Proton states in theN = 86 nuclei147Pm and149Eu populated in the (3He,d), (α,t) and (t, α) reactions

The (³He,d) and (α, t) reactions on targets of¹⁴⁶Nd and¹⁴⁸Sm have been studied, using beams of 24 MeV³He and 27 MeV⁴He from the McMaster University tandem van de Graaff accelerator. Also the (t, α) reaction on a target of¹⁴⁸Sm has been studied, using 17 MeV tritons from the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory tandem accelerator. The reaction products were analyzed with magnetic spectrographs. Information on thel-values was obtained from (³He,d) angular distributions and from ratios of (α,t) and (³He,d) cross sections. In each nucleus a severe fragmentation of the shell-model strength is found. In particular a total of 13(7)l=2 transitions and 6(6)l=0 transitions have been identified in¹⁴⁷Pm(¹⁴⁹Eu). The results are analyzed in terms of the spherical shell model, which accounts fairly well for the summed spectroscopic strengths. However, with the existence of the (t, α) data a more detailed investigation of the emptiness of individual levels observed in¹⁴⁷Pm gives some indication that a deformed scheme might be more successful in describing these nuclei.     

States inN=80140Nd populated in the decay of140Pm

The level structure of theN=80,¹⁴⁰Nd has been investigated through the beta decay of^140m Pm and^140g Pm, whose decay half-lives were measured to be 5.95±0.05 min and 9.1±0.5 sec, respectively. Decay schemes for the two isomers have been constructed fromγ-ray measurements. With the help of the beta decayft values and internal conversion electron measurements, spins and parities were deduced for levels in¹⁴⁰Nd. Among the levels a 7^? state at 2222.0 keV and a 5^? state at 2273.3 keV are identified as two-neutron quasiparticle states. The (ie233-01) for^140m Pm and^140g Pm have been deduced as 7^? and 1⁺, respectively. From beta end-point measurements, the decay energies of the two isomers have been determined asQ _EC=6.48±0.07 MeV^140m (Pm) andQ _EC=6.08±0.10 MeV (^140gPm). The results are discussed in the light of nuclear systematics of theN=79 and 80 isotones.     

Decay of the 4.2-min152Pm into levels of152Sm

After bombardments of enriched¹⁵²Sm with 14-MeV neutrons, three isomers of¹²⁵Pm reaction, have been observed with half-lives of 4.2±0.2 min, 7.5±0.2 min and 15.0±1.0 min. Sources of pure 4.2-min¹⁵²Pm were obtained by separating the promethium from its parent 11-min¹⁵²Nd produced by thermal-neutron induced fission of²³⁵U. The beta and gamma radiations of the 4.2-min¹⁵²Pm have been investigated using semiconductor and scintillation spectrometers. Most of theγ-ray transitions could be placed in a level scheme for 152Sm. Especially interesting is a level at 1083 keV for which the assignmentI ^π=0⁺ is proposed. In a 4πβγ experiment, the ground state feeding of¹⁵²Sm in theβ ^?-decay of the 4.2-min¹⁵²Pm has been measured to be 61% of allβ-ray transitions. AQ _β-value of 3.4±0.2 MeV has been obtained.     

Decay of oriented149Nd and levels in theN=88149Pm nucleus

Levels in the¹⁴⁹Pm nucleus populated via¹⁴⁹Nd decay were studied using the low temperature nuclear orientation technique. The parent¹⁴⁹Nd nuclei were oriented in a gadolinium host. The normalized gamma-ray intensities were determined for twenty five transitions in the daughter¹⁴⁹Pm nucleus. The spins of the¹⁴⁹Pm levels at 288.2 and 425.3 keV were determined as 9/2 and 7/2, respectively, and for several other¹⁴⁹Pm levels the previous spin-assignments could be unambiguously confirmed. Substantial new information on multipole mixing ratios of gamma-transitions in¹⁴⁹Pm is presented. Low-energy level spacing in the¹⁴⁹Pm nucleus is found to be in reasonable agreement with recent particle-rotor model calculations including the variable moment of inertia.     

