Possibility of Studying Neutron–Neutron Correlations in Halo Nuclei

An experimental investigation of the reaction of core pickup from ⁶He and ¹¹Li two-neutronhalo nuclei is proposed. In such experiments, neutron–neutron correlations in a halo nucleus will be assessed on the basis of the energy of a neutron–neutron quasibound state. A detailed kinematical simulation of the reaction ⁶He + ²H → ⁶Li + (nn) →⁶ Li + n + n is performed. It is shown that the energy of the quasibound state in question can determined from the shape of the energy spectrum of neutrons originating from the breakup of this state. In the proposed exclusive experiment, a beam of ⁶He (¹¹Li) nuclei with an energy of about 5 to 10 MeV per nucleon interacts with a deuterated-polyethylene target. This will permit detecting charged particles (⁶Li and ¹¹Be) and a neutron. On the basis of determining the energy of the neutron–neutron quasibound state, it will become possible to estimate the effective attraction between the valence neutrons in the field of the third particle (core).     

Fragmentation channels of relativistic 7Be nuclei in peripheral interactions

At the JINR Nuclotron, ⁷Li nuclei are accelerated. The charge-exchange reaction involving these nuclei at an external target provides a secondary 1.23-A-GeV ⁷Be beam. This beam is used to irradiate emulsion chambers. The mean free path λ_inel(⁷Be) = 14.0 ± 0.8 cm for inelastic ⁷Be interactions in an emulsion coincides within the errors with those for ⁶Li and ⁷Li nuclei. More than 10% of the ⁷Be events are associated with the peripheral interactions in which the total charge of the relativistic fragments is equal to the charge of the ⁷Be nucleus and in which charged mesons are not produced. An unusual ratio of the helium isotopes is revealed in the composition of the doubly charged fragments of the ⁷Be nuclei: the number of the ³He fragments is twice as large as that of the ⁴He fragments. Each of 50% of peripheral interaction events includes two doubly charged fragments. The channels of the ⁷Be fragmentation into charged fragments are presented. In 50% of events, the ⁷Be fragmentation occurs only into charged fragments without the emission of neutrons. The ⁴He + ³He channel dominates, whereas each of the ⁴He + d + p and ⁶Li + p channels constitutes 10%. Two events without neutron emission are observed in the ³He + t + p and ³He + d + d three-body channels. The mean free path for the coherent dissociation of relativistic ⁷Be nuclei into ⁴He + ³He is equal to 7 ± 1 m. The main features of the fragmentation of relativistic ⁷Be nuclei in such peripheral interactions are explained by the ³He + ⁴He two-cluster structure of the ⁷Be nucleus.     

The four-neutron system

The development of light, neutron-rich beams has opened new perspectives for the study of many-neutron systems in the last decade. Breakup experiments at GANIL are described, using beams of ^6,8He, ¹¹Li, ¹⁴Be and ¹⁵B at several tens of MeV/N. Our approach is based on the detection in coincidence of the breakup fragment and the neutrons in order to investigate the different correlations in the final state of these very neutron-rich systems, in particular, 2n correlations in ⁶He, ¹¹Li and ¹⁴Be, three-body correlations in ¹⁴Be, and 4n correlations in ⁸He and ¹⁴Be.     

Light Nuclei in the Continuum

The development of light, neutron-rich beams has opened in the last decade new perspectives for the study of many-neutron systems. Breakup experiments at GANIL are described, using beams of ^6,8He, ¹¹Li, ¹⁴Be and ¹⁵B at several tens of MeV/N. Our approach is based on the detection in coincidence of the breakup fragment and the neutrons in order to investigate the different correlations in the final state of these very neutron-rich systems. Several particular cases are discussed: fragment-n correlations in unbound ⁷He, ¹⁰Li and ⁹He; 2n correlations in ⁶He, ¹¹Li and ¹⁴Be; and three-body and 4n correlations in ⁸He and ¹⁴Be.     

