Search for intermediate structure in 36Ar via the 24Mg(12C, α)32S reaction

The ²⁴Mg(¹²C,α)³²S reaction was investigated in the energy range E_c.m. = 11.9–19.4 MeV by measuring excitation functions of the α₀ and α₁ groups. Angular distributions (θ_c.m. = 12–97°) were also measured at a number of energies. The excitation functions were subjected to a statistical analysis by means of evaluating correlation and deviation functions; no statistically significant anomalies were found. The α₀ angular distributions display fairly high angular-momentum selectivity as pairs of Legendre polynomials provide acceptable fits to most of them: however, only one, at E_c.m. = 18.1 MeV, is strongly dominated by a single partial wave, l = 11. Excitation functions as well as angular distributions of both α₀ and α₁ cross sections were found to be in good qualitative agreement with Hauser-Feshbach calculations throughout the energy range studied. Thus, the analysis of the data shows that intermediate resonant structures, if present, are weak and interfere strongly with the statistical compound-nucleus background, which effectively prevents their clear observation and identification in the present study.     

Formation and deexcitation of the 32S compound nucleus via the 20Ne+12C and 16O+16O entrance channels

Reaction-product cross sections following ²⁰Ne+¹²C and ¹⁶O + ¹⁶O collisions at several incident energies have been measured with a E-ΔE counter telescope. They are compared to statistical model predictions. Fair agreement is obtained for the high-Z evaporation residue cross sections, but a strong discrepancy is observed for the lower-Z reaction products. Possible explanations are discussed. It is shown that the compound nucleus formation does not depend on the structure of the colliding ions in the entrance channel and also that it is not limited by the ³²S yrast line.     

16O, 24, 26Mg, 28Si, 32S, 40Ca(α, 12C) and multi-α-cluster transfer reactions

The (α, ¹²C) reaction has been studied on a variety of nuclei, A = 16 to 40, at E_α = 90.3 MeV. The data indicate a rapid fall-off of cross sections with increasing target mass, approximately as A_t^{?5 ± 1}. This and other systematics are used to estimate cross sections for multi-α-cluster transfer reactions in heavy nuclei and suggest σ_T < 10^?34 cm² consistent with present experimental limits. The data for ²⁴Mg(α, ¹²C)¹⁶O has been studied in more detail and indicates a selective population of final states including ¹⁶O g.s., with oscillatory angular distributions in some instances. Finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation calculations for direct ⁸Be pickup have been performed utilizing cluster overlap amplitudes obtained with zero-order SU(3) wave functions. The calculations are in qualitative, and often quantitative, agreement with shapes and absolute magnitudes of the measured angular distributions although the cross sections for certain α-cluster states (2⁺, E_x ≈ 7 MeV; 4⁺, E_x ≈ 10.3 MeV) are greatly overestimated with this model. Other more complicated mechanisms, such as successive α-transfer, cannot be excluded. The systematics of the calculated ⁸Be cluster overlaps and the calculated and measured (α, ¹²C) cross sections are investigated, and implications for multi-α-cluster transfer reactions are discussed.     

The 12C(18O, α)26Mg and 12C(18O, 8Be)22Ne reaction

Excitation functions for α-emission leading to the ground and first excited states of ²⁶Mg and ⁸Be emission leading to the ground and first and second excited states of ²²Ne have been measured at several forward angles for E_c.m. = 15 to 22.4 MeV. There is little evidence for correlated structure. The angular distribution at 16.5 MeV for the α + ²⁶Mg(g.s.) channel is rather structureless while that for the ⁸Be+²²Ne(g.s.) channel appears to be dominated by a J = 13 contribution. Statistical model calculations indicate that much of the yield for both the α and ⁸Be exit channel is compound nuclear in origin, with some indication of a larger direct contribution for the ⁸Be channel at the lower end of the bombarding energy range.     

