Static quadrupole moments of the first excited states of 200Hg and 202Hg

The static quadrupole moments Q_2⁺ and B(E2; 0⁺ → 2⁺) values of the 2⁺ first excited states of ²⁰⁰Hg and ²⁰²Hg have been determined using the reorientation effect in Coulomb excitation. An annular silicon surface-barrier detector was used to detect backscattered ⁴He, ¹²C and ¹⁶O projectiles. It is found that for ²⁰⁰Hg, Q_2⁺ = +1.07 ± 0.19 e · b(+0.98 ± 0.19 e · b) for destructive (constructive) interference from the 2^+′ state, and B(E2; 0⁺ → 2⁺) = 0.853 ± 0.007 e² · b². For ²⁰²Hg, we find Q_2⁺ = +1.01 ± 0.13 e · b (+0.87 ± 0.13 e · b) and B(E2; 0⁺ → 2⁺) = 0.605 ± 0.005 e² · b². The Q_2⁺ value obtained for ²⁰⁰Hg is in agreement with previous work, but that for ²⁰²Hg is not. The results obtained are compared with the predictions of various nuclear models, and the mass dependence of Q_2⁺ in the region 182 ≦ A ≦ 206 is examined.     

A study of the (α, t) reaction on 19F, 27Al, 51V and 59Co

The angular distributions of tritons from the (α, t) reaction on ¹⁹F, ²⁷Al, ⁵¹V and ⁵⁹Co nuclei corresponding to the (0⁺) ground states and (2⁺) excited states in the final nuclei have been measured in the angular range between 15° and 170° at α-particle energies of 25 MeV. For reactions on ²⁷Al and ⁵¹V nuclei, the differential excitation functions have also been obtained at different angles of outgoing tritons at E_α from 20 to 25 MeV. The experimental angular distributions are analysed by the DWBA approximation on the assumption of a nucleon stripping mechanism. The analyses of the present results and the data obtained earlier for the (α, t) reaction on the 1 p shell nuclei, A ? 30, reveal that the distinguishing feature of the reaction under study is the presence of backward angle peaks in the reaction cross section, which appear to be associated with exchange processes. For the (α, t) reaction on the heavier nuclei (A > 30), the dominant mechanism is nucleon stripping.     

Angular correlation measurements in 131Xe

An experiment is described determining the angular correlations of five γ-γ cascades in ¹³¹Xe appearing in the decay of ¹³¹I. Using a 12-channel goniometer the following results were obtained: 325.8–177.2 keV, A₂ = 0.018(11), A₄ = ?0.003(10); 318.1–404.8 keV, A₂ = ?0.18(4), A₄ = ?0.05(3); 272.5–364.5 keV, A₂ = 0.15(4), A₄ = ?0.03(3); 284.3–80.2 keV, A₂ = ?0.005(7), A₄ = 0.005(15); 318.1–324.6 keV, A₂ = 0.24(5), A₄ = ?0.01(5). The result for the 318.1–324.6 keV cascade has not been corrected for a small influence from the 318.1–404.8 keV cascade. Four E2/M1 mixing ratios are deduced from the angular correlation coefficients (energies in keV): $\text{?0.28 ≦ δ(325.8) ≦}\text{t}\text{?}\text{0.20}$, ?0.19 ≦ δ(318.1) ≦ ?0.035, ?1.5 ≦ δ (324.6) ≦ ?0.05, δ(272.5) = ?0.38(17). Transition strengths and limits to transition strengths are calculated for several transitions. The properties of negative parity states in ¹³¹Xe are investigated theoretically in a model where three neutron holes in the $\text{h}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>11</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ orbit are coupled to the quadrupole vibrations of the even core. The experimental energies of the lowest negative parity states and the strengths of the transitions between these states are very well accounted for by the calculation.     

