A study of the 144Sm(d,p) reaction at 19 MeV

The ¹⁴⁴Sm(d, p) reaction has been studied at an incident deuteron energy of 19 MeV using the injector-tandem accelerator and the multichannel magnetic speetrograph of the University of Oxford. Angular distributions have been measured for transitions to levels of ¹⁴⁵Sm up to an excitation energy of 3.2 MeV. Theoretical (d, p) distributions have been calculated using the program DWUCK. and orbital angular momentum transfers and spectroscopic factors have been deduced by comparing these calculations with the experimental data. The spectroscopic information derived from this study is more complete than that previously reported and many new assignments have been made. The level scheme of ¹⁴⁵Sm has been found to resemble closely the level schemes of the other N = 83 nuclei.     

An investigation of the 144Sm(α, 3He)145Sm reaction

The ¹⁴⁴Sm(α, ³He)¹⁴⁵Sm stripping reaction has been studied up to 3 MeV excitation energy with a 40 MeV α-beam. Angular distributions have been recorded, and spectroscopic factors are deduced using a standard DWBA procedure. The reaction favours high-l transfers, and is found to be very useful for the investigation of large-j states. From a comparison with the spectroscopic factors known from the ¹⁴⁴Sm(d, p)¹⁴⁵Sm reaction the normalization factor for the (α, ³He) reaction is found to depend strongly on the optical model parameters and on the transferred angular momentum l.     

High-spin states in154Er

High-spin states in¹⁵⁴Er have been populated by bombarding¹⁴⁷Sm and¹⁴⁸Sm with¹²C particles. Excitation functions, lifetimes, angular distributions andγ-γ coincidences were measured. AT _1/2=35ns isomeric state atE _x～3 MeV has been found and is interpreted as a two-quasi-particle state with aligned angular momenta. A cascade of intense individual lines from states with spin up to at least 26 (excitation energy up to 8.543 MeV) was found to feed the isomeric state. The level sequence above this yrast trap exhibits an irregular pattern which cannot be easily interpreted in terms of collective modes.     

Inelastic proton scattering from Ba and Sm at 30 MeV

Measurements of the inelastic scattering of 30 MeV protons from ¹³⁸Ba and ¹⁴⁴Sm have been carried out with 7–10 keV energy resolution. Differential cross sections were measured for levels up through 3.4 MeV excitation energy. For most of these states J^π assignments are suggested on the basis of angular distributions distinctly characteristic of angular momentum transfer L = 2, 3, 4,or 6.     

Neutron-hole strength distributions in heavy nuclei: (II). The 144, 148, 152Sm(3He, α) 143, 147, 151Sm and the 144, 148, 150, 152, 154Sm(p,d) 143, 147, 149, 151, 153Sm reactions

Valence and deep-lying neutron-hole strengths corresponding to orbits near and well below the Fermi surface have been observed in high-resolution studies of the ^{144, 148, 152}Sm(³He, α) and of the ^{144, 148, 150, 152, 154}Sm(p, d) reactions at 70 and 42 MeV bombarding energy, respectively. The explored excitation energy range was 28 MeV for the (³He, α) experiment and about 12 MeV in the (p, d) study. Complete angular distributions have been measured in both cases and the data was analyzed within the framework of the distorted waves Born approximation theory of direct reactions.For the neutron closed shell target (¹⁴⁴Sm), in addition to the well-known fragmentation of the 2d_{$\text{5}\text{2}$} and 1g_{$\text{7}\text{2}$} valence-hole strength, a new bump observed around 7.6 MeV excitation energy is excited in both reactions. This structure corresponds to the 1g_{$\text{9}\text{2}$} inner-hole strength in ¹⁴³Sm and the analysis of the (³He, α) data suggests that more than 50% of the l = 4 strength can be found between 6 and 12 MeV. When one goes to the heavier Sm isotopes, the energy spacing between valence-hole states located above and just below the N = 82 shell decreases strongly and disappears in ¹⁵¹Sm as a result of increasing deformation.Combining good energy resolution and detailed analysis of the two reactions, rather complete spectroscopic information is obtained for the valence-hole strength distributions. With regard to inner-hole states, the energy spectra exhibit a narrow structure whose centroid energy decreases from 4.4 to 2.9 MeV when the mass number increases from A = 147 to A = 153. The main peak displays an asymmetric shape with an extremely large high-energy tail. The 1h_{$\text{11}\text{2}$} hole strength is split into the Nilsson Orbitals. The narrow bumps are found to carry a large fraction of the l = 5 and l = 2 hole strengths in ^{147,149,151,152}Sm isotopes. In the high-energy tail of the structures one observes overlapping and increasing spreading of the g_{$\text{7}\text{2}$}, 2d_{$\text{5}\text{2}$} and possibly 1g_{$\text{9}\text{2}$} inner-hole strengths due to the disappearance of the N = 82 shell gap between N = 83 and N = 89 neutron numbers. The experimental hole strengths distributions are compared where possible to the predictions of the quasiparticle-phonon nuclear model or to the simple Nilsson model.     

