Proton and Two-proton Emissions from Proton-rich Nuclei with 10≦Z≦20

Proton (p) and two-proton (2p) emissions from the proton-rich nuclei with 10≦Z≦20 have been explored by the in-fight decay and implantation decay methods, respectively, in a series of experiments at the HIRFL-RIBLL facility. The in-flight 2p emissions from the excited states of 28,29S /26,27P and 17;18Ne were studied by complete-kinematics measurements. Mechanisms of 2p decay and related p-p correlations have been explored. Obvious 2p correlated emissions have been observed in the cases of 28,29S but not in 27,28P, indicating the 2p halo plays an important role in the diproton emission. In the 17;18Ne cases, a small 2p opening angles were deduced by the HBT analyses, implying the BCS-BEC crossover may occur in the dilute nuclear matter. Moreover, 27S/26P/25Si, 22Si/20Mg, 23Si/22Al/21Mg, 24Si/23Al, and 36;37Ca were implanted in a thin double-sided-silicon-strip detector and their -delayed p and 2p decays have been measured by a surrounding silicon detector array under the continuous-beam mode. Important information on the nuclear spectroscopy, such as energy, lifetime, branching-ratio, and so on, has been extracted, which helps us to understand the nuclear structures of proton-rich exotic nuclei close to the drip-line.     

sd壳层极丰质子核的β延迟衰变谱学

远离β稳定线原子核的结构是当前核物理领域的一个前沿热点。β衰变谱学是研究核结构的重要方法，尤其适用于低产额的滴线核。本文回顾了近年来在RIBLL1装置上开展的sd壳区极丰质子核β延迟衰变谱学的实验研究。该工作获得了15个原子核精确的半衰期、衰变子核的质量、β延迟的质子和双质子发射以及$\gamma $跃迁的能谱、分支比和比较半衰期等数据，并重建了衰变纲图，大大丰富了此区域内质子滴线附近原子核的衰变谱学信息。还介绍了探测器阵列和实验方法，概括了所研究核的衰变性质和半衰期等。特别地，对几个典型核，20Mg和22Si以及26P和27S的衰变性质进行了阐述。此外，对相关话题，如三体力、镜像核衰变不对称性、与银河系中26Al超丰问题相关的热核反应率等问题进行了探讨。     

Properties of the β-delayed proton decay of ~(146)Ho

The proton-rich isotope 146Ho was produced via the fusion-evaporation reaction 92Mo (58Ni, 3p1n). The β-delayed proton decay of 146Ho was studied by proton-γ coincidence measurements using a He-jet tape transport system. The γ-transitions in 145Tb following the proton emissions were observed, and the β-delayed proton branching ratios to the final states in the grand-daughter nucleus 145Tb were determined. According to the relative branching ratios, the ground-state spin of 146Ho has been proposed and the possible configuration discussed.     

β-delayed proton decay of the proton drip-line nucleus 142Ho in the rare-earth region

New β-delayed proton precursor 142Ho was produced via heavy ion induced reaction 106Cd(40Ca, p3n), and identified for the first time by using a He-jet fast tape transport system in combination with "p-γ" coincidence measurements. The β-delayed proton decay of 142Ho was observed and its half life was determined to be (0.4±0.1) s. By fitting the experimental relative branching ratios to final states in the proton daughter nucleus 141Tb and the energy spectrum of β-delayed protons with a statistical model calculation, the ground-state spin of 142Ho was assigned as 5, 6 or 7. Nuclear energy-potential-surface (EPS) calculations were performed using the Woods-Saxon Strutinsky method. The calculated results favored the assignments of 7- to 142Ho. AS the by-products, some γ-transitions in the proton daughter nuclei following the β-delayed proton decays of precursors 139Gd, 140Tb, 142Tb, and 143Dy were reported here for the first time.     

β-delayed proton decay of the proton drip-line nucleus142Ho in the rare-earth region

New β-delayed proton precursor¹⁴²Ho was produced via heavy ion induced reaction¹⁰⁶Cd(⁴⁰Ca, p3n), and identified for the first time by using a He-jet fast tape transport system in combination with “p-γ” coincidence measurements. The β-delayed proton decay of¹⁴²Ho was observed and its half life was determined to be (0.4±0.1) s. By fitting the experimental relative branching ratios to final states in the proton daughter nucleus¹⁴¹Tb and the energy spectrum of β-delayed protons with a statistical model calculation, the ground-state spin of¹⁴²Ho was assigned as 5, 6 or 7. Nuclear energy-potential-surface (EPS) calculations were performed using the Woods-Saxon Strutinsky method. The calculated results favored the assignments of 7⁻ to¹⁴²Ho. As the by-products, some γ-transitions in the proton daughter nuclei following the β-delayed proton decays of precursors¹³⁹Gd,¹⁴⁰Tb,¹⁴²Tb, and¹⁴³Dy were reported here for the first time.     