Investigation of neutron and proton distributions of He,Li, and Be isotopes using the new Skyrme-Force parameters

The proton and neutron densities, root-mean-square (rms) radii of proton density and neutron density, and neutron skin thickness of ^4–10He, ^6–11Li, and ^7–12Be isotopes are calculated using Skyrme-Hartree-Fock method with SLy4, SLy5, SLy6, and SLy7 force parameters. The evaluated results are compared with experimental data. Also, the results of halo nuclei (^6,8He, ¹¹Li, and ¹¹Be) are compared with the results of other isotopes for selected nuclei having the same neutron configuration.     

(n,t) and (n, α) reactions on 9Be

A metallic ⁹Be target was bombarded with 13.99 MeV neutrons; α-particles, tritons and ⁶He recoil nuclei were detected and identified with a telescope consisting of two proportional counters and a solid state detector. Absolute differential cross sections were measured for the (n, t) reactions leading to the ground state and first excited state of ⁷Li and for the (n, α) reactions leading to the ground state and first excited state of ⁶He. No evidence for higher excited states in ⁶He has been found. An attempt has been made to interpret the observed (n, α) angular distributions in terms of the direct reaction model.     

Experimental investigation of highly excited states of the 5,6He and 5,6Li nuclei in the (6Li, 7Be) and (6Li, 7Li) one-nucleon pickup reactions

The (⁶Li, ⁷Be) and (⁶Li, ⁷Li) reactions on ⁶Li and ⁷Li nuclei were investigated in the angular interval 0°–20° in the laboratory system at a ⁶Li energy of 93 MeV. In addition to low-lying states of the ^5,6He and ^5,6Li nuclei, broad structures were observed near the t(³He)+d and t(³He)+t thresholds at the excitation energies of 16.75 (3/2⁺) and ～20 MeV (for ⁵He), 16.66 (3/2⁺) and ～20 MeV (⁵Li), 14.0 and 25 MeV (⁶He), and ～20 MeV (⁶Li). The angular distributions measured in the ⁷Li(⁶Li, ⁷Be)⁶He reaction for transitions to the ground state (0⁺) and excited states at E _x=1.8 MeV (2⁺) and 14.0 MeV of the ⁶He nucleus were analyzed by the finite-range distorted-wave method assuming the 1p-and 1s-proton pickup mechanism. The (⁶Li, ⁷Be) and (⁶Li, ⁷Li) reactions were shown to proceed predominantly through the one-step pickup mechanism, and the broad structures observed at high excitation energies are considered as quasimolecular states of the t(³He)+d and t(³He)+t types.     

Direct reactions involving exotic nuclei 8He and 5H

The angular distribution of 26 MeV/n ⁸He ions elastically scattered from a gaseous helium target was measured in a wide CM angular range. Results are discussed in terms of the potential scattering and neutron transfer. The angular distributions of elastic scattering as well as 1n and 2n transfer reactions of these ions on protons are presented. Finite-range DWBA calculations made for the 2n transfer reaction leading to the ground (0⁺) and excited (2⁺) states of ⁶He underestimate the cross section for 2n transfer to ⁶He(0⁺). Analysis of data for this reaction channel suggests the importance of a direct ⁵H-cluster exchange process. A resonance state of ⁵H with an energy of 2 MeV above the decay threshold n+n+ ³H was obtained for the first time by making use of the reaction p(⁶He,²He)⁵H.     

The mechanism of the 7Li(d, 2α)n reaction from Ed = 3 to 15 MeV

The ⁷Li(d, 2α)n reaction proceeds almost entirely through excitation and sequential decay of the 16.63 and 16.92 MeV levels in ⁸Be, for incident energies 1 to 13 MeV above their threshold. The energy dependence for forming these levels with the neutron emitted at 0° is approximately that predicted assuming the neutron is a spectator from the incident deuteron. None of the individual spectra, the angular dependence of the cross section at fixed E_d, or the bombarding-energy-dependence of the cross section for forming the levels is consistent with the involvement of a spectator neutron from the ⁷Li target.     

