The Z = 82 shell closure in neutron-deficient Pb isotopes

Recent mass measurements show a substantial weakening of the binding-energy difference δ_2p(Z, N) = E(Z - 2, N) - 2E(Z, N) + E(Z + 2, N) in the neutron-deficient Pb isotopes. As δ_2p is often attributed to the size of the proton magic gap, it might be speculated that reduction in δ_2p is related to a weakening of the spherical Z = 82 shell. We demonstrate that the observed trend is described quantitatively by self-consistent mean-field models in terms of deformed ground states of Hg and Po isotopes. Received: 25 October 2001 / Accepted: 28 February 2002     

Evolution of the N = 20 and N = 28 shell closures in neutron-rich nuclei

The isospin dependence of shell closure phenomena is studied for light neutron-rich nuclei within a microscopic self-consistent approach using the Gogny force. Introducing configuration mixing, ³²Mg is found to be dynamically deformed, although the N = 20 spherical shell closure persists at the mean-field level for all N = 20 isotones. In contrast, the N = 28 spherical shell closure is found to disappear for N - Z≥ 10 whereas deformed shell closures are preserved and lead to shape coexistence in ⁴⁴ S. Configuration mixing shows that the ground state of this nucleus is triaxially deformed. The first 2⁺ excitation energy E_x = 1.46 MeV and the reduced transition probability B(E2;0⁺ _gs→ 2⁺ ₁)= 420 e ² fm ⁴ obtained with our approach are in good agreement with experimental data. Received: 26 July 2000 / Accepted: 30 August 2000     

c-axis tunneling on YBCO films

We have measured I(V) characteristics of c-axis planar tunnel junctions on Y₁Ba₂Cu₃O _{7 - δ} films. Our results and their analysis provide experimental support for the importance of the two-dimensional character of the YBCO band structure, and a method to measure the ratio between the Fermi energy of YBCO and the barrier height. The analysis is based on the relation between the linear conductance background, related to the inelastic tunneling component, and the zero bias conductance, related to the elastic one. Received 24 September 2000 and Received in final form 15 November 2000     

(EC+β +) decay of 130Nd and 140Tb

The available astrophysical S(E) factor data for the reaction ⁷Li (p,α)α at 10 < E < 1000keV exhibit an exponential increase at low energies due to the effects of electron screening. A parametrisation of the data using a non-resonant, direct process and two subthreshold resonances reproduces the data at energies E≥ 100keV, while at lower energies this calculated S _b(E) factor curve for bare nuclides drops below the data, which in turn represent the case of electron-shielded nuclides, i.e. the electron-shielded S _s(E) factor. The comparison between S _b(E) and S _s(E) leads to an electron-screening potential energy U _e = 350eV, which is much higher than the adiabatic limit of 175eV and not understood at present. The deduced value of S _b(0) is considerably smaller than the previously adopted value of 59keV b, significantly increasing the calculated abundance of ⁷Li in big-bang nucleosynthesis. The Trojan-horse method was applied to the reaction ⁷Li (p,α)α to determine the energy dependence of the S _b(E) factor for 10 < E < 370keV, free from the effects of the Coulomb barrier and electron screening. The THM results are close to the calculated S _b(E) curve and suggest that the THM may become a powerful way to obtain improved information on low-energy cross-sections and associated electron-screening effects in a model-independent way. Received: 9 September 2000 / Accepted: 5 December 2000     

Single-particle potential in a chiral approach to nuclear matter including short-range NN-terms