Single-proton states in149Pm

The¹⁵⁰Sm(t,α)¹⁴⁹Pm reaction was studied using 17MeV polarized tritons from the tandem Van de Graaff accelerator at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. The alpha particles were analyzed using a Q3D magnetic spectrometer and detected with a helicalcathode position-sensitive counter. The overall resolution was ～25 keV FWHM. In the present study many of the previous spin assignments have been confirmed, and some ambiguities in earlier studies have been resolved. The important levels at 416 and 751 keV that are strongly populated in the stripping reactions are shown to be 3/2⁺. Also new fragments of theg _7/2 andd _3/2 shell model states have been located. The deduced spectroscopic factors are compared to those measured in other promethium isotopes. It was found that the total (t, α) strength of the assigned peaks is stable within 15% for the chain of promethium isotopes ranging from mass number 147 to 153.     

Spreading width of the IAS in even Pm isotopes measured via the ANd(3He,t)APm and ANd(3He,tp)A−1Nd reactions

Total and escape widths of IAS in even-A Pm isotopes have been measured via the ^ANd(³He, t)^APm and ^ANd(³He, t$\text{p}$)^A?1Nd reactions. Values for the spreading widths have been deduced and found to increase strongly with the excitation energy of the IAS through the chain of Pm isotopes. This behaviour, in contrast with the much smoother global increase with mass number, is attributed to a dependence on level density.     

Structure of even-even138Nd from the decay of138Pm

The structure of¹³⁸Nd is investigated through theβ ⁺-decay of¹³⁸Pm, whose decay half-life is measured to be 3.24±0.05 min. A level structure comprising 27 excited states and 52 transitions is constructed. With the help of deducedft values and internal conversion coefficients, spin-parity assignments are made to many states in¹³⁸Nd and to the ground states of¹³⁸Pm. From the positron end-point energy measurement, the total decay energy is determined to be 5.4±0.2 MeV, which is compared with the predictions of several mass formulae and with the decay energy systematics of theN=77 isotones. The structure of¹³⁸Nd is discussed in the light of nuclear systematics of theN=78 isotones.     

Characterization of isomers of the nucleus154Pm

Consideration of the expected two-quasiparticle structures and their estimated band head energies, and the selection rules for beta transition rates for the¹⁵⁴Nd →¹⁵⁴Pm →¹⁵⁴Sm decays are used to deduce the configurations for the isomers and the low-spin structures in the neutron rich doubly odd nucleus ₆₁ ¹⁵⁴ Pm₉₃. The 2.68 m high spin isomer and the 1.73 m low spin isomer are respectively assigned the spin-parity 4⁺ and 1⁺ with the configuration {p:5/2⁻ [532↑] +n:3/2⁻ [521↑]} with the 2.68 m isomer lying lower in energy, and thus forming the¹⁵⁴Pm ground state. Two-quasiparticle character of the beta-connected states in¹⁵⁴Nd decay and¹⁵⁴Pm decay is discussed.     

Experimental study on the 3p size-resonance in thep- wave neutron strength function

Using a silicon filtered fission neutron beam of an energy width of 20 keV around 143 keV we measured the total cross sections for 37 nuclides and elements having mass numbers between 87 and 140 and determined thep-wave strength functions. The 3P-resonance atA=98 shows no splitting into theP _3/2?P _1/2 doublet. The narrow resonance peak and the following broad distribution of thep-strength function (A=103 to 140) can approximately be reproduced by deformed optical model calculations. The spin-orbit term in the optical potential is consistent with the spin orbit force in the shell model. For nuclei around the closed (N=50) neutron shell a shell effect in thep-wave strength function is indicated.     