Trinucleon cluster structure at high-excitation energies in A=6 nuclei

Trinucleon molecular structures in ⁶He and ⁶Be were investigated by using the ⁶Li(⁷Li, ⁷Be)⁶He reaction at 455 MeV and ⁶Li(³He, t)⁶Be reaction at 450 MeV, respectively. Binary decays into t + t from a broad state at E _x =18.0±1.0 MeV in ⁶He and into ³He + ³He from one at E _x =18.0±1.2 MeV in ⁶Be, respectively, were observed by measuring trinucleon cluster decays in coincidence with reaction particles. The branching ratios for binary decay were estimated to be about 0.7 for ⁶He and ⁶Be. These large branching ratios show that a trinucleon cluster state exists as an isobaric partner around E _x =18 MeV in ⁶He and ⁶Be.     

Features of the 9Be → 2He fragmentation in an emulsion for an energy of 1.2 GeV per nucleon

The results of investigation of the fragmentation of relativistic nuclei ⁹Be in an emulsion, which is accompanied by the formation of two 1.2-A-GeV He fragments, are presented. The angular measurements of the ⁹Be → 2He events are analyzed. The ⁹Be → ⁸Be + n fragmentation channel with the decay of ⁸Be from the ground (0⁺) and first excited (2⁺) states into a pair of α particles appears to be dominant.     

Ab Initio Thermodynamics Calculation of Beta Decay Rates

Beta-decay half-lives for the free neutron, for ⁶He and ⁸He, and for ⁸Li are calculated ab initio from geometrical thermodynamics arguments, independently of any quantum mechanics. Half-lives for the decay of ⁸Be to two alphas and for the disintegration of the tetraneutron are also calculated. The calculated values are close to those experimentally observed.     

Study of the 8Be first T = 2 state with 4He + α and 7Li + p initiated excitation functions

In a high resolution study of the ⁴He + α initiated excitation functions in the region of the ⁸Be first T = 2 state, weak resonance excursions have been observed in some reaction channels yielding the total width Γ = 14.7 ± 4.0 keV. No resonance excursion has been observed in the ⁴He + α elastic scattering yielding the branching ratio Γ_α/Γ ≦ 0.003 for the decay of the ⁸Be first T = 2 state into two α-particles. For the decay to the low-lying states of ⁶Li and ⁷Li lower limits of the branching ratio are given. The reinvestigation of the ⁷Li+p initiated excitation functions revealed no resonance anomaly in the region of the ⁸Be first T = 2 state. The upper limit Γ_p/Γ ≦ 0.023 has been derived for the proton decay to the ⁷Li_g.s.. The results are compared with previous measurements and with shell-model calculations.     

Correlation investigations of the low-energy 10He spectrum

The spectrum of low-lying states in the ¹⁰He nucleus is investigated for the two-neutron transfer reaction ³H(⁸He, p)¹⁰He. The secondary beam of ⁸He nuclei with the energy 21.5 MeV/nucleon and a cryogenic tritium target are used in the experiment. The ¹⁰He ground state is observed in the missing mass spectrum at the energy of 2.1 MeV (Γ ～ 2 MeV) above the decay threshold. Analysis of the angular correlations of the ¹⁰He decay products yields the spin and parity of two excited ¹⁰He states, J ^π = 1^? in the energy range from 4 to 6 MeV and J ^π = 2⁺ at energies above 6 MeV.     