Near-barrier transfer in16O +144, 154Sm

The production of nitrogen and carbon fragments in the reactions induced by¹⁶O on¹⁴⁴Sm and¹⁵⁴Sm targets was studied at two bombarding energies (65 MeV and 72 MeV) around the interaction barrier. The measured angular distributions exhibit the characteristic behaviour of direct transfer reactions, and theQ-value spectra are typically centered at the values predicted by kinematic selectivity. The comparison between fusion and charged-particle transfer cross sections shows that whereas fusion is the most important process at the highest bombarding energy, transfer reactions become comparable or even dominant (as in the¹⁴⁴Sm case) at near-barrier energies. The different transfer probabilities observed for the two systems are analyzed in terms of nuclear deformation.     

High spin states in153Er

High spin states in¹⁵³Er have been populated in the¹⁴⁴Sm(¹²C, 3n)¹³³Er reaction. Excitation functions, lifetimes, angular distributions,γ-γ coincidences and internal conversion coefficients were measured. Three isomeric states at 2.75 MeV (T _1/2=400 ns), 2.95 MeV (T _1/2～10 ns) and 5.2 MeV (T _1/2=200 ns) have been observed. A fourth isomer seems to be weakly excited above 6.8 MeV. The level scheme proposed is discussed in term of the nuclear shell model.     

On the influence of shell structure in dissipative collisions

A kinematically complete study of the symmetric systems ¹⁴⁴Sm+¹⁴⁴Sm and ¹⁵⁴Sn+¹⁵⁴Sm has been performed at energies 30% in excess of the interaction barrier. They have been chosen because of their different internal structure: ¹⁴⁴Sm has a closed N = 82 neutron shell and a spherical ground-state configuration; ¹⁵⁴Sm with ten neutrons outside this shell is strongly deformed. The observed gross features of both reactions like energy, angular and total mass or element distributions are very similar; the ratio of the mass variances as function of the total kinetic energy loss indicates the number of exchanged nucleons to be comparable in all stages of the reactions. At small energy losses, however, the element distributions of the ¹⁴⁴Sm + ¹⁴⁴Sm reaction are considerably broader, pointing at an enhanced proton transfer at the cost of the number of exchanged neutrons in this system. This observation is attributed to the influence of the closed shell which seems to block the transfer of neutrons at low excitation energies. These results can be explained quantitatively by the different gradients of the shell-corrected potential energy surfaces of the two systems.     

The level structure of the 153Gd nucleus studied in the 150Sm(α, n)153Gd reaction

The level structure of ¹⁵³Gd has been studied by means of the ¹⁵⁰Sm(α, n)¹⁵³Gd reaction. The experiment included measurements of γ-γ coincidences, γ-angular distributions, γ-ray yield at 17 MeV and 19 MeV beam energy, and γ-ray multiplicities. Favoured and unfavoured members of the positive-parity i_13,2, band were identified. States belonging to the h_9,2 and f_7,2 band structures have been located.Surprisingly low multiplicity numbers were deduced for ₁₅₃Gd γ-rays. This may indicate that the (α, n) reaction is not a pure compound reaction. The level structure of ¹⁵³Gd has been compared to the known structure of other odd-mass N = 89 nuclei, and a close similarity is found.The positive-parity band structure has been compared to calculations with the pairing-plus-recoil model. Good agreement is obtained without any ad hoc Coriolis attenuation.     

