Large-angle elastic scattering of α-particles from 20Ne and 22Ne

Resonances observed in the 177° (lab) excitation function of α-particles scattered elastically from ²⁰Ne are investigated in terms of a single Regge pole. The position of the pole in the complex angular momentum plane is determined from angular distributions measured at incident α-particle energies of 25.8 and 27.0 MeV, at which energy values prominent maxima were observed in the excitation function and the pole contribution to these angular distributions is therefore expected to be a maximum. The complete trajectory of the pole over the energy region investigated (24.6 to 31.7 MeV) is obtained by means of extrapolation. The pole trajectory across the surface absorption region of the target nucleus clearly shows the reason for the occurrence of only three large resonances in this energy region, the remaining resonances being attenuated considerably. An angular distribution obtained for ²²Ne(α, α)²²Ne at an incident energy of 27.0 MeV also indicates the presence of the Regge pole found for ²⁰Ne at the same energy, even though its strength is severely reduced due to the isotopic dependence effect.     

Radiative decays of unbound levels in 20Ne

Nine levels in the range 8.7 to 12.5 MeV in ²⁰Ne have been investigated with the ¹⁶O(α, γ)²⁰Ne and ¹⁶O(α, α')¹⁶O¹(6.13 MeV) reactions using a differentially pumped windowless gas target. Three of the levels have not been observed previously in these reactions, and new information has been obtained for most of the others. In particular, the 11.27 MeV 1^? level is shown to have T = 1, a result of relevance to a proposed parity violation experiment, and the analogue of the 1.97 MeV (3^?T = 1) level in ²⁰F is shown to lie at 12.25 MeV in ²⁰Ne rather than at 12.39 MeV as proposed previously. In addition, the 12.25 MeV level has a width Γ < 1 keV, in contrast to the value Γ ～ 5 keV reported in other work. The electromagnetic transition rates for positive parity T = 1 states in ²⁰Ne are compared with shell-model calculations.     

The 20Ne(12C,p)31P, 20Ne(12C,d)30P and 20Ne(12C, α)28Si reactions in the region of the coulomb barrier

The excitation functions of the ²⁰Ne(¹²C, p)³¹P, ²⁰Ne(¹²C, d)³⁰P. and ²⁰Ne(¹²C, α)²⁸ Si reactions were measured at bombarding energies between 6.9 and 16.9 MeV (c.m.) by steps of 156 keV, at an average lab angle of 2.82°. The average coherence width of states in the compound nucleus, ³²S, populated in the reactions was deduced through the analysis of the fluctuations in the measured excitation functions. The result agrees with the average compound nucleus width predicted by the Hauser-Feshbach expression. The fluctuation analysis shows that these reactions proceed mainly through the formation of a compound nucleus. A cross correlation analysis revealed that the fluctuations in the different excitation functions are statistically independent and that there is no evidence of intermediate structure resonances.     

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.     

Inelastic processes in the 19F(3He,d)20Ne reaction

We have examined the role of inelastic processes in the ¹⁹F(³He, d)²⁰Ne reaction. By coupling three levels in both the entrance and exit channels it was found that the inelastic processes were able to account for both the magnitude and rather flat shape of the angular distribution for the 4.25 MeV 4⁺ level observed in the ¹⁹F(³He, d)²⁰Ne reaction at 16 MeV bombarding energy. In contrast the DWBA could not account for the data. The magnitude of the inelastic processes was found to be quite sensitive to some of the optical model parameters involved. The DWBA predictions for the 0⁺ and 2⁺ cross sections were modified by the inelastic processes requiring some adjustment of the spectroscopic amplitudes to account for the data.     

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.     

