(EC+β +) decay of 130Nd and 140Tb

The available astrophysical S(E) factor data for the reaction ⁷Li (p,α)α at 10 < E < 1000keV exhibit an exponential increase at low energies due to the effects of electron screening. A parametrisation of the data using a non-resonant, direct process and two subthreshold resonances reproduces the data at energies E≥ 100keV, while at lower energies this calculated S _b(E) factor curve for bare nuclides drops below the data, which in turn represent the case of electron-shielded nuclides, i.e. the electron-shielded S _s(E) factor. The comparison between S _b(E) and S _s(E) leads to an electron-screening potential energy U _e = 350eV, which is much higher than the adiabatic limit of 175eV and not understood at present. The deduced value of S _b(0) is considerably smaller than the previously adopted value of 59keV b, significantly increasing the calculated abundance of ⁷Li in big-bang nucleosynthesis. The Trojan-horse method was applied to the reaction ⁷Li (p,α)α to determine the energy dependence of the S _b(E) factor for 10 < E < 370keV, free from the effects of the Coulomb barrier and electron screening. The THM results are close to the calculated S _b(E) curve and suggest that the THM may become a powerful way to obtain improved information on low-energy cross-sections and associated electron-screening effects in a model-independent way. Received: 9 September 2000 / Accepted: 5 December 2000     

Study of theβ +/EC decay of the neutron deficient nuclei76,78Sr and79Y

The +/EC decay of the neutron deficient nuclei^76,78Sr and⁷⁹Y was studied employing mass separated molecular beams of SrF⁺ and YF₂ ⁺ from the ISOLDE mass separator. The halflives of^76,78Sr and⁷⁹Y were measured as t_1/2=8.9(3)s, 159(8)s and 14.4(15)s, respectively, and decay schemes were established for⁷⁶Sr and⁷⁹Y. In the⁷⁸Sr decay 10 new -ray transitions were identified.     

Nuclear matrix elements in the 7/2−–9/2+ beta decay of175Yb

The angular correlation of the \({7 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {7 2}} \right. \kern-0em} 2}^ - \xrightarrow[{353keV}]{\beta }{9 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {9 2}} \right. \kern-0em} 2}^ + \xrightarrow[{114keV}]{\gamma }{7 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {7 2}} \right. \kern-0em} 2}^ + \) is measured atE _β =300 keV and found to beA ₂(β,γ)=0.108 ± 0.028. The result is combined with the data on longitudinal polarisation nuclear orientation to obtain the nuclear matrix elements which would give a simultaneous fit to all experimental data. The matrix elements thus obtained have predicted theβ spectrum shape correction factor. The sizes of the matrix elements indicate a cancellation effect in vector matrix elements which explains deviation from ξ-approximation. From the ratio of higher order matrix elements,λ, the deviation from theCVC ratio due to Fujita is found and thus the importance of off-diagonal elements inH _c is noted. The experimental matrix elements are compared with the model-predicted ones.     

EC/β+ decay of six medium-heavy nuclei

Previous experimental results of (EC+β+) decay for the medium-heavy nuclei reported by our group since 1996, including 153Er, 157Yb, 209Fr, 128Ce, 130Ce, and 128Pr have been briefly summarized. The observed low-lying states in their daughter nuclei have been reviewed in a systematic way and compared with different model calculations. Finally, some questions have been put forward for further study and discussion.     

New search for 0νEC/EC and 2νEC/EC decay of 106Cd

The studies aimed at decreasing the background of the TGV-2 spectrometer have led to constructive changes in the cryostat and increased the sensitivity of the 32-detector spectrometer. New search for 0νEC/EC, 2νEC/EC) decays of ¹⁰⁶Cd was started with ～13.6 g of ¹⁰⁶Cd with enrichment of 75%. The evaluation of the experimental data accumulated for 4800 h was performed. Limits (at 90% CL) on the half-lives of 0νEC/EC resonant decay of ¹⁰⁶Cd to the 2741 keV excited state of ¹⁰⁶Pd (T _1/2 ≥ 6.5 × 10¹⁹ y) and on t 2νEC/EC decay to the ground state of ¹⁰⁶Pd (0⁺ → 0⁺, g.s.) (T _1/2 ≥ 1.7 × 10²⁰ y) were obtained. The limits on the other branches of ¹⁰⁶Cd decay—2νEC/EC decay to the 2⁺, 512 keV and 0 ₁ ⁺ , 1334 keV excited states of ¹⁰⁶Pd and 2νβ⁺β⁺ and 2νβ⁺ EC decays of ¹⁰⁶Cd to the ground and excited states of ¹⁰⁶Pd were improved.     