12C(7Li,t)16O and stellar helium fusion

The reaction ¹²C(⁷Li, t)¹⁶O has been studied at $\text{E(}{}^7\text{Li}\text{) = 34}\text{MeV}$ with the LASL tandem accelerator and QDDD magnetic spectrometer. Angular distributions to levels with E_x < 11 MeV have been obtained from 0° to 90°, including 0°. The results have been analyzed with finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation theory. The α-particle spectroscopic factors and reduced widths obtained are compared with those calculated with group theory (SU(3)) and other models. The analysis of data for the 7.1 and 9.6 MeV J^π = 1^? levels, which are of great importance in stellar helium buring, yields a ratio, R, of dimensionless reduced α-widths $\text{θ}{}^2{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>a</mtext>}}\text{(7.1}\text{MeV}\text{)}\text{θ}{}^2{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>a</mtext>}}\text{(9.6}\text{MeV}\text{)}\text{= 0.35b ± 0.13}$. The observed line width of the 9.6 MeV level (Γ_c.m. = 390 ± 60 keV) is less than the accepted value (Γ_c.m. = 510 ± 60 keV) and implies θ²_a(9.6 MeV) ≈ 0.6. These results as well as data for the 6.92 MeV J^π = 2⁺ and 10.35 MeV J^π = 4⁺ “α-cluster” states indicate 0.09 < θ²_a(7.1 MeV) < 0.33 with a mean value θ²_a(7.1 MeV) = 0.14 ± 0.04. The implication for stellar helium burning is discussed.     

12C(12C, 8Be)16O angular distributions and excitation functions between 35 and 69 MeV bombarding energy

An array of eight detectors has been developed for identifying the particle unstable ⁸Be nucleus from nuclear reactions with high detection efficiency. Absolute cross sections have been measured for the reaction ¹²C(¹²C, ⁸Be_g.s.)¹⁶O to the ground state and to several excited states in ¹⁶O. Excitation functions at seven angles from 15° to 45° (lab) in 5° steps have been measured for bombarding energies between E¹²_C(lab) = 35 and 69 MeV. Excitation functions were obtained for the following states in the residual nucleus ¹⁶O which were found to be strongly populated: g.s.(0⁺); 6.1 MeV (0⁺, 3^?); 6.9 MeV (2⁺); 10.4 MeV (4⁺); 11.1 MeV (4⁺); 14.7 MeV (6⁺,…) and 16.3 MeV (6⁺,…). The energy range is covered in 250 keV (c.m.) steps; at certain energy ranges in ¹²⁵ keV or 50keV steps. All excitation functions exhibit a strong energy dependence of the cross section; pronounced gross structures with superimposed fine structures, similar to those observed for ¹²C+¹²C elastic and inelastic scattering at these energies, are observed. At 19.3 MeV, where resonant structures were observed in the reactions ¹²C(¹²C, p)²³Na, ¹²C(¹²C, n)²³Mg and ¹²C(¹²C, d)²²Na, no resonance is found for the reaction studied here. At 60, 61 and 63 MeV angular distributions have been measured in 1° and 2.5°(lab) angular steps. The excitation functions have been analyzed in terms of Ericson fluctuations and cross-correlation functions.     

Three-nucleon transfer on 12C: The 12C(α, p)15N reaction at 96.8 MeV

Angular distributions of protons from the ¹²C(α, p)¹⁵N reaction have been measured over the angular range from 10–70° at an α-particle bombarding energy of 96.8 MeV. Well defined particle groups are observed up to an excitation energy of 18 MeV in ¹⁵N. The relatively small number of states excited implies a selectivity both in the reaction mechanism and in structure effects. DWBA calculations using a semi-microscopic three-nucleon form factor have been performed using several different sets of wave functions. Good agreement in the ratio σ_exp/σ_th is obtained for most states using the ¹⁵N wave functions of de Meijer. The strongest state in the (α, p) spectrum is observed at 15.397 MeV in ¹⁵N and DWBA calculations give good agreement for a $\text{13}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ assignment. This state has been observed only in other three-nucleon transfer reactions involving heavy ions. The recent discovery of a $\text{9}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ state at 10.693 MeV in a p+¹⁴C resonance measurement is supported by our analysis.     

Mass and excited levels of the neutron-rich nuclei 73Zn and 74Zn studied with the 76Ge(14C, 17O) and (14C, 16O) reactions

The ⁷⁶Ge(¹⁴C, ^{16, 17}O)^{74, 73}Zn reactions have been studied at 72 MeV bombarding energy. The mass excesses of ⁷³Zn and ⁷⁴Zn were determined to be ?65.41 ± 0.04 and ?65.62 ± 0.04 MeV, respectively. In addition, previously unknown excited levels were identified in both nuclei. The structure of ⁷³Zn is discussed in terms of HFB calculations.     