Measurements of the radiative widths of the first T = 1, 2+ state of 20Ne and their relationship to analog β-decays

The radiative widths for decays of the ²⁰Ne T = 1, 2⁺ (10.27 MeV) state were measured by resonance α-capture in the reaction ¹⁶O(α, γ)²⁰Ne. A special windowless gas-cell target yielded a low-background spectrum enabling six γ-branches to be observed with a Ge(Li) detector. The six branches correspond to decays from the 10.27 MeV level to the following levels: 2⁺(7.83 MeV), 2⁺(7.42 MeV), 3^?(5.62 MeV), 2^?(4.97 MeV), 2⁺(1.63 MeV) and 0⁺(g.s.). The branching ratios and radiative widths Γ_γ to these levels are: 7.83 MeV [(0.22 ± 0.06)%, 0.008 ± 0.002 eV], 7.42 MeV [(6.9 ± 0.4)%, 0.31 ± 0.04 eV], 5.62 MeV [(2.1 ± 0.2)%, 0.097 ± 0.014 eV], 4.97 MeV [(1.3 ± 0.1)%, 0.060 ± 0.008 eV], 1.63 MeV [(88.9 ± 0.5)%, 4.08 ± 0.43 eV] and 0.0 MeV [(0.64 ± 0.14)%, 0.029 ± 0.008 eV]. The radiative widths to the 1.63 MeV and 7.42 MeV levels are used to determine the CVC predictions of the weak magnetism form factors and their effects on certain β-decay observables are evaluated.     

Yrast and high-spin states in 22Ne

High-spin states in ²²Ne have been investigated by the reactions ¹¹B(¹³C, d)²²Ne and ¹³(¹¹B, d)²²Ne up to $\text{E}{}^1\text{～- 19}\text{MeV}$. Yrast states were observed at 11.02 MeV (8⁺) and 15.46 MeV (10⁺) excitation energy. A backbending in ²²Ne is observed around spin 8⁺. The location of high-spin states I ≦ 10 is discussed in terms of the rotational band structure, Strutinsky-type calculations, and pure shell-model predictions.     

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.     

The 22Ne(d,n) 23Na reaction

Absolute differential cross sections are determined for 32 states from the ²²Ne(d, n) ²³Na reaction by the neutron time-of-flight method. A gaseous ²²Ne target was bombarded with 5.5 MeV deuterons and angular distributions taken from 0° to 160°. In addition yield curves were taken at a fixed angle of 10° in 0.5 MeV steps from 2.5 to 5.5 MeV. The analysis of both types of data used computer programs for DWBA and compound-nucleus calculations. With two exceptions and three additions the l_p values determined in the present experiment agree with those of a recent (τ, d) experiment on the same target nucleus. The two previous (τ, d) experiments show considerable differences in proton transfer strengths to various states. The present experiment agrees well with the one which showed generally lower strengths for individual states, and hence with an assumption of greater spreading of the single-particle strength. The implications of those results on the Nilsson-model scheme for ²³Na are discussed.     

Study of the 19F(p, γ)20Ne radiative capture reaction from 0.2–1.2 MeV

The ¹⁹F(p, γ)²⁰Ne radiative capture reaction has been investigated for proton energies of 0.2–1.2 MeV. Excitation functions of γ-rays arising from capture reactions have been measured and the properties of known J^π = J^?J+1 resonances were studied. From the branching ratio and angular distribution measurements, the partial widths for gamma ray and proton emission of the 13.88 MeV level in ²⁰Ne were obtained, and J^π = 2⁺, T = 1 assignments for this resonance at E_P = 1091keV were made. Lower upper limit for the total width Γ = 0.8 keV has been obtained.     

Lifetime of the 6+ member of the ground-state band in 22Ne

Mean lifetimes of levels in ²²Ne have been measured by the Doppler-shift attenuation method using the inverse reaction ⁴He(¹⁹F, pγ)²²Ne. The Doppler-broadened lineshapes observed at 0° were analyzed using scaled experimental stopping powers and give the following results for each of the following levels (energy in keV and lifetime in fs): 4457 ( < 15), 5147 (1300 ± 500), 5522 (27 ± 4), 5641 ( < 20), 6311 (70 ± 10), 6345 ( < 15), 6636 ( < 20) and 6817 ( < 15). The lifetime of the 6311 keV 6⁺ level is particularly interesting for testing model predictions. The large basis shell model calculations of Preedom and Wildenthal are in good agreement with the experimental B(E2) values for the 2⁺, 4⁺ and 6⁺ members of the ground-state band.     

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.     

