD₂ target and E(⁴He⁺) = 36 keV     

Perturbative analysis of the 2νββ decays of <Superscript>100</Superscript>Mo and <Superscript>116</Superscript>Cd

We have performed a theoretical analysis of the ground-state-to-ground-state transitions in ¹⁰⁰Mo and ¹¹⁶Cd, based on the quasiparticle random-phase approximation and on a straightforward perturbative scheme. The results show that the single-state dominance found in the realistic calculations of the nuclear matrix elements, which is consistent with data, can be viewed as a result of the interference between few two-quasiparticle configurations. Received: 12 August 2002 / Accepted: 23 October 2002 / Published online: 18 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: civitarese@fisica.unlp.edu.ar Communicated by V.V. Anisovich     

Cold and ultracold collisions of MgH (<Superscript>2</Superscript>Σ<Superscript>+</Superscript>) with helium

The cross sections for rotational, fine-structure and projection-change transitions in collision of MgH (²Σ⁺) molecule with ³He and ⁴He atoms were computed at cold and ultracold temperatures using the ab initio potential energy surface. The significant suppression feature and resonance pattern caused by spin-rotation interaction were found and discussed. The collisions exhibit a strong isotope effect in the ultracold regime. The rotational relaxations of the fine-structure excited energy levels tendentiously preserve the F index. The ratio of the cross sections for elastic and spin-flipping collision with ³He partner is always greater than seven orders of magnitude for the energy range 10^-6−1cm^-1 and suggests the MgH molecule is a good candidate for ³He buffer gas cooling.     

(EC + β<Superscript>+</Superscript>) decays of the 11/2<Superscript>-</Superscript> isomer and 1/2<Superscript>+</Superscript> ground state of <Superscript>143</Superscript>Dy

The 1/2⁺ ground state and a 11/2^- isomer of very neutron-deficient isotope ¹⁴³Dy were produced by irradiation of an enriched target of ¹⁰⁶Cd with ⁴⁰Ca and studied by using a helium-jet fast tape-transport system in combination with proton-γ, X-γ and γ-γ coincidence measurements. A simple ( EC + β⁺) decay scheme of ^143mDy with a half-life of 3.0(3) s and a tentative ( EC + β⁺) decay scheme of ^143gDy with a half-life of 5.6(10) s are proposed. As a by-product, the 347- and 545-keV γ transitions in ¹³⁸Sm following the β-delayed proton emission of ¹³⁹Gd decay and the 323-keV γ transition in ¹³⁹Eu following the β-delayed proton emission of ¹⁴⁰Tb decay could be observed for the first time. Received: 20 August 2002 / Accepted: 28 October 2002 / Published online: 11 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: xsw@ns.lzb.ac.cn Communicated by D. Schwalm     

Comparison of the Effects of Different <Superscript>19</Superscript>F <Emphasis Type="Italic">π</Emphasis> Pulses on the Sensitivity and Phaseability of the <Superscript>19</Superscript>F-<Superscript>13</Superscript>C HSQC

The ¹⁹F-¹³C heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) experiment is vital for the structural elucidation of polyfluorinated organic species, yet its sensitivity and phaseability are limited by difficulties in uniform excitation of the widely disperse ¹⁹F spectral window. Adiabatic pulses of different types have previously been employed to generate effective π pulses for inversion and refocussing, but a systematic comparison of various adiabatic and other inversion pulses has not been published. In this work, it was observed that the use of a broadband inversion pulse (BIP) during the t ₁ evolution period resulted in properly phaseable spectra for experiments optimized to detect ¹ J _CF, in contrast to CHIRP or WURST adiabatic pulses. For the INEPT and reverse-INEPT transfer segments of the HSQC, optimal sensitivity for resonances distant from the transmitter frequency was afforded by optimized universal rotation (BURBOP) or CHIRP pulses. In HSQC experiments with delays optimized for two-bond correlations, only the use of BURBOP pulses in INEPT and reverse-INEPT sequences afforded spectra cleanly phaseable across the F ₂ and F ₁ spectral windows. This observation is supported by off-resonance pulsed field gradient spin-echo experiments.     

Potential energy of <Superscript>∞</Superscript>H<Stack><Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript>-</Superscript></Stack>(<Superscript>2</Superscript>∑<Stack><Subscript>u</Subscript><Superscript>+</Superscript></Stack> in the bound-state region

An accurate calculation of the lowest negative electronic state of H ₂ ^- (fixed nuclei) is reported using the CCSD(T) method and doubly augmented cc-pv5z basis set. Comparison has been made with the reference data by Senekowitsch et al. [Chem. Phys. Lett. 111 (1984) 211]. Owing to larger size of the basisset and inclusion of triple excitations, no vertical shift in this work is necessary to reproduce the asymptotics of H + H ^-. In addition, the effect of basis-set truncation is estimated, based on the complete-basis-set extrapolation method. The contribution of correlated electron-proton motion to the electron-energy curve for H₂ ^– dynamics is pointed out.Dedicated to Prof. Jií Horáek on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Fine structure of the strength function for the β<Superscript>+</Superscript>/EC decay of the <Superscript>160<Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis></Superscript>Ho (5.02 h) isomer

The strength function for the β⁺/EC decay of the deformed nucleus of the ^160m Ho (5.02 h) isomer is obtained from the experimental data, The fine structure of the strength function S _β(E) is analyzed. It has a pronounced resonance structure for Gamow-Teller transitions and is found to exhibit a resonance structure for first-forbidden transitions. It is shown that for some excitation energies of the 160Dy daughter nucleus the probability of first-forbidden β⁺/EC transitions in the decay of the ^160m Ho isomer is comparable with the probability of Gamow-Teller β⁺/EC transitions.     