Two-proton pickup in the zirconium region using the (6Li, 8B) reaction

Spectra at θ_lab = 8° have been measured for the ^{92, 94, 96, 98, 100}Mo(⁶Li, ⁸B)^{90, 92, 94, 96, 98}Zr and ^{90, 92, 94}Zr(⁶Li, ⁸B)^{88, 90, 92}Sr two-proton pickup reactions at 90 MeV. The strongest transitions to levels in the Zr isotopes are the 0⁺ → 0⁺ transitions to the g.s. and first excited 0⁺ states. The salient feature of the five Zr spectra is the large increase in 0⁺₂ transition strength relative to that of the g.s. which is observed in the two heaviest isotopes, ^{96, 98}Zr. In ⁹⁰Zr, the 0⁺₂ transition is weak whereas it is the dominant transition in ⁹⁸Zr with twice the g.s. strength. These large variations in relative cross section, which are reproduced by DWBA calculations, are attributed to changing g.s. proton configurations in Zr. In the Sr spectra, which are distinctly different from the Zrspectra, the strongest transitions to excited states are to 2⁺ rather than 0⁺ states. The (⁶Li, ⁸B) reaction seems to be adequately described as a one-step cluster transfer of a T = 1, S = 0 proton pair. The suitability of this reaction for measurements of two-proton pickup is discussed.     

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.     

Angular correlation studies in 144Nd

The decays of ¹⁴⁴Pr and ¹⁴⁴Pm populate ten excited states in ¹⁴⁴Nd. We have carried out detailed γγ angular correlation measurements in order to establish spin assignments for these levels. The measurements were performed with Ge(Li)-Ge(Li) and NaI(Tl)-Ge(Li) systems. Eleven sets of A₂₂ and A₄₄ values were obtained. The J^π assignments for levels in ¹⁴⁴Nd (level energies in keV) are as follows: g.s.,0⁺; 696, 2⁺; 1314, 4⁺ ; 1511, 3^?; 1561, 2⁺ ; 1791, 6⁺; 2084, 2⁺ ; 2093, 5^?; 2186, 1^?; 2204, 4; 2644, 1. Mixing ratios were determined for six γ-transitions.     

Electromagnetic decay of excited 0+ states in 64, 66, 68Zn

The E0 and E2 transitions depopulating the excited 0⁺ states in ^64,66,68Zn are investigated. Several methods of γ-ray, conversion-electron and internal-pair spectrometry are employed, including a new time measurement technique. A total of 5 E0 transitions are observed and the monopole strengths ρ²(0_i⁺ → 0_i⁺) for most of them are extracted. The results and the nature of the excited 0⁺ states are discussed in terms of several nuclear models.     

Quadrupole moments of the first excited states of 204,206Pb

The static quadrupole moments of the first excited states of ^204,206Pb are measured to be +0.23 ± 0.09 and +0.05 ± 0.09 eb, respectively. These results, together with measured B(E2; 0⁺ → 2⁺) values, are interpreted in terms of the systematics of nuclear deformation in the A ≈ 200 mass region.     

Energy levels of 56Co studied by the 58Ni(d, α)56Co reaction near 0°

Tensor analyzing powers, T₂₀, of outgoing α-particles in the ⁵⁸Ni($\text{d}$, α)⁵⁶Co reaction at detection angles near 0° have been measured for excited states in ⁵⁶Co for beam energies of 6.75, 7.0, 7.5, 9.0 and 9.5 MeV. Thirty-seven spin-parity combinations for ⁵⁶Co excited states have been deduced. Previous J^π ambiguities for 11 of these states have been eliminated, and results in conflict with existing assignments for the levels at 3.235 and 3.378 MeV have been obtained. A search for 0⁺ states was carried out from angular distribution measurements at forward angles of the unpolarized (d, α) reaction. The combined results from this and previous experiments were found to be in reasonable agreement with calculated level schemes.     