Quantum Barrier Penetration Studies with Oriented Nuclei: Proton and Neutron Emission from Exotic Isotopes

We report a programme of novel experiments involving direct proton emission and β-delayed proton and neutron emission for exotic nuclei oriented at low temperatures. Full modelling of the quantum tunneling and angular distribution has been made for the first time for these processes. Their study has application in many fields of natural science. The study of barrier effects involving angular momentum and non-spherical deformation can be approached more directly via single-particle emission than via alpha decay, which suffers from complications relating to preformation of the alpha particle. Using the new formalism, predictions are presented for angular distributions of β-delayed neutrons from oriented ¹³⁷I and of direct proton emission from oriented ¹⁴⁷Tm. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

β-delayed proton decays and spin assignments for 133Sm and 149Yb

The proton-rich isotope ¹³³Sm was produced via the fusion evaporation reaction ⁴⁰Ca + ⁹⁶Ru. Its β-delayed proton decay was studied by p-γ coincidence in combination with a He-jet tape transport system, and half-lives, proton energy spectra, γ-transitions following the proton emission, as well as β-delayed proton branching ratios to the low-lying states in the grand-daughter nucleus were determined. Comparing the observed β-delayed proton branching ratios with statistical model calculations, the best agreement is found assuming that only one level with the spin of 3/2 in ¹³³Sm decays or two levels with the spins of 1/2 and 5/2 decay with similar half-lives. The configuration-constrained nuclear potential energy surfaces of ¹³³Sm were calculated using the Woods-Saxon-Strutinsky method, which suggests a 1/2^- ground state and a 5/2⁺ isomer with an excitation energy of 120keV. Therefore, the simple (EC+β⁺) decay scheme of ¹³³Sm in Eur. Phys. J. A 11, 277 (2001) has been revised. In addition, our previous experimental data on the β-delayed proton decay of ¹⁴⁹Yb reported in Eur. Phys. J. A 12, 1 (2001) was also analyzed using the same method. The spin-parity of ¹⁴⁹Yb is suggested to be 1/2^-.     

Nonmesonic decay of the Λ-hyperon in hypernuclei produced by p + Au collisions

The β-delayed proton precursor ¹⁴⁹Yb was synthesized in the reaction ¹¹²Sn(⁴⁰Ca, 3n) and identified by using a proton-gamma coincidence measurements in combination with a helium-jet fast tape transport system. Its β-delayed proton spectrum was observed. The half-life of ¹⁴⁹Yb was determined to be 0.7±0.2 s. The 253, 101, and 365 keV γ transitions in ¹⁴⁷Dy, following β-delayed proton emission of ¹⁴⁸Ho decay, were reported for the first time. Received: 14 March 2001 / Accepted: 26 September 2001     

Baryon number violating nuclear decay

The expressions for baryon number violating nuclear partial decay widths are derived from the interactions as predicted by grand unified theories. Theory predicts that the baryon number violating proton decay inside the nucleus is hindered relative to the free proton decay rate. In the case of closed shell nuclei, the meson spin-isospin dependence of the partial width is the same as that for the nucleon decay. The branching ratios of decay amplitudes depend on the nuclear binding energies. Nuclear structure introduces lepton energy spread of ±49.5 MeV for light closed shell nuclei, while it does not affect the back to back emission of lepton-meson pair.     

Proton Emission——-Recent Results and Future Prospects

Considerable progress has been made in the study of proton-emitting nuclei since the first observation of direct proton emission nearly half a century ago. This has led to improvements in our understanding of this rare decay process and provided invaluable nuclear structure data far from the valley of beta stability. This paper reviews the implications of some recent results for exotic iridium, rhenium and tantalum isotopes and considers prospects for future experimental studies of proton-emitting nuclei located at and above the N =82 neutron shell closure.     

First Experimental Determination of Half-Life for New Nuclide 65Se

By using experimental data obtained from the measurement of beta-delayed proton decay of ⁶⁵Se produced in ⁴⁰Ca(²⁸Si,3n)reaction,the absolute detection efficiency of particle telescope for rotating radioactive source was imitatively calcu-lated.The half-life of ⁶⁵Se was thus accurately determined to be 9.6_-4.1^+5.3 ms.The β-delayed proton energy of ⁶⁵Se was 3.70±0.08MeV.The partial decay scheme of ⁶⁵Se β-delayed proton decay was revised and proposed.     

The spectroscopy of 22Al: a βp, β2p and βα emitter

In an experiment at the LISE3 facility of GANIL, we produced the proton-rich isotope ²²Al by the fragmentation of a ³⁶Ar primary beam at 95 MeV/nucleon. After implantation in a detector telescope, the decay of ²²Al via β-delayed proton emission, β-delayed two-proton emission as well as, for the first time, via β-delayed α emission has been studied. An α peak has been observed at (3.27 ± 0.04) MeV with a branching ratio of (0.31 ± 0.09) %. The comparison of the different decay channels to those of the mirror nucleus ²²F and to shell-model calculations favor a 3⁺ state as being the ground state of ²²Al. A half life of T_1/2 = (59 ± 3) ms has been measured.     