Search for resonances in 12C(9Be, α)17O

Excitation functions at 7° (lab) have been measured from E_c.m. = 5.1 to 11.4 MeV in approximately 114 keV steps for 15 groups of final states in ¹⁷O populated by the ¹²C(⁹Be, α) reaction. Statistical tests have been used to locate possible non-statistical structure in the excitation functions. Possible anomalies were found near E_c.m. = 6.3, 7.5, 8.9 and 9.7 MeV. Angular distributions were measured at E_c.m. = 9.20, 9.71 and 10.23 MeV for the three lowest excited states in ¹⁷O. The data have been compared with Hauser-Feshbach calculations in addition to the following reaction mechanisms: compound plus a single resonance, compound plus interfering resonances and compound plus direct reactions.     

Spectroscopy of A = 16 from 13C(6Li,t)16O

The ¹³C(⁶Li, t)¹⁶O reaction has been studied at 34 MeV. Selective population of narrow states is observed up to 21 MeV excitation in ¹⁶O. This reaction populates strongly both unnatural-and natural-parity states that have little or no ¹²C + α₀ width. The measured angular distributions are compared with Hauser-Feshbach and finite-range DWBA calculations. Reasonable agreement with the DWBA calculations is found for most of the states strongly populated. The widths of the narrow states populated in the 16–20 MeV excitation region are presented. Comparison of the present data with that from medium-energy inelastic scattering and other multiparticle transfer reactions is made.     

Optimum Q-values for the 58Ni(160O,12C) reaction well above the Coulomb barrier

The reaction ⁵⁸Ni(¹⁶O, ¹²C) has been studied at three incident energies, 60, 72 and 81 MeV, for a wide range of scattering angles. The angular and energy dependence of the optimum Q-value has been determined from the data. A simple optimum Q-value model which combines the recoil model of Siemens et al. with a concept of nuclear friction is proposed.     

The heavy-ion reaction channels of the system 16O + 16O

The reaction channels of the system ¹⁶O + ¹⁶O with outgoing heavy particles from lithium to magnesium have been measured using a ΔE-E telescope. Excitation functions from 49 to 65 MeV at θ_Lab = 30° and angular distributions from θ_Lab = 10° (20°) to 50° at E_Lab = 51.5 MeV are presented for the strong transitions. The excitation function of the ¹²C-²⁰Ne (4.25 MeV) channel shows a pronounced regular cross structure with peaks at 52 and 60 MeV. A selective excitation of certain states in the inelastic scattering and the ¹²C-²⁰Ne channel is observed; the yields of the other heavy-ion channels being weaker by at least one order of magnitude. An explanation of this phenomenon is given by considering the angular momentum matching between entrance and exit channels. Furthermore it is shown that no strong dependence of the cross sections on the transferred angular momentum or on the nuclear structure of the final states is observed. Possible implications of these results on the reaction mechanism are discussed.     

Energy dependence of transition strengths extracted from 12C(τ, α) and 16O(τ, α)

The (τ, α) reaction on ¹²C and ¹⁶O has been studied at 24 and 28 MeV bombarding energy. Differential cross sections have been obtained and analysed with DWBA to yield relative spectroscopic factors. The comparison with results obtained at lower bombarding energies shows that the strengths of some anomalous shell-model-forbidden transitions decrease with energy. This agrees qualitatively with the prediction of a reaction model which assumes a cluster substitution mechanism to explain the anomalous (τ, α) transitions.     

Rescattering and neutron-proton final-state interaction in the 12C(d,pn)12C reaction

The ¹²C(d, pn)¹²C reaction has been studied in a kinematically complete experiment at several energies and angles suitable for observing proton-neutron rescattering and sequential decay final-state interactions (FSI), with the aim of investigating the relative importance of the two reaction mechanisms. An increase of yield has been observed for all spectra in the region of low relative proton-neutron energy where both rescattering and sequential decay leading to the ¹S₀ final-state interaction are possible. No consistent fits to the data using only the rescattering graph were found and interference with other diagrams must be assumed to occur. The effect of isospin non-conservation is discussed. It is concluded that no reported measurements on this reaction require an exclusive interpretation in terms of a rescattering mechanism and therefore no reliable information on nuclear lifetimes can be obtained from these experiments.     