High-resolution study of E0 internal pair decay of excited 0+ states in 58,60,62Ni

The recently developed magnetic plus Si(Li)-Si(Li) sum-coincidence technique is employed to measure E0 internal-pair-formation (IPF) branching ratios of excited 0⁺ states in ^58,60,62Ni. The $\text{X(}\text{E}\text{0}\text{E}\text{2}\text{)}$ values are obtained for a new 0⁺₄ state in ⁶⁰Ni at 3588.0 keV, for the 0⁺₂ and 0⁺₃ states at 2942.3 keV and 3530.9 keV in ⁵⁸Ni, for the corresponding states at 2284.8 keV and 3318.3 keV in ⁶⁰Ni, and for the 0⁺₂ state in ⁶²Ni at 2048.4 keV. The results are combined with the available lifetimes of these states to extract the monopole strengths ?²(0⁺_i ? 0⁺₁). The results and the nature of the 0⁺ states are discussed.     

Quasi-free (p,pα) scattering on 24Mg, 28Si, 40Ca and 58Ni at 157 MeV

Sixfold energy spectra have been measured for the (p, pα) reaction at 157 MeV on ²⁴Mg, ²⁸Si, ⁴⁰Ca and ⁵⁸Ni around quasi-free kinematic conditions. For the three s-d shell nuclei the experiment covered a map ranging from 0 to 220 MeV/c in recoil momentum and from 0 to 20 MeV in excitation energy of the final nucleus. Recoil momentum distributions have been obtained for the 0⁺ ground state and the 2⁺ first excited state of ²⁰Ne, ²⁴Mg and ³⁶Ar, and also for the states around 4.4 MeV (mainly 4⁺) of ³⁶Ar. The a spectroscopic factors extracted by a DWIA analysis are about three times larger than those predicted by the SU(3) model; however, they agree quite well in relative magnitude for a number of cases. The disagreement in shape between experiment and theory observed at low recoil momentum for the 2⁺ states might result from another reaction mechanism. The cross sections for ⁵⁸Ni are about a factor often smaller than those for ⁴⁰Ca. The ⁵⁸Ni(p, pα)⁵⁴Fe reaction seems to lead mainly to excited states of the final nucleus.     

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.     

Discovery of a very low-lying 0+ state in 98Sr and shape coexistence implication in 98Sr

Using the on-line mass separator OSTIS for studies of short-lived fission products, we found two modes for the β-decay of ⁹⁸Rb with respective half-lives of 96 and 114 ms. The latter decay populates a 0⁺ state in ⁹⁸Sr at the unusually low energy of 215.5 keV, which is by far the lowest 0⁺ excited state observed in even-even nuclei. The half-lives of the 0⁺ and the 2₁⁺ states in ⁹⁸Sr were found to be respectively 25 ns and 4 ns. The transition probabilities, the reduced E0 matrix element and the observed level structure suggest shape coexistence for ⁹⁸Sr: the spheroidal 0₁⁺ ground state shows a rotational band with the 2⁺, 4⁺, (6⁺) levels, whereas the presumably spherical 0₂⁺ excited state may be connected with the 2⁺ level of a vibrational band. A simple model is proposed.     

Average g-factors for high-spin states in 78Kr

Inverse reactions of ^{63, 65}Cu beams on ^{18, 16}O targets have been used to populate states of ⁷⁸Kr by fusion-evaporation reactions. The excited nuclei recoiled at high velocity v/c ≈ 7 % through a polarized iron (⁵⁴Fe) layer and were stopped in a copper layer. During the period in iron, 0.05–0.65 ps, the nuclei were subjected to the intense transient magnetic field (initially ～ 3500 T). The resulting precession of the high-spin nuclear states populated during this time was determined by measuring the time integral rotation angle of the discrete γ-ray transitions at low spin.The average g-factor at low spin 2 ≦ J ≦ 8 compared to that at higher spin 8 ≦ J ≦ 12 in ⁷⁸Kr was found to be identical within the experimental uncertainties of ～ 15 %. This result implies that either there are no rotational alignment effects at the backbend in ⁷⁸Kr or more plausibly, proton (g ≈ 1) and neutron (g ≈ 0) aligned bands are equally competitive and both populated in the reaction. It is then likely that the resulting g-factor represents an average over many populated proton and neutron aligned bands.     