Ground state bands in142Gd and140Sm

The ground state bands of theN=78 isotones¹⁴² Gd and¹⁴⁰Sm were observed up to the 8⁺ state by bombarding¹⁴⁴Sm and¹⁴²Nd withα-particles of energies between 80 and 130 MeV. Excitation functions,γ-γ coincidences, lifetimes and angular distributions were measured. The ground state band in¹⁴⁰Sm is partially fed by an isomeric state ofT _1/2?17ns. No such isomerism is observed for¹⁴²Gd. The level energies are very similar in both cases and agree well with the predictions of the VMI model.     

High-spin states and yrast isomerism in 153Er

Energy levels in ¹⁵³Er have been populated in the reaction ¹⁴⁴Sm(¹²C. 3n)¹⁵³Er. Isotopically enriched targets were bombarded with 53–65 MeV ¹²C ions and the emitted γ-ray and conversion electron spectra were investigated. From studies of excitation functions. γ- coincidences, γ-ray multiplicities, delayed γ-radiation and angular distributions, the level scheme of ¹⁵³Er has been constructed. The properties of the energy levels are discussed and compared with the results of calculations with a deformed shell model. The remarkable similarities and some important discrepancies of the level structure, when compared with adjacent, N = 85 nuclides, are emphasized.     

Particle-hole multiplets in146Gd from in-beam studies of non-yrast levels

Non-yrast levels of¹⁴⁶Gd have been investigated by in-beamγ-ray and conversion electron spectroscopy following the¹⁴⁴Sm(α, 2n) reaction at 25.7 MeV, an energy which was determined to provide optimum population of levels above the yrast line. The detailed¹⁴⁶Gd level scheme includes twenty-one newly identified levels, many of which can be characterized in terms of specific proton particle-hole configurations. Several twoparticle-twohole states involving the 3^? phonon have also been identified.     

Angular distributions of neutron polarization from the 14C(p,n)14N and 11B(α, n)14N reactions and R-matrix analysis oF 15N in the excitation-energy range between 11.5 and 12.5 MeV

Angular distributions of neutron polarization from the ¹⁴C(p, n)¹⁴N and ¹¹B(α, n)¹⁴N reactions have been studied for the particle energies E_p = 1.788, 2.025, 2.272 and 2.450 MeV, and E_α = 2.049 MeV. The polarization was derived from the left-right asymmetry induced by elastic scattering from ⁴He. Together with existing measurements of angular distributions and total cross sections for several reaction channels leading to ¹⁵N with an excitation energy between 11.5 and 12.5 MeV, these data were used to deduce from R-matrix analysis a set of resonance parameters for the ¹⁵N levels in this energy range.     

Investigation of the reaction 35Cl(τ, α)34Cl at Eτ = 15 MeV

The ³⁵Cl(τ, α)³⁴C reaction has been used to study the properties of ³⁴Cl levels up to an excitation energy of 5 MeV. Angular distributions of 37 levels were measured with a split-pole magnetic spectrograph, at a bombarding energy of 15 MeV. New levels have been found at 3847, 3964, 4206, 4321 and 4715 keV, all ± 10 keV. There is a strongly excited multiplet at E_x = 5.0 MeV with components at 4939 ± 11, 4958 ± 11, 4971 ± 11, 4998 ± 12 and 5010 ± 13 keV. A DWBA analysis of the α-particle angular distributions yielded l_n values and spectroscopic factors. New spin and parity assignments were obtained. The T = 1 character of the levels at E_x = 4.21 and 4.72 MeV has been determined. Experimental spectroscopic factors are compared with results from recent many-particle shell-model calculations.     