We extend a recent chiral approach to nuclear matter of Lutz et al.Phys. Lett. B 474, 7 (2000)) by calculating the underlying (complex-valued) single-particle potential U(p, k _f) + iW(p, k _f). The potential for a nucleon at the bottom of the Fermi sea, U(0, k _f0) = - 20.0 MeV, comes out as much too weakly attractive in this approach. Even more seriously, the total single-particle energy does not rise monotonically with the nucleon momentum p, implying a negative effective nucleon mass at the Fermi surface. Also, the imaginary single-particle potential, W(0, k _f0) = 51.1 MeV, is too large. More realistic single-particle properties together with a good nuclear-matter equation of state can be obtained if the short-range contributions of non-pionic origin are treated in mean-field approximation (i.e. if they are not further iterated with 1π-exchange). We also consider the equation of state of pure neutron matter ˉE_n(k _n) and the asymmetry energy A(k _f) in that approach. The downward bending of these quantities above nuclear-matter saturation density seems to be a generic feature of perturbative chiral pion-nucleon dynamics. Received: 19 December 2002 / Accepted: 11 February 2003 / Published online: 15 April 2003     

New states in heavy Cd isotopes and evidence for weakening of the N = 82 shell structure

A chemically selective laser ion source has been used in a β-decay study of heavy Ag isotopes into even-even Cd nuclides. Gamma-spectroscopic techniques in time-resolving event-by-event and multiscaling modes have permitted the identification of the first 2⁺ and 4⁺ levels in ¹²⁶Cd₇₈, ¹²⁸Cd₈₀, and tentatively the 2⁺ state in ¹³⁰Cd₈₂. From a comparison of these new states in ₄₈Cd with the E(2⁺) and E(4⁺)/E(2⁺) level systematics of ₄₆Pd and ₅₂Te isotopes and several recent model predictions, possible evidence for a weakening of the spherical N = 82 neutron-shell below double-magic ¹³²Sn is obtained. Received: 13 July 2000 / Accepted: 12 October 2000     

Spin susceptibility in small Fermi energy systems: effects of nonmagnetic impurities

In small Fermi energy metals, disorder can deeply modify superconducting state properties leading to a strong suppression of the critical temperature T_c. In this paper, we show that also normal state properties can be seriously influenced by disorder when the Fermi energy E _F is sufficiently small. We calculate the normal state spin susceptibility χ for a narrow band electron-phonon coupled metal as a function of the non-magnetic impurity scattering rate . We find that as soon as is comparable to E _F, χ is strongly reduced with respect to its value in the clean limit. The effects of the electron-phonon interaction including the nonadiabatic corrections are discussed. Our results strongly suggest that the recent finding on irradiated MgB₂ samples can be naturally explained in terms of small E _F values associated with the σ-bands of the boron plane, sustaining therefore the hypothesis that MgB₂ is a nonadiabatic metal. Received 31 July 2002 / Received in final form 21 September 2002 Published online 31 December 2002     

Anomalous behavior of the Fermi energy in heavily tin-doped InGaAs

We have measured the dependence of the Fermi energy on carrier concentration in Sn doped InGaAs at 4.2 K and 300 K. At 4.2 K the Fermi energy was measured by photoluminescence spectroscopy, and at 300 K it was deduced from transport measurements of thermionic emission. In both cases the dependence of the Fermi energy on the mobile electron concentration, measured by Hall effect, strongly deviates from standard theoretical predictions, and the deviation increases with concentration. The most striking observed anomaly is the near saturation of the Fermi level when the Hall concentration exceeds 10¹⁹ cm^-3. Received 19 April 2001 and Received in final form 22 July 2001     

Photoproduction of neutral pion pairs from the proton

Double neutral pion photoproduction from the proton has been measured at MAMI for photon energies between threshold and 820 MeV. The reaction was identified by an invariant mass and missing mass analysis. From threshold up to 370 MeV the total cross-section does not exceed 30 nb. For higher energies it shows a smooth rise until it reaches a maximum of about 10 μb at E _γ = 740 MeV. Dalitz plots of m ²(π⁰π⁰) versus m ²(p,π⁰) for seven bins of incident photon energy have been analysed. For E _γ > 610 MeV, a strong contribution of a sequential decay is observed with the Δ(1232)-resonance as intermediate state. A comparison to model calculations shows that these sequential decays presumably originate from the D ₁₃(1520) and also the P ₁₁(1440)-resonance. Received: 6 June 2000 / Accepted: 18 August 2000     