Structure of 0+ states of 28Si and particle-hole conjugation

Full sd-shell calculations for the 0⁺ states of ²⁸Si have been performed in the SU(3) basis so that the intrinsic deformation of the shell model states can be deduced by inspection. The shell model Hamiltonian is decomposed in a symmetric part H_S and an antisymmetric part H_A with respect to particle-hole conjugation. It is shown that the splitting of prolate and oblate states is due to the spin-orbit part of H_A. The different prediction for ²⁸Si obtained with Kuo and with Preedom-Wildenthal matrix elements can be attributed to the difference in a single parameter: the strength of the spin-orbit part of H_A.     

Gamma-spectroscopic investigations on 67Ge

By γ-γ coincidence measurements following the ⁵⁷Fe(¹²C, 2nγ) reaction at E_12C = 40 MeV several new states above 1.5 MeV excitation energy in ⁶⁷Ge have been established. Spin and parity assignments on the basis of the angular distribution, linear polarization and γ-ray yield function indicate very similar structures in ^{67, 69}Ge. The positive-parity states can be followed up to the $\text{17}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ state at E_x = 3.07 MeV followed by a sequence of negative-parity high-spin states at nearly the same excitation energy relative to the $\text{9}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ single-particle state as in the neighbouring nucleus ⁶⁹Ge where these states were found to have strong single-particle admixtures. A reinvestigation of the spin of the E_x = 2.75 MeV level in ⁶⁹Ge resulting in a change of its spin from $\text{15}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{to}\text{17}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ and for all spins above, removed the discrepancy concerning the spin assignments of corresponding levels in ^{67, 69}Ge. The excitation pattern of the Ge isotopes with 34 ≦ N ≦ 39 clearly indicate same structures probably due to the strong competition between collective and single-particle excitations along the whole chain similar to the results for the Zn isotopes.     

Excitation of 3−1, 5−1 and 7−1 states in Te isotopes A = 120, 122; 124, 126, 128 WITH (p,t) reactions

The reactions ^ATe(p, t)^A?2Te have been studied with even-A targets using 51.9 MeV protons. Three or more strongly excited triton peaks were observed in the spectra of the ^A-2Te nuclei at energies of ≈ 2–3 MeV excitation. Angular distributions are analyzed using DWBA theory. The lowest octupole (3^?₁) states of five Te isotopes are strongly excited. The lowest 3^? state in ¹²⁰Te is established at 2.09 ±0.02 MeV. The systematics of excitation energies and cross sections for the lowest 5^? and 7^? states are interpreted by a quasiparticle model.     

Four-nucleon transfer with the 32S(16O, 12C)36Ar reaction

Angular distributions have been measured for the ³²S(¹⁶O,¹²C)³⁶Ar reaction at 45.5 MeV leading to excited states between E_x, = 0 and 8 MeV. Experimental cross sections are compared with exact finite-range DWBA calculations in combination with extensive shell-model calculations, which include sd- and fp-shell configurations. Transitions to low-energy positive-parity states and bound negative-parity states are well reproduced. The calculations, however, fail to describe some high-energy positive-parity states. Calculations with a complete cluster expansion for the four transferred nucleons give about 50% larger cross sections, but can not explain the observed discrepancies. Possible interference of reaction processes other than direct α-transfer and special structure effects are discussed.     

Charge exchange reaction 14C(6Li, 6He)14N

Angular distributions of the charge exchange reaction ¹⁴C(⁶Li, ⁶He)¹⁴N leading to the 1⁺ ground state and 3.95 MeV 1⁺, and 5.20 MeV 2^? excited states at the 34 MeV incident beam energy were analyzed and measured. The 62 MeV data of Goodman et al. were also reanalyzed. The direct one-step charge exchange caused by the spin-isospin dependent term in the two-body interaction can account well for the observed data. The strength of spin-isospin dependent effective interaction (gaussian form with a range parameter of 1.8 fm) was extracted to be 18.5 MeV.