中子滴线附近核异常大半径的解释

基于中子滴线附近核结合能的数据分析,¹¹Li,¹⁴Be和¹⁷B等可看作是核芯-中子-中子组成的三体系统。假定核芯-中子和中子-中子间作用势为弱吸引指数势,不足以形成核芯-中子和中子-中子束缚态。本文的研究表明,核芯-中子-中子三体系统可形成弱束缚态。⁶He,¹¹Li,¹⁴Be和¹⁷Be核的异常大核半径正是由于外层中子的弱束缚所致。 关键词：     

Core-breakup reactions of the halo nuclei 11Be and 11Li: momentum distributions and shadow effects

The halo nuclei ¹¹Be and ¹¹Li have been studied in core-breakup reactions where the halo neutrons are expected to be released without a major distortion due to the reaction. The widths of the halo-neutron momentum distributions have been extracted in coincidence with He fragments, Γ = 32 ± 4 MeV/c, and Li fragments, Γ = 42 ± 4 MeV/c for ¹¹Be and with He fragments, Γ = 42 ± 6 MeV/c for ¹¹Li. The ¹¹Be breakup gives a very low neutron multiplicity of 0.38±0.09 which is a manifestation of the shadowing of the neutron in the core-breakup reaction. This value can be understood from a simple theoretical calculation, which also accounts for the observed transverse momentum widths at small angles.     

Neutron-induced charged-particle reactions in 6Li and 9Be

Angular distributions of tritons from the ⁶Li(n, t)⁴He reaction were measured at E_n = 7.25, 6.77, 6.57, 5.24 and 4.71 MeV. Angular distributions of douterons from respectively, the ⁶Li(n, d)⁵He two-body breakup reaction were measured at E_n = 6.77 and 6.57 MeV, and of protons from the ⁶Li(n, p)⁶He reaction at E_n = 6.77, 5.24 and 4.71 MeV. All these reactions in ⁶Li were analyzed as direct interaction in the formalism of the distorted wave Born approximation. The optical model for the nuclear interaction was found to apply reasonably well to nuclei as light as ⁴He, ⁵He, ⁶He and ⁶Li. In addition, ⁶Li as an alpha-deuteron cluster gives the best bound-state wave function to describe the experimental angular distribution of tritons. The excitation functions at forward angles of the ⁶Li(n, t)⁴He, ⁶Li(n, d)⁵He and ⁶Li(n, p)⁶He reactions were measured for incident neutron energies between 4.4 and 7.3 MeV. It is found that the ⁶Li(n, d)⁵He two-body breakup reaction has a threshold at about E_n = 5.3 MeV. Angular distributions at E_n = 18.3 MeV for tritons and protons from the ⁹Be(n, t)⁷Li and ⁹Be(n, p)⁹Li, respectively, were also measured.     

An experimental study of He elastic,inelastic and charge-exchange scattering from Li

A target of ⁶Li was bombarded with the ³He beam from the University of Illinois cyclotron. Differential cross sections for the elastic scattering, the inelastic scattering to the first two excited states of ⁶Li, and the (³He, t) charge-exchange reaction to the ground state of ⁶Be were determined over angular ranges of approximately 20° to 115° (c.m.) at ³He energies of 24.6 MeV and 27.0 MeV. (The weak inelastic transition to the 3.56 MeV state of ⁶Li, ordinarily obscured by a background of three-body break-up, was observed by requiring a coincidence at most angles between the scattered ³He and the ⁶Li recoil.) The ratio of the integrated charge-exchange cross section between 55° and 115° to the integrated inelastic cross section for this transition (both with ΔT = 1) is somewhat less than expected from isospin considerations (i.e., about 1.6 instead of 2.0).     

A study of excited states of5He by the7Li (d, α)5He-reaction

The interactions of deuterons with⁷Li, in which two α-particles and a neutron are produced in the final state are studied atE _d =1.2 MeV. The dual parameter α-α coincidence spectrum was analyzed with a search program. The results indicate two excited states of⁵He: One at excitation energy 2.9±0.1 MeV and with a reduced width of γ²=1.1±0.4 MeV, and the other at 4.8±0.4 MeV, with γ²=0.9±0.4 MeV. No contributions of sequential decay through the 4⁺ state in⁸Be or direct three body decay was observed.