Energy density functional study of nuclear matrix elements for neutrinoless ββ decay

We present an extensive study of nuclear matrix elements (NME) for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of the nuclei 48Ca, 76Ge, 82Se, 96Zr, 100Mo, 116Cd, 124Sn, 128Te, 130Te, 136Xe, and 150Nd based on state-of-the-art energy density functional methods using the Gogny D1S functional. Beyond-mean-field effects are included within the generating coordinate method with particle number and angular momentum projection for both initial and final ground states. We obtain a rather constant value for the NMEs around 4.7 with the exception of 48Ca and 150Nd, where smaller values are found. We analyze the role of deformation and pairing in the evaluation of the NME and present detailed results for the decay of 150Nd.     

(EC+β+) decay of 130Pm and 128Pr

¹³⁰Pm and ¹²⁸Pr were produced by irradiation of ⁹⁶Ru with ³⁶Ar, and studied using a He-jet recoil tape transport system. Based on X-% and %-% coincidence measurements, the (EC+ # ⁺) decay scheme of ¹³⁰Pm was proposed for the first time and the (EC+ # ⁺) decay scheme of ¹²⁸Pr was revised.     

EC/β+ decay of six medium-heavy nuclei

Previous experimental results of (EC+β⁺) decay for the medium-heavy nuclei reported by our group since 1996, including ¹⁵³Er, ¹⁵⁷Yb, ²⁰⁹Fr, ¹²⁸Ce, ¹³⁰Ce, and ¹²⁸Pr have been briefly summarized. The observed low-lying states in their daughter nuclei have been reviewed in a systematic way and compared with different model calculations. Finally, some questions have been put forward for further study and discussion.     

Can the nuclear matrix elements of neutrinoless double beta decay be measured?

A proposal which allows one in principle to measure the neutrinoless double beta decay Fermi matrix element is briefly described. By making use of the isospin conservation by strong interaction, the Fermi 0νββ nuclear matrix element can be transformed to acquire the form of an energy-weighted double Fermi transition matrix element. This allows one to reconstruct the total provided that a small isospin-breaking Fermi matrix element between the isobaric analog state in the intermediate nucleus and the ground state of the daughter nucleus could be measured, for example by charge-exchange reactions. Such a measurement could help to discriminate between the different nuclear structure models in which the calculated may differ by as much as a factor of 5.     

Resonance structure of strength functions for first-forbidden β +/EC transitions

Experimental data obtained by measuring the fine structure of the strength function S _?? (E) in spherical and deformed nuclei were analyzed. The use of modern nuclear-spectroscopy methods made it possible to reveal the nuclear-deformation-induced splitting of peaks in S _?? (E) for transitions of the Gamow-Teller type. For first-forbidden transitions, the resonance nature of S _?? (E) was proven experimentally both for spherical and for deformed nuclei. It is shown that, at some values of the excitation energy, the intensity of first-forbidden transitions in nuclei can be commensurate with the intensity of Gamow-Teller transitions.     

(EC +β+) decay study of 128Ce

The (EC+β⁺) decay of ¹²⁸Ce was reinvestigated in the ¹¹⁶Sn (¹⁶O, 4n) reaction by using a helium-jet tape transport system. The close half-lives of ¹²⁸Ce and ¹²⁹Ce made it difficult to separate the decay γ rays of both nuclei apart. Instead of the excitation-function measurements, both reactions of ¹⁶O+¹¹⁶Sn and ¹⁶O+¹¹⁷Sn were carried out, and from their comparisons, the decay γ rays of ¹²⁸Ce were clearly told from those of ¹²⁹Ce. Based on X-γ and γ-γ coincidence measurements, a detailed (EC +β⁺) decay scheme of ¹²⁸Ce has been proposed, which revises the previous one. Received: 29 September 1999 / Revised version: 5 November 1999     

The (EC+β+) decay of153Er

¹⁵³Er has been produced by irradiation of¹⁴²Nd with¹⁶O,and studied using a He-jet recoil tape transport system.A decay scheme is proposed for the first time,based on X- and - coincidence measurements, which takes account of 12 observed -rays.This work was supported by Academia Sinica     