Electron-doping versus hole-doping in the 2D t-t' Hubbard model

We compare the one-loop renormalization group flow to strong coupling of the electronic interactions in the two-dimensional t-t'-Hubbard model with t' = - 0.3t for band fillings smaller and larger than half-filling. Using a numerical N-patch scheme ( N = 32, ..., 96) we show that in the electron-doped case with decreasing electron density there is a rapid transition from a d _{x2 - y2}-wave superconducting regime with small characteristic energy scale to an approximate nesting regime with strong antiferromagnetic tendencies and higher energy scales. This contrasts with the hole-doped side discussed recently which exhibits a broad parameter region where the renormalization group flow suggests a truncation of the Fermi surface at the saddle points. We compare the quasiparticle scattering rates obtained from the renormalization group calculation which further emphasize the differences between the two cases. Received 19 December 2000 and Received in final form 28 February 2001     

Nuclear mean fields through self-consistent semiclassical calculations

Semiclassical expansions derived in the framework of the Extended Thomas-Fermi approach for the kinetic energy density τ( r) and the spin-orbit density J( r) as functions of the local density ρ( r) are used to determine the central nuclear potentials V _n( r) and V _p( r) of the neutron and proton distribution for effective interactions of the Skyrme type. We demonstrate that the convergence of the resulting semiclassical expansions for these potentials is fast and that they reproduce quite accurately the corresponding Hartree-Fock average fields. Received: 12 February 2000 / Accepted: 14 March 2002     

Exactly solvable models through the generalized empty interval method,for multi-species interactions

Multi-species reaction-diffusion systems, with nearest-neighbor interaction on a one-dimensional lattice are considered. Necessary and sufficient constraints on the interaction rates are obtained, that guarantee the closedness of the time evolution equation for E _n(t)'s, the expectation value of the product of certain linear combination of the number operators on n consecutive sites at time t. The constraints are solved for the single-species left-right-symmetric systems. Also, examples of multi-species system for which the evolution equations of E _n(t)'s are closed, are given. Received 25 September 2002 / Received in final form 3 December 2002 Published online 14 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: mamwad@iasbs.ac.ir     

Weak violation of universality for polyelectrolyte chains: Variational theory and simulations

A variational approach is considered to calculate the free energy and the conformational properties of a polyelectrolyte chain in d dimensions. We consider in detail the case of pure Coulombic interactions between the monomers, when screening is not present, in order to compute the end-to-end distance and the asymptotic properties of the chain as a function of the polymer chain length N. We find R≃N ^ν(log N)^γ, where ν = and λ is the exponent which characterizes the long-range interaction U∝ 1/r ^λ. The exponent γ is shown to be non-universal, depending on the strength of the Coulomb interaction. We check our findings by a direct numerical minimization of the variational energy for chains of increasing size 2⁴ < N < 2¹⁵. The electrostatic blob picture, expected for small enough values of the interaction strength, is quantitatively described by the variational approach. We perform a Monte Carlo simulation for chains of length 2⁴ < N < 2¹⁰. The non-universal behavior of the exponent γ previously derived within the variational method is also confirmed by the simulation results. Non-universal behavior is found for a polyelectrolyte chain in d = 3 dimension. Particular attention is devoted to the homopolymer chain problem, when short-range contact interactions are present. Received 8 August 2000 and Received in final form 19 December 2000     

Localization-delocalization transition in one-dimensional system with long-range correlated diagonal disorder