Two-neutrino positron double-beta decay of <Superscript>106</Superscript>Cd for the 0<Superscript>+</Superscript> → 0<Superscript>+</Superscript> transition

The two-neutrino positron double-beta decay of ¹⁰⁶Cd for the 0 ⁺ 0⁺ transition has been studied in the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov model in conjunction with the summation method. In the first step, the reliability of the intrinsic wave functions of ¹⁰⁶Cd and ¹⁰⁶Pd nuclei has been tested by comparing the theoretically calculated results for yrast spectra, reduced B(E2: 0⁺ 2⁺) transition probabilities, quadrupole moments Q(2⁺) and gyromagnetic factors g(2⁺) with the available experimental data. In the second step, the nuclear transition matrix element M₂ and the half-life T_1/2² for the 0 ⁺ 0⁺ transition have been calculated with these wave functions. Moreover, we have studied the effect of deformation on the nuclear transition matrix element M₂.     

Consistent α-cluster description of the <Superscript>12</Superscript>C(0<Stack><Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript>+</Superscript></Stack>) “hoyle” resonance

The near-threshold ¹²C(0₂⁺) resonance provides unique possibility for fast helium burning in stars, as predicted by Hoyle to explain the observed abundance of elements in the Universe. Properties of this resonance are calculated within the framework of the α cluster model whose two-body and three-body effective potentials are tuned to describe the α-α scattering data, the energies of the 0₁⁺ and 0₂⁺ states, and the 0₁⁺-state rootmean-square radius. The extremely small width of the 0₂⁺ state, the 0₂⁺ → 0₁⁺ monopole transition matrix element, and transition radius are found in remarkable agreement with the experimental data. The 0₂⁺-state structure is described as a system of three α particles oscillating between the ground-state-like configuration and the elongated chain configuration whose probability exceeds 0.9.     

On the energy of the 8<Stack><Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript>−</Superscript></Stack> 1479-keV level in <Superscript>178</Superscript>Hf

The difference in the 332-and 326-keV transition energies from ¹⁷⁸Ta decay is measured with a magnetic β spectrometer and a γ spectrometer. The energy of the 332-keV transition (E(332) = 331 607 ± 4 eV) and the energy of the 8 ₂ ^? 1479-keV level in ¹⁷⁸Hf (E(1479) = 1479001 ± 6 eV) are determined with high accuracy.     

Measurement of the Dalitz-decay branching ratio of the π<Superscript>0</Superscript>

The ratio is measured by comparing the production rates of the π⁰ in the two decay channels. The analysis is based on approximately four million hadronic decays of the Z boson recorded by the ALEPH detector in the years 1991 to 1995. The value of is determined to be . A recalculation of the Particle Data Group world average gives rise to a slightly improved error, and moves the world average closer to the theoretical value.     

Scheme of the β-decay of <Superscript>234</Superscript>Th

The scheme of the β-decay of ²³⁴Th is still not completely clear. Only the upper bound (10 keV) of the energy of the isomeric transition from level T_1/2 = 1.17 min of the ²³⁴Pa nucleus is known, and the correspondence between gamma quanta of several energies emitted in the β-decay of ²³⁴Th and specific nuclear levels of ²³⁴Pa has not been established. In this work, the isomeric transition energy of 2.6 ± 0.5 keV is determined via the γ-spectrometry of a ²³⁴Th source in γγ-coincidences, and a new ²³⁴Pa level populated in the β-decay of ²³⁴Th is introduced.     

Conversion electron measurement in the β<Superscript>-</Superscript>-decay of <Superscript>151</Superscript>Pr

The β^--decay of ¹⁵¹Pr produced by the thermal neutron-induced fission of ²³⁵U has been studied using an on-line isotope separator. From an internal-conversion electron measurement with a Si(Li) detector, K-conversion coefficients were obtained for 20 γ-transitions. Spins and parities of 6 excited levels in ¹⁵¹Nd were newly determined from the deduced multipolarities: even parities for the 543 and 627 keV levels, odd parities for 250 and 599 keV, (3/2, 5/2)⁺ for 685 keV, and (1/2, 3/2)⁺ for 880 keV. The level structure was compared with the rotation-vibration coupling Nilsson model. Received: 28 June 2002 / Accepted: 31 October 2002 / Published online: 25 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: ykojima@hiroshima-u.ac.jp Communicated by J. ?yst?     

Inversion of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Superscript>π</Superscript>=1<Superscript>−</Superscript> states in <Superscript>156</Superscript>Gd and <Superscript>170</Superscript>Yb

For the ¹⁵⁶Gd and ¹⁷⁰Yb nuclei, where the inversion of levels in the K^π=1^? bands is observed, the energies of rotational levels are calculated on the basis of the Coriolis interaction model for the states of two bands whose quantum numbers are K^π=1^?. New 0^? levels are introduced in ¹⁷⁰Yb, and the structure of ¹⁷⁰Er is refined. The interaction parameters calculated for six nuclei are considered within the structure predicted by the quasiparticle-phonon model.