Some characteristics of nuclear densities

We propose a simple expression for nuclear densities, which brings out the following important nuclear properties: (i) shell effects in proton and neutron central densities, (ii) approximate global constancy of neutron central densities, (iii) approximate constancy ofRN ^?1/3 and R_pZ^?1/3 whereR is the nuclear half-density radius andR _p is the rms radius of the proton density, (iv) larger surface thickness and rms radius for neutron density as compared to those for proton density.     

Nuclear matter sizes and isoscalar octupole transition rates of204,206,208Pb from 104 MeV α-particle scattering

Differential cross sections for elastic and inelastic scattering of 104 MeVα-particles from^204,206,208Pb were measured with high angular accuracy. The experimental results were analysed on the basis of a semimicroscopic folding model in order to determine the matter distributions at the nuclear surface and the transition densities. Using phenomenological parametrizations of the densities the analyses of elastic scattering yield rms radii of 〈r ²〉^1/2=5.55±0.06 (²⁰⁴Pb), 5.57±0.06 (²⁰⁶Pb), 5.63±0.05 (²⁰⁸Pb) fm. Various sensitivities affecting the results were studied. From the inelastic cross sections for the 3 ₁ ^? -states octupole transition probabilities and transition radii were derived by using different methods proposed in literature.     

Statistical properties of excited nuclei in the mass range 47 ? A ? 59

Level densities and their energy dependences for nuclei in the mass range of 47 ?? A ?? 59 were determined from the results obtained by measuring neutron-evaporation spectra in respective (p, n) reactions. The spectra of neutrons originating from the (p, n) reactions on ⁴⁷Ti, ⁴⁸Ti, ⁴⁹Ti, ⁵³Cr, ⁵⁴Cr, ⁵⁷Fe, and ⁵⁹Co nuclei were measured in the proton-energy range of 7?C11 MeV. These measurements were performed with the aid of a fast-neutron spectrometer by the time-of-flight method over the base of the EGP-15 pulsed tandem accelerator installed at the Institute for Physics and Power Engineering (Obninsk, Russia). A high resolution of the spectrometer and its stability in the time of flight made it possible to identify reliably discrete low-lying levels along with the continuum part of neutron spectra. Our measured data were analyzed within the statistical equilibrium and preequilibrium models of nuclear reactions. The respective calculations were performed with the aid of the Hauser-Feshbach formalismof statistical theory supplemented with the generalized model of a superfluid nucleus, the back-shifted Fermi gas model, and the Gilbert-Cameron composite formula for nuclear level densities. Nuclear level densities for ⁴⁷V, ⁴⁸V, ⁴⁹V, ⁵³Mn, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁵⁷Co, and ⁵⁹Ni and their energy dependences were determined. The results are discussed and compared with available experimental data and with recommendations of model-based systematics.     

Proton transitions in22Na(n,p)22Ne reaction

The nuclear reactions induced by thermal and 2 keV neutrons on²²Na radioactive nucleus were studied. For the thermal neutrons a more accurate value of²²Na (n,p)²²Ne reaction cross section was obtained. A weak proton transition to the²²Ne ground state was observed. The upper limits of cross sections for thermal neutron induced (n,∞) reaction and (n, p) reaction with 2 keV neut·rons are given.     

Differential neutron-proton squeeze-out

The elliptic flow (squeeze-out) of neutrons, protons and light complex particles in reactions of neutron-rich systems at relativistic energies is proposed as an observable, sensitive to the strength of the symmetry term in the equation of state at supra-normal densities. Preliminary results from a study of the existing FOPI/LAND data for ¹⁹⁷Au + ¹⁹⁷Au collisions at 400 A MeV with the UrQMD model favor a moderately soft symmetry term with a density dependence of the potential term proportional to (ρ/ρ₀)^γ with γ=0.6±0.3.     

Cross-section of the production of tritium in interactions of neutrons with 10B nuclei

Tritium production reactions are important from the standpoint of ensuring the safe operation of nuclear power plants. ¹⁰B isotopes are widely used both for controlling the power level of nuclear reactors and for shielding against thermal neutrons. The main process with ¹⁰B that results in the production of tritium is ¹⁰B(n, αt)⁴He. The gaseous target technique developed at the Institute for Physics and Power Engineering allows the energy of all charged reaction products to be totally absorbed and thus useful events to be easily discriminated from the background.     

Small-angle neutron scattering study of radiation defects in synthetic quartz

The superatomic structure of synthetic quartz single crystals with dislocation densities ρ = 54 and 570 cm^?2 was studied in the initial state and after irradiation with fast neutrons with energies E _n > 0.1 MeV in a WWRM reactor (St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute) in the fluence range F = 0.2 × 10¹⁷?5.0 × 10¹⁸ neutrons/cm². Weak irradiation with F = 0.2 × 10¹⁷ neutrons/cm² causes only slight structural changes, whereas appreciable generation of defects with radii of gyration r _g ～ 1–2 nm and R _G ～ 40–50 nm occurs at F = 7.7 × 10¹⁷?5.0 × 10¹⁸ neutrons/cm². As the fluence increases further, the number and volume fraction of point defects, as well as extended (channels ～2 nm in radius) and globular (amorphous phase nuclei) defects, increase.     