Three particle reactions observed from 10Ne + 12C at 160 MeV

Coincidences between light particles (Z ? 4) and heavy ions (A ? 9) have been measured for the ²⁰Ne + ¹²C reaction at $\text{E}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>lab</mtext>}}\text{(}{}^{20}\text{Ne}\text{) = 160}\text{MeV}$. α, ¹⁶O events from the ¹²C(²⁰Ne, α¹⁶O)¹²C reaction and α, ²⁰Ne events from ¹²C(²⁰Ne, α²⁰Ne)⁸Be have been found. Energy distributions and angular correlations of these events are consistent with α-decay from the intermediate nuclei ²⁰Ne and ²⁴Mg formed by inelastic scattering and α-transfer in a first reaction step.     

A study of the 18O(6Li,d)22Ne reaction at 32 MeV

Results from a study of the ¹⁸O(⁶Li, d)²²Ne reaction at a ⁶Li energy of 32 MeV are reported. The L-dependence of the shapes of the measured angular distributions provide a check on recent J^π assignments for some of the high-lying levels in ²²Ne. A finite range distorted wave analysis assuming a direct cluster transfer has been used to extract from the data α-particle spectroscopic strengths for most of the natural parity levels populated below 8 MeV of excitation. These strengths are compared with theoretical predictions for those few states for which a definite correspondence can be made between the calculated and experimental levels of ²²Ne. For transitions to the members of the ground-state band, the observed strengths disagree with the predictions. This disagreement has also been observed in the ¹⁶O(⁶Li, d) reaction and its cause is not understood. It is in marked contrast with the good agreement found for (⁶Li, d) reactions on targets of mass 20 ≦ A ≦ 24.     

Spin and parity assignments for 23Na levels from the 19F(α, p)22Ne reaction

Resonances were found in the 120° and 160° excitation functions for the ¹⁹F(α, p_o)²²Ne reaction between E = 2.5 and 5.0 MeV corresponding to ²³Na levels at excitation energies between 12.56 and 14.51 MeV. Twenty-one on-resonance angular distributions were analysed with single-level and two-level theory to extract ²³Na spin and parity information. The results of an earlier experiment were analysed by the same procedure, extending the diagnostics down to a ²³Na excitation energy of 11.55 MeV. The analysis incorporated an optical potential for the α-particle consistent with previous channel-spin-$\text{1}\text{2}$ reaction studies and α-induced reaction data.     

Recoil-distance measurements of g-factors for 24Mg(21+) and 20Ne(21+)

Time-differential recoil-into-vacuum measurements have been performed with a plunger on the first-excited I^π = 2⁺ states of ²⁴Mg and ²⁰Ne. The states were populated by the reactions ¹²C(¹⁶O, α)²⁴Mg and ¹²C(¹²C, α)²⁰Ne. The measured anisotropy of the α-γ angular correlation was greatly increased by means of a vertical slit on the annular particle detector. Values of $\text{¦g¦= 0.51 ± 0.02}\text{and}\text{0.54 ± 0.04}$ have been deduced for the ²⁴Mg and ²⁰Ne g-factors, respectively. The mean lives of these states have been determined as τ_m = 2.09 ± 0.13 ps and 0.8 ± 0.2 ps, respectively. Various theoretical calculations are discussed and compared with the measured g-factors.The analysis of the measurement also yields values for the populations of electronic states contributing to the hyperfine interaction. For ²⁰Ne the populations of the different electronic configurations are compared with the results of a separate time-integral measurement, in which the correlations were measured for each ionic state separately. Large fractions of two-electron excited states are found to contribute.     

Nuclear level widths in 113Sb from particle-X-ray coincidences

The particle-X-ray coincidence method is applied in (p, p₀) and (p, p′) reactions on ¹¹² Sn at 7.138, 10 and 12 MeV proton energy to measure the width of compound nuclear states in ¹¹³Sb. The united-atom K X-ray intensities observed in coincidence with inelastic proton scattering (35⁺⁷⁸_?35, 80 ± 50 and 250 ± 80 counts at the respective energies) yield mean level widths for ¹¹³Sb of ?3.9 eV, 16.6 ± 15.1 eV, and 19.1 ± 11.1 eV at the excitation energies 10.1, 13 and 15 MeV, respectively. From X-ray coincidences with elastic proton scattering, upper limits for the compound elastic component are derived. No united-atom X-rays were detected in short runs at 7 MeV on ⁹²Mo and ¹⁰⁶Cd. A comparison of nuclear state widths from X-ray method, crystal blocking technique and fluctuation averaging is given.