A study of the 138Ba(d,p)139Ba reaction at 19 MeV

The ¹³⁸Ba(d,p) reaction has been studied at an incident deuteron energy of 19 MeV, using the injector-tandem accelerator and the multichannel magnetic spectrograph of the University of Oxford. Deuteron and proton optical model parameters have been obtained from the analysis of elastic scattering experiments on a ¹³⁸Ba target. The parameters have been used to calculate theoretical (d, p) angular distributions on the basis of the DWBA. From the comparison of experimental and theoretical distributions, orbital angular momentum transfers have been deduced and spectroscopic factors determined for all the levels observed up to an excitation energy of 2.5 MeV in ¹³⁹Ba. The spectroscopic information thus obtained is more complete than that from previous studies, and is in satisfactory agreement with expected sum rule limits. A notable item of new information is the assignment of an l_n = 6 transition to the level at 1.54 MeV in ¹³⁹Ba.     

A study of charge,energy and angular momentum transfer in the 56Fe + 197Au and 56Fe + 107, 109Ag reactions at 7.2 and 8.3 MeV/nucleon

Kinetic energy spectra, charge and angular distributions have been measured for thirty elements produced in the reactions of 401 and 460 MeV ⁵⁶Fe + ¹⁹⁷Au and in the reaction of 470 MeV ⁵⁶Fe + ^{107, 109}Ag. In addition, γ-ray multiplicities were measured at the 470 MeV bombarding energy for both targets at a limited number of angles. The charge distributions for the deep-inelastic component of these systems increase monotonically with atomic number in the measured angular range, whereas, those for the quasielastic component are skewed toward Z-values below the projectile. The angular distributions for the Fe-induced reactions show a smooth evolution from a side-peaked to forward-peaked distributions with increasing mass transfer. This side peak is more intense and more persistent for mass transfers from the projectile to the target. In the quasielastic region the γ-ray multiplicity is observed to increase almost linearly with decreasing Q-value whereas for large negative β-values it is essentially constant and independent of the exit channel mass asymmetry. Finally, angular distributions, angle-integrated charge distributions and γ-ray multiplicities have been compared with a diffusion model in which the dynamics of shape evolution, N/Z equilibration, angular momentum and energy exchange occur via one-body forces.     

Optical potential for 12C + 28Si scattering

¹²C + ²⁸Si elastic scattering angular distributions are smooth functions, relatively easily fit by optical potential predictions, at laboratory bombarding energies, E_1ab, within ≈ 10 MeV of the Coulomb barrier (i.e. up to E_1ab ≈ 27 MeV). Between E_1ab = 27 and 36 MeV the angular distributions show pronounced oscillatory structure which is not easily fit with an optical potential. No optical potential has been found to give a very good account of all the angular distributions simultaneously; the best simultaneous fit to all the data was achieved with a surface-transparent potential whose real and imaginary well depths are energy dependent.     

A proton stripping study of92Nb

Levels up to energies of 4 MeV have been studied with the⁹¹Zr(³He,d)⁹²Nb reaction with an incident particle energy of 25.5 MeV. The product deuterons were analyzed by a split-pole spectrometer. Angular distributions were obtained for many of the transitions and compared with DWBA calculations. The assigned transferl values and spectroscopic factors were used to assign shell model structures to these levels.     

A study of the states of 30Si with the 28Si(t,p)30Si and 29Si(d,p)30Si reactions

The excitation energies of the levels in ³⁰Si have been measured up to an excitation of 9.46 MeV with the ²⁸Si(t, p)³⁰Si reaction at a triton energy of 6.0 MeV. Angular distributions have been measured of proton groups from the ²⁸Si(t, p)³⁰Si and ²⁹Si(d, p)³⁰Si reactions in a multi-angle magnetic spectrograph. Triton bombarding energies of 10.5 and 12.1 MeV were used and the deuteron incident energy was 10.0 MeV. States in ³⁰Si up to an excitation of 8 MeV were observed. Spins and parities of several states have been assigned using an empirical method for the (t, p) results and using a DWBA analysis for the (d, p) distributions. Spectroscopic factors for twelve states were obtained from the latter analysis. Two of these disagree with theoretical predictions. The state previously reported at an excitation of 6.63 MeV in ³⁰Si was observed to be formed by a strong L = 0 transition in the (t, p) reaction and also by a strong l = 1 transition in the (d, p) reaction. We deduce that there are two closely spaced states at about this excitation, one having a spin and parity of 0⁺ and the other 0^?, 1^? or 2^?.