Properties of the β-delayed proton decay of 146Ho

The proton-rich isotope 146Ho was produced via the fusion-evaporation reaction ^92Mo （^58Ni, 3p1n）. The β-delayed proton decay of 146Ho was studied by proton-γ coincidence measurements using a He-jet tape transport system. The γ-transitions in ^145Tb following the proton emissions were observed, and the β-delayed proton branching ratios to the final states in the grand-daughter nucleus ^145Tb were determined. According to the relative branching ratios, the ground-state spin of 146Ho has been proposed and the possible configuration discussed.     

β-delayed proton decays near the proton drip line

We briefly reviewed the experimental study on β-delayed proton decays near the proton drip line published by our group during the period of 1996–2004, namely the first observation of the β-delayed proton decays of 9 new nuclides in the rare-earth region and the new measurements of β-delayed proton decays of 5 nuclides in the mass ∼90 region near theN=Z line with the aid of the “p-y” coincidence in combination with a He-jet tape transport system. In the meantime some important experimental technique details were supplemented. The experimental results, including the half-lives, spins, parities, deformations and production reaction cross sections for the 14 nuclei were summarized and compared with the current nuclear-model predictions, and then the following points were represented. (1) The experimental half-lives for⁸⁵Mo and⁹²Rh as well as the predicted “waiting point” nuclei⁸⁹Ru and⁹³Pd are 5–10 times longer than the theoretical predictions given by M?ller et al. using a macroscopic-microscopic model. It considerably influences the predictions of the abundances of the nuclides produced in the rp-process. (2) The current-model predictions are not consistent with the experimental assignments of the spins and parities for the proton drip-line nuclei¹⁴²Ho and¹²⁸Pm. However, the nuclear potential energy surface (PES) calculated by using a Woods-Saxon-Strutinsky method reproduced the experimental results. (3) The Alice code overestimated the production reaction cross sections of the studied 9 rare-earth nuclei by one order of magnitude or two, while HIVAP code overestimated them by one order of magnitude approximately.     

(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     

Projected Shell Model Description for the Proton Emitters

Proton radioactivity is an important decay mode for nuclei near the proton drip-line. Studies of this decay mode can reveal valuable information on exotic nuclear structure and provide important information on the stucture of nuclei in extreme conditions. The new experimental data can let us understand the interactions in exotic systems, which motivate further theoretical development. The most recent application of the projected shell model (PSM) for proton emitters is represented. We study the rotational bands of the deformed proton emitter 141Ho by using the PSM. The experimental data are well reproduced. Strongly suppressed γ transition from the low-lying IΠ= 3/2+ state makes this state isomeric. Variations in the dynamical moment of inertia are discussed due to band crossings using the band diagram. The calculated results for proton emitter 151Lu shows it is oblately deformed     

β-delayed Multi-particle Emission From 31Ar

The β+ decay of 31Ar was investigated in an experiment at the GSI-FRS spectrometer.The ions of interest have been produced in the fragmentation of a 36Ar beam at 880 MeV/nucleon and implanted in a time projection chamber with optical readout. In addition to β -delayed one and two proton emission, for the first time the emission of -delayed 3 protons has been observed. The branching ratio for this decay mode is found to be (0.07 ± 0.02)%.     

Direct and β-delayed multi-proton emission from atomic nuclei with a time projection chamber: the cases of 43Cr, 45Fe, and 51Ni

The two-proton radioactivity of ⁴⁵Fe was studied experimentally with a time projection chamber. The aim of the experiment was the reconstruction of the proton tracks in three dimensions. Energy and angular correlations have been determined and the data are compared with theoretical models, in particular with a three-body model. Moreover, the decay of ⁴³Cr was studied and ??-delayed one-, two- and three-proton emission could be established. The correlations observed for ??-delayed two-proton emission favour a sequential emission. Finally, ??-delayed two-proton emission was observed for the first time for ⁵¹Ni.     

Lifetimes of proton unstable states in 113I measured by the particle-X-ray coincidence technique

The -delayed proton decay of ¹¹³Xe was investigated by means of a total absorption -ray spectrometer and a telescope for particle detection. The energy window available for the -delayed proton decay of ¹¹³Xe and the relative branching ratios for proton transitions to the ¹¹²Te states were remeasured. The lifetimes of proton unstable ¹¹³I states populated in the electron capture decay of ¹¹³Xe were determined by means of the particle-X-ray coincidence technique. The results of the lifetime measurements are compared with statistical-model calculations.