The 12C(9Be,n)20Ne reaction

A study of the ¹²C(⁹Be, n)²⁰Ne reaction has been carried out at bombarding energies of 16 and 24 MeV. The spectra at both incident energies are dominated by a consistent set of levels between an excitation energy of 7.3 ± 0.4 and 15.7 ± 0.3 MeV. The rotational band based on the K^π = 0₃⁺ state appears to be strongly populated. Based on this selectivity, additional evidence is provided in favor of identification of the 8⁺ state at 15.9 MeV with this 0₃⁺ band. Angular distributions measured at the higher bombarding energy are compared with statistical compound-nuclear calculations. It appears that a non-statistical mechanism is responsible for the reaction's selective population of states with 8p-4h configuration. Such a mechanism, involving the preferential breakup of the ⁹Be into ⁸Be plus a neutron, is discussed.     

Alpha-particle strengths from the 16O(6Li,d)20Ne reaction

The ¹⁶O(⁶Li, d)²⁰Ne reaction has been studied at bombarding energies of 20, 32 and 38 MeV. The α-particle spectroscopic strengths have been extracted for levels up to 12.15 MeV in excitation. Nondirect processes appear to contribute significantly to all levels at 20 MeV and to high spin levels (6⁺ and 8⁺) at 32 MeV. Strengths extracted for members of the ground state band assuming (sd)⁴ transfer are unequal at both 32 and 38 MeV, in marked contrast to theoretical predictions. To explain this, particle-hole correlations in ¹⁶O(g.s.), inelastic channel coupling in the reaction and perhaps other effects as well, have to be considered. Strengths extracted for members of excited bands and α-decay reduced widths compare poorly with each other and with simple SU(3) predictions.     

A study of the 26Mg(12C, 12B)26Al charge-exchange reaction

The reaction ²⁶Mg(¹²C, ¹²B)²⁶A1(5⁺, 3⁺) has been studied using a beam of 102 MeV of ¹²C. Shell-model, microscopic direct model and finite-range coupled reaction channel (CRC) calculations including recoil effects, have been performed, for comparison with the experimental data. DWBA calculations were performed for the intermediate states of interest in the ¹¹B + ²⁷Al and in the ¹³C + ²⁵Mg channels and these results were also compared with the experimental ones. The dominant reaction mechanism for ²⁶Mg(¹²C, ¹²B)²⁶Al(5⁺, 3⁺) appears to be the sequential mode.     

The reaction 14C(3He,n)16O and the coexistence model of 16O

The reaction ¹⁴C(³He, n)¹⁶O has been measured at a ³He bombarding energy of 25.4 MeV. The zero-degree differential cross section for the excitation of the three low lying 0⁺T = 0 states, at energies 0.0, 6.05 and 12.05 MeV are, respectively, 1.33 ± 0.10, 0.49 ± 0.10, and 0.50 ± 0.10 mb/sr These measured cross sections are in rough agreement with single-step zero-range DWBA calculations using an empirically determined ¹⁴C ground state wave function and in which the Brown and Green coexistence-model wave functions are used to describe the ¹⁶O 0⁺ states. The angular distribution of the transition to the ground state is measured between 0° and 32°.     

Energy dependence of the 24Mg(16O, 12C)28Si reaction

Excitation functions for the reaction ²⁴Mg(¹⁶O, ¹²C)²⁸Si(g.s., 2⁺₁) were measured at 5°(lab) in the energy range 32 < E_c.m. < 49 MeV. Although the resonant structure, previously observed at lower energies, becomes progressively weaker, three new correlated maxima have been observed near E_c.m. = 37.5, 40.2 and 43.5 MeV. Angular distribution measurements at these energies yield spin assignments, from P²_j(cos θ) comparisons, of 27, 29 and 31, respectively. Attempts to find a consistent optical-model fit to the elastic scattering in the entrance channel and an exact finite-range DWBA fit to the four-nucleon transfer reaction in this energy range were unsuccessful. Such a failure is to be expected if strong couplings between the elastic channel and inelastic channels of either the initial or final system are important. The features of the resonance phenomena in the transfer reaction are discussed within a band crossing model framework.