On the mechanism of the (n, 2n) reaction with 14MeV projectiles on127I and209Bi

The angular and spectral distributions of coincident neutrons from the reactions¹²⁷I(n, 2n)¹²⁶I and²⁰⁹Bi(n, 2n)²⁰⁸Bi have been measured with two time-of-flight detectors at the incident energy 14.1 MeV. Neutron emission has been studied for reaction anglesθ _lab between 10° and 150° (relative angles from 60° to 270°). Energy spectra, angular distributions and coincidence yields are compared with statistical model calculations including preequilibrium decay modes, and nuclear level density and spin cut off parameters are derived.     

Possibility of implementing a nondirect experiment aimed at determining the cross section for nucleon interaction with an excited nucleus

With the aid of experimental data on the level densities in the even-odd tungsten isotopes ^183,185,187W as determined in the respective (n, 2ρ) reactions, the ratio of the cross section for the interaction of an excited nucleus with a neutron to its counterpart calculated on the basis of the optical model of the nucleus was obtained from the spectra of evaporated neutrons in the reaction ¹⁸¹Ta(p, n)¹⁸¹W. A significant local increase in this ratio is qualitatively interpreted as that which is due to the possible increase in the penetrability of the nuclear surface for nucleon reaction products because of the effect of phonon-type excitations. Sources of possible nonstandard systematic errors in experimentally determining the level density in an arbitrary nucleus at energies below the nucleon binding energy B _n are analyzed. The extraction of information from the distribution of the intensities of cascades belonging to the nucleon and photon type is simulated. The resulting information may be highly reliable if use is made of the entire body of experimental data on the nucleus under analysis.     

Influence of the time-step on the production of free nucleons and pions from heavy-ion collisions around 1 GeV/nucleon

By considering different values of the time-step for the potential updates in the ultra-relativistic quantum molecular dynamics(UrQMD) model, we examine its influence on observables, such as the yield and collective flow of nucleons and pions from heavyion collisions around 1 GeV/nucleon. It is found that these observables are affected to some extent by the choice of the time-step,and the impact of the time-step on the pion-related observables is more visible than that on the nucleon-related ones. However,its effect on the π-/π+yield ratio and elliptic flow difference between neutrons and protons, which have been taken as sensitive observables for probing the density-dependent nuclear symmetry energy at high densities, is fairly weak.     

Calculation of Spectra of Neutrons and Charged Particles Produced in a Target of a Neutron Generator

An algorithm for calculating the spectra of neutrons and associated charged particles produced in the target of a neutron generator is detailed. The products of four nuclear reactions ³H(d,n)⁴He, ²H(d,n)³He, ²H(d,p)³H, and ³He(d,p)⁴He are analyzed. The results of calculations are presented in the form of neutron spectra for several emission angles and spectra of associated charged particles emitted at an angle of 180° for a deuteron initial energy of 0.13 MeV.     

Nucleons produced in inelastic electron scattering with a deuterium target

We have measured at ?k² = 0.6 (GeV/c)² and W = 2.3 GeV the inclusive electroproduction cross sections for final-state neutrons and protons from a deuterium target. By comparison with previous data from a proton target, we present cross sections for inclusive nucleon production from neutrons which show great similarity to those from protons. There is evidence that ?⁰ production is present with essentially the same strength as with a proton target.     

Fine Structure of Beta Decay Strength Function and Anisotropy of Isovector Nuclear Dencity Component Oscillations in Deformed Nuclei

The experimental measurement data on the fine structure of beta-decay strength function S_β(E) in spherical, transitional, and deformed nuclei are analyzed. Modern high-resolution nuclear spectroscopy methods made it possible to identify the splitting of peaks in S_β(E) for deformed nuclei. By analogy with splitting of the peak of E1 giant dipole resonance (GDR) in deformed nuclei, the peaks in S_β(E) are split into two components from the axial nuclear deformation. In this report, the fine structure of S_β(E) is discussed. Splitting of the peaks connected with the oscillations of neutrons against protons (E1GDR), of proton holes against neutrons (peaks in S_β(E) of β⁺/EC-decay), and of protons against neutron holes (peaks in S_β(E) of β^–-decay) is discussed.     

