Near-barrier fission of the system12C+232Th

The fission fragment angular distributions for the system¹²C +²³²Th have been measured in the energy range 0.97<>_c.m./V_B<1.22. the=" measured=" anisotropies=" have=" been=" compared=" with=" the=" predictions=" of=" the=" standard=" saddle=" point=" statistical=" model,=" using=" the=" second=" moment=" of=" the=" compound=" nucleus=" spin=" distribution=">l² deduced from a Wong model fit to the fission excitation function. While the measured anisotropies agree with the standard saddle point statistical model for E_c.m./V_B>1.05, they are abnormally large at lower energies. This is also true for the existing measurements of¹⁶O and¹⁹F +²³²Th systems. Since for this system pre-equilibrium fission contributions are not expected, this anomaly indicates strong channel coupling effects leading to an increase in l² at sub-barrier energies.The authors thank Drs. R.K. Choudhury and A. Saxena for useful discussions, Dr. R.J. Singh for making the thorium target and the Pellectron operation staff for excellent operation of the machine.     

Investigation of the40Ca(γ,N) reaction at 60 MeV

The values of the angle-integrated cross section for the decay to various low-lying states in³⁹K following the⁴⁰Ca(,) reaction at a mean photon energy of 60 MeV are reported on, together with the values of the reduced Legendre coefficientsa _i . The⁴⁰Ca(,gp) and⁴⁰Ca(,n) reactions yield the same angular cross-section values and these agree with the corresponding RPA-calculations.Senior Research Associate NFWO     

Study of the yrast band in the doubly odd156Tm

The yrast band in the doubly odd¹⁵⁶Tm nucleus was studied through¹⁴⁴Sm(¹⁹F,2p5n)¹⁵⁶Tm reaction at beam energy of 105MeV. Several high-spin states of¹⁵⁶Tm were identified and the highest spin of the band with configuration7/2^–[523] v1/2⁺[660] could be built up to spin 25. The level structure shows the onset of a non- or weak collectivity which generally appears at neutron number of 87 in neutron-deficient rare-earth nuclei.This work was supported in part by the Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation and the Natural Science Fund of China.     

Proton-neutron interaction at N≅Z — First observation of the Tz=1 nucleus 46 94 Pd48 in-beam

The neutron deficient nucleus⁹⁴Pd was identified and studied for the first time by in-beam spectroscopy. An I=(14⁺) isomer with t_1/2=0.8 (2) s was observed in a recoil catcher setup inside the multi-detector -array OSIRIS. Filter detectors for neutrons and charged particles were used to identify the (2p2n) exit channel of the reaction⁵⁸Ni+⁴⁰Ca, populated with only 0.06% of the total evaporation residue cross section. The structure of the isomer is discussed within the frame work of shell model calculations in the (p_1/2,g_9/2) model space with emphasis on the g ₉ ^2/2 T=0, I=1,9 pairing two-body matrix elements.Communicated by: D. Schwalm     

Identification of beta-decay of150La

The -decay of¹⁵⁰La, the heaviest isotope of lanthanum, has been identified by observing -rays from mass separated activities obtained at KUR-ISOL. From the decay curves of 97.0 and 208.7 keV -rays in¹⁵⁰Ce and of Ce-K X-ray, the half-life of¹⁵⁰La has been determined as 0.51(3) s. This value is in agreement with theoretical predictions from microscopic theory.     

Study of short-lived silver isotopes with a laser ion source

The continuum part of the⁶Li (a,a)⁶Li (1.47–2.47 MeV) scattering data at E_a=50 MeV are extracted in two discretized bins. Coupled-channel calculations are carried out coupling the 1⁺ ground state of⁶Li with both the resonant, 3⁺ ₁ state, and two non-resonant continuum states. The discretized continuum of the⁶Li (p,p)⁶Li (1.75–3.25 MeV) scattering data at E_p=65 MeV are also analysed on the same footing. In both the cases the effect of coupling is found to be minimal.     

Yrast excitations in129Te

Using an 11.4MeV/u¹³⁶Xe beam of the UNILAC accelerator of GSI and a^natW target, A=184 isobars were produced and separated by using an on-line mass separator. A new isomeric state was found in¹⁸⁴Hf. This state decays with a half-life of 48(10) s and emits three -rays of 73, 482, and 555 keV as well as lower-lying cascade transitions. The hindrance of the 73 keV-E1 transition with K=8 is compared with those of other even-even hafnium isotopes. The half-life of¹⁸⁴Lu was estimated to be between 15 and 25s.     

TheQ EC dependence of evidence for a 17-keV neutrino from the55Fe radiative decay

The internal bremsstrahlung spectrum of⁵⁵Fe was studied using HPGe detector in low background and reduced pileup conditions. The data show that the conclusion on the presence of a heavy mass neutrino strongly depends from the experimental decay energy value taken in the analysis. The decay energy was found to beQ _EC =231.37 ± 0.10 keV. The obtained results also show the need for the higher accuracyQ _EC used in the analysis of the existence of a 17-keV neutrino in the⁵⁵Fe decay.The authors would like to thank A. Plochocki and J. ylicz for helpful discussion and assistance.     

Systematic studies of fission fragment kinetic energy distributions by Langevin simulations

Fission fluctuation-dissipation dynamics of heavy nuclei has been studied using Langevin Monte Carlo simulations. The covariant form of the fission transport equation and the coefficients related to it are investigated. To learn about the influence of the dynamics from the ground state to the saddle point on the kinetic energy distributions we have studied various systems and compared the calculations both starting from the ground state and from the saddle point. Both the mean total kinetic energy of the fission fragments and its variances can fit with the experimental values in terms of a finite neck radius as scission condition.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Intermittency in the Fisher's droplet model

Intermittent behaviour of fragment multiplicity distributions in the nuclear liquid-gas phase transition is studied in terms of the droplet model of Fisher. The anomalous fractal dimensions are compared with data on heavy ion reactions and classical molecular dynamics simulations. A signature of the transition in the anomalous fractal dimensions is shown.We thank Profs. S. Ayik, M. Di Toro and V. Kondratyev for discussions. One of us (T.K.) acknowledges the support of INFN-LNS.