New nuclide 139Tb and (EC +β+) decay of 138,139Gd

Excited levels in ¹³³Sn and ¹³⁴Sb, populated in spontaneous fission of ²⁴⁸Cm, were studied by means of prompt-γ spectroscopy, using the EUROGAM 2 multidetector array. The neutron i _13/2 single-particle energy has been determined for the first time in the ¹³²Sn region. The energy of the h _9/2 neutron level, proposed previously, has been confirmed. Received: 13 January 1999 / Revised version: 22 March 1999     

General calculation formulas and recurrence relations of radial matrix elements for relativistic n-dimensional hydrogen atom of spin S=0x

In this paper, the general calculation formulas of radial matrix elements for relativistic n-dimensional hydrogen atom of spin S=0 are obtained, and the recurrence relation of different power order radial matrix elements are also derived.     

Fine structure ofαdecay in222Pa

With the help of the gas-filled recoil spectrometer SHANS and a digital data acquisition system,the fine structure of the α decay for²²²Pa was studied.The nuclides were produced through the 1p3n evaporation channel via the heavy-ion induced fusion evaporation reaction ⁴⁰Ar+¹⁸⁶W.Based on the ER-α1-α2-α3 andα-γcorrelation measurement,three new α decays were observed in addition to the three branches known previously.The one with the largestαdecay energy was regarded as the ground state to ground state transition.The newly measuredαdecay properties of ²²²Pa were examined in a framework of reduced width.     

Measurement of various decay modes of charmed particlesD 0,D +,D s + andΛ s c

In the CERN NA 32 experiment a high-resolution silicon vertex detector and a purely topological approach have been used to investigate various decays of charmed particles. We observe ～620 fully reconstructed decays ofD ⁰ in 12 channels and determine the branching ratios. For fourD ⁰ decay modes involving a single (unseen) π⁰ the small and narrowD ^*+?D ⁰ mass difference is used to measure their branching ratios. We also observe ～280 fully reconstructedD ⁺ decays in 10 channels, ～90D _s ⁺ decays in 11 channels as well as 160Λ _s ^c and 18 decay channels ofD ⁺. For theD _s ⁺ , we measure the branching fractions within a subset of 16 three- and five-prong decay channels. For theΛ _s ^c , we determine the branching fractions within a sample of 11 three- and five-prong decay channels, nearly all involving a proton.     

Ab-initio calculation of electronic structure and optical properties of AB-stacked bilayer α-graphyne

Monolayer α-graphyne is a new two-dimensional carbon allotrope with many special features. In this work the electronic properties of AA- and AB-stacked bilayers of this material and then the optical properties are studied, using first principle plane wave method. The electronic spectrum has two Dirac cones for AA stacked bilayer α-graphyne. For AB-stacked bilayer, the interlayer interaction changes the linear bands into parabolic bands. The optical spectra of the most stable AB-stacked bilayer closely resemble to that of the monolayer, except for small shifts of peak positions and increasing of their intensity. For AB-stacked bilayer, a pronounced peak has been found at low energies under the perpendicular polarization. This peak can be clearly ascribed to the transitions at the Dirac point as a result of the small degeneracy lift in the band structure.     

Nuclear structure explored by β-delayed decay spectroscopy of spin-polarized radioactive nuclei at TRIUMF ISAC-1

Spin-polarized radioactive nuclear beams at TRIUMF enable a new spectroscopic method which efficiently assigns spins and parities of the daughter levels by taking advantage of the asymmetric β-decay of the polarized parent nucleus. This method was successfully applied to structure studies of ²⁹Mg and ³⁰Mg in connection with the physics of the “island of inversion”. In ²⁹Mg, two low-lying levels with intruder configuration were assigned. In ³⁰Mg, coexistence of spherical shape, prolate shape and γ-collectivity was strongly suggested.     

Collective-pair structure of Kπ = 0+,1+,2+ bands in deformed nuclei

In the framework of the microscopic IBM the fermion pair structure for several collective excitations has been investigated. In this study the deformed nucleus ¹⁵⁶Gd is treated as an example. The theoretical method used consists of a combination of a triaxial Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method and a Hill-Wheeler method. We discuss the effects of keeping the structure of the collective S-, D- and G-pairs fixed as well as varying these structures. The combination of fixed S-, D-, and G-pairs with only one other set of S'-, D'- and G'-pairs is also investigated.