Results of search for heavy neutron clusters in nuclear fission

Experiments on search for heavy neutron clusters in the reaction of induced fission of ²³⁵U nuclei by neutrons have been carried out on the nuclear reactor, using the activation method. Two hypothetical reactions have been investigated: ⁹²Mo, ⁹⁴Mo, ⁹⁵Mo, ⁹⁶Mo, ⁹⁸Mo, ¹⁰⁰Mo(^xn, (x ? k)n)¹⁰⁵Mo → ¹⁰⁵Tc → ¹⁰⁵Ru → ¹⁰⁵Rh → ¹⁰⁵Pd, with a minimum transfer of 5 to 13 neutrons to activated Mo isotopes, and ¹²²Te(^xn, (x ? k)n)^{122 + k} Te → (β^?) → ^{122 + k} I, with a minimum transfer of 10 neutrons to activated ¹²²Te isotope. Radiochemical methods for selecting technetium isotopes from molybdenum and iodine from tellurium were used. For the first reaction, the upper limit on the probability of neutron cluster formation was found to be P _k ≤ 10^?8 per fission. For the second reaction, indications to the existence of heavy neutron clusters were obtained.     

(n, α) Reactions on light nuclei atE n =13.9 MeV

The reactions¹⁴N (n, α)¹¹B and¹⁰B(n, α)⁷Li were studied with 13.9 MeV neutrons using a counter telescope. Differential cross sections were measured for the transitions to the ground states and to some excited states. The results provide evidence for a strong contribution from a direct reaction mechanism. Systematics of integrated cross sections for the ground state transitions of all known (n, α) reactions on light nuclei with 14 MeV neutrons is also given.     

Experiments on screening effect in deuteron fusion reactions at extremely low energies

The enhanced electron screening effect in nuclear reactions taking place in dense astrophysical plasmas is extremely important for determination of stellar reaction rates in terrestrial laboratories as well as in prediction of cross sections enhancement in interiors of stars such as White and Brown Dwarfs or Giant Planets. This effect resulting in reduction of the nuclear Coulomb potential by the atomic electrons has been confirmed in many laboratory experiments. Unfortunately, experimental screening energies are much higher than the theoretical predictions and the reason for that remains unknown. Here, we present absorbing results of the experiment studying d + d nuclear reactions in different deuterized metallic targets under ultra high vacuum conditions. The total cross sections and angular distributions of the ²H(d,p)³H and ²H(d,n)³He reactions have been measured using a deuteron beam of energies between 8 and 30 keV provided by the electron cyclotron ion source. The atomic cleanness of the target surface has been secured by combining Ar sputtering of the target and Auger electrons spectroscopy. Due to application of an on-line analysis method, the homogeneity of the implanted deuteron densities could be continuously monitored. We will discuss probable causes of the large discrepancy between theoretical and experimental data.     

Progress towards determining the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy using heavy-ion reactions

The latest development in determining the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy using heavy-ion collisions is reviewed. Within the IBUU04 version of an isospin- and momentum-dependent transport model using a modified Gogny effective interaction, recent experimental data from NSCL/MSU on isospin diffusion are found to be consistent with a nuclear symmetry energy of E _sym(ρ)≈31.6(ρ/ρ₀)^1.05 at subnormal densities. Predictions on several observables sensitive to the density dependence of the symmetry energy at supranormal densities accessible at GSI and the planned Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) are also made.     

Structure in momentum-transfer for (pπ−) systems produced in diffractive dissociation of neutrons on protons

The four-momentum transfer distribution of (pπ^?) systems produced in the neutron dissociation reaction n + p → (pπ^?) + p has substantial structure which depends strongly on the mass and on the angular decay properties of the produced (pπ^?) system. No significant energy dependence is observed in the data for incident neutrons in the momentum range between 50 GeV/c and 300 GeV/c. The results are compared with a Deck-type of model.     

Messung der Neutronenpolarisation bei der Reaktion12C(d,n 0)13N mit Hilfe der Mott-Schwinger-Streuung

The polarization of neutrons produced in the reaction¹²C(d, n ⁰)¹³N was measured. Deuterons from the Karlsruhe isochronous cyclotron were used to induce this reaction at 51,5 MeV laboratory energy. The degree of polarization was determined by using the special features of Mott-Schwinger scattering. With an uranium scatterer analysing efficiencies of up to 0.92 can be obtained at very small angles (0.23°). The analysing efficiency can be calculated if the differential cross section at 0° and the total cross section is known. These quantities were experimentally determined. The differential cross section for 49.4 MeV neutrons, scattered by uranium, was measured between 0.88° and 2.10°. By an extrapolation the value 43.4±2.6 b/sr was found for the nuclear differential cross section at zero degree. A total cross section ofσ _t=4.80±0.22 b was obtained. The neutron polarization was measured at a reaction angle of 24.5° and the result isP=?0.45±0.07. This value is fairly above the semiclassical 1/3 limit and can be only explained, if spin orbit forces are taken into account. For (d, n) reactions this is the first neutron-polarization measurement above an energy of 20 MeV.