We show that the electronic states in a one-dimensional (1D) Anderson model of diagonal disorder with long-range correlation proposed by de Moura and Lyra exhibit localization-delocalization phase transition in varying the energy of electrons. Using transfer matrix method, we calculate the average resistivity and investigate how it changes with the size of the system N. For given value of α (> 2) we find critical energies E_c1 and E_c2 such that the resistivity decreases with N as a power law ∝ N ^{- γ} for electron energies within the range of [E _c1, E _c2], and exponentially grows with N outside this range. Such behaviors persist in approaching the transition points and the exponent γ is in the range from 0.92 to 0.96. The origin of the delocalization in this 1D model is discussed. Received 18 December 2001 / Received in final form 2 May 2002 Published online 14 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: sjxiong@nju.edu.cn     

On-site repulsion as the source of pairing in carbon nanotubes and intercalated graphite

We show that different non-conventional superconductors have one fundamental feature in common: pair eigenstates of the Hamiltonian are repulsion-free, the W = 0 pairs. In extended Hubbard models, pairing can occur for reasonable parameter values. For (N, N) nanotubes the binding energy of the pair depends strongly on the filling and decreases towards a reduced but nonzero value for the graphite sheet N → ∞. Received 13 July 2002 Published online 29 November 2002     

Physics with heavy neutron-rich RIBs at the HRIBF

The Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has recently produced the world's first post-accelerated beams of heavy neutron-rich nuclei. The first experiments with these beam are described, and the results discussed. B(E2;0⁺ → 2⁺) values for neutron-rich ^126,128Sn and ^132,134,136Te isotopes have been measured by Coulomb excitation in inverse kinematics. The results for ¹³²Te and ¹³⁴Te (N = 80, 82) show excellent agreement with systematics of lighter Te isotopes, but the B(E2) value for ¹³⁶Te (N = 84) is unexpectedly small. Single-neutron transfer reactions with a ¹³⁴Te beam on ^natBe and ¹³C targets at energies just above the Coulomb barrier have also been studied. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: radford@mail.phy.ornl.gov     

The Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystalline approximant -phase revisited

A detailed investigation of the Fourier space of several Al-Pd-Mn samples with composition Al-72.6 at. %, Pd-22.9 at. %, Mn-4.5 at. % is reported. In the phase diagram of the Al-Pd-Mn ternary alloy, this composition corresponds to the so-called ξ' phase which was described as an icosahedral quasicrystalline approximant. By re-examining the Fourier space by means of X-ray diffraction (powder patterns and single crystal precession patterns), complex structures in close relation with the ξ'-phase have been observed. These long-range order complex structures are described as resulting from a periodic perturbation of the ξ' structure along the c direction. Two states with periodicities c (3 + τ) and c (5 + τ) have been observed in this study (τ: golden mean). Structural models based on periodic arrangements of “defects” layers separating layers of phase are proposed. These two states are certainly intermediate states between the phase and the metastable decagonal quasicrystalline phase. Received 11 April 2002 / Received in final form 24 June 2002 Published online 17 September 2002     

Coulomb excitation of 72 30Zn42

The reduced transition probability B(E2: 0₁ ⁺→ 2⁺) of ⁷²Zn has been measured for the first time by Coulomb excitation at intermediate energy. The result B(E2: 0₁ ⁺→ 2⁺) = 1740±210 e²fm⁴, corresponds to the deformation parameter β₂ of 0.23, in close agreement with expectations derived from the neighboring nucleus ⁷³Zn. A discussion of the evolution of the N = 40 sub-shell closure as a function of Z is presented. Received: 19 December 2001 / Accepted: 14 March 2002     

Ultrafast multidimensional dynamics of strong hydrogen bonds

The laser driven dynamics of the OH(D) stretching vibration in phthalic acid monomethylester is investigated. The combination of a 55-dimensional all-Cartesian reaction surface Hamiltonian and the time-dependent self-consistent field approach is shown to provide a microscopic picture of intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution taking place upon interaction with an external laser field. Choosing suitable zeroth-order vibrational states and combinations thereof a quasi-periodic in-phase and out-of-phase oscillatory behavior is observed manifesting energy flow on different time scales. The fingerprints of this behavior in transient absorption spectroscopy are also discussed. Received 24 August 2000 and Received in final form 11 October 2000