Radioactive decay of 1.7-h149Nd to levels of transitional149Pm

Sources of¹⁴⁹Nd were produced by thermal-neutron irradiation of enriched¹⁴⁸Nd. High resolution Ge(Li) spectrometers were used to collect gamma-ray singles and coincidence spectra in the study of the decay of 1.7-h¹⁴⁹Nd. A total of 214 gamma rays have been assigned to the decay of¹⁴⁹Nd, and 201 of these transitions have been placed in a level scheme of¹⁴⁹Pm involving 42 excited states. Absolute values for the beta-group intensities were determined for transitions to the¹⁴⁹Pm levels, and spin and parity assignments were made for many of the observed states. The experimentally determined level structure of¹⁴⁹Pm was compared with corresponding levels in other odd-mass Pm and Eu nuclides. Interpretations were made in terms of the core-coupling model. Radioactive decay¹⁴⁸Nd(n, γ)¹⁴⁹Nd; measuredE _γ,I _γ,γ-γ coinc.¹⁴⁹Pm deduced levels,J,π. Compton-suppression. Ge(Li) detector. Enriched targets.     

Energy levels of136Pm and136Nd via beta decay of136Sm and136Pm

¹³⁶Pm and¹³⁶Nd were studied using theβ decay of¹³⁶Sm and¹³⁶Pm. The radioactive nuclei were produced by the⁹²Mo (⁴⁸Ti,xpyn) and¹¹²Sn (²⁸Si,xpyn) reactions. The UNISOR isotope separator enabled mass identification. The previously unknown level scheme of¹³⁶Pm was constructed and the half-life of¹³⁶Sm was determined to be 47±2 s. Six new levels and thirteen newγ-ray transitions have been added to the level scheme of¹³⁶Nd.     

Valence and inner proton hole states in119in via the (d,3He) reaction

Proton holes states have been studied up toE _x=17 MeV andE _x=3.5 MeV in the¹¹⁹In nucleus via the¹²⁰Sn(d,³He)¹¹⁹In reaction respectively atE _d=108.4 MeV andE _d=51 MeV. DWBA analysis of angular distributions has allowedl attributions for a large number of new levels and the determination of valence and inner hole strength distributions. The first 1g _9/2, 2p _1/2 and 2p _3/2 levels only exhaust 40%, 60% and 32% of their respective sum rule limits. The missing strengths are shared among several low lying levels and significant higher lying contributions. The 1f strength, not identified in the previous experiments is spread fromE _x=1 MeV to about 17 MeV. The low lying levels aroundE _x=2.4 MeV could exhaust some 40% of the 1f _5/2 sum rule. The higher lying strength with a flat maximum aroundE _x=7.5 MeV could account for the 1f _7/2inner hole strength and the missing 1f _5/2 valence strength. The experimental strength functions compare rather well with the predictions of the quasiparticle-phonon model.     

The electron capture decay of125I and145Pm

The productP _K ω _K of theK-capture probability and theK-fluorescence yieldω _K was measured in the EC decay of 17.7 y¹⁴⁵Pm and 60.14d¹²⁵I by means ofK x-ray-γ-ray coincidences with semiconductor detectors. Accepting a best value ofω _K =0.920 forZ=60 from the literature, values ofP _K =0.606±0.025 and 0.554±0.025 for decay of¹⁴⁵Pm to the 67.2 and 72.4 keV levels in¹⁴⁵Nd, respectively, were determined, from which the application of EC theory givesQ _EC=153±4 keV to the ground state. TheP _K ω _K ratio to the 67.2 and 72.4 keV levels also was determined independently to be 1.11±0.01, which serves as a good check on theγ-ray-gatedP _K values. Theγ-ray energies were determined more accurately to be 72.4±0.1 and 67.2±0.1 keV, together with a ratio of their relative intensities,I _72.4/I _67.2=3.35±0.09. In the decay of¹²⁵I, a value ofP _K ω _K =0.699±0.030 was measured, and by using an independent determination ofQ _EC=178±2 keV to the ground-state from the literature, a value ofP _K=0.801 is calculated from allowed EC theory, from whichω _K =0.873±0.017 atZ=52 is obtained. This value is in good agreement with theoretical values and with a value of 0.875±0.028 predicted by the best fit curve of Bambyneket al.     

Beta-Gamma-Winkelkorrelation bei146Pm

A measurement of theβ-γ directional correlationω(W, Θ) of the 3^?(β)2⁺(γ)0⁺ decay of¹⁴⁶Pm is described. Spin and parity of the ground state of¹⁴⁶Pm are found to be 3^?. A set of matrix elementsY=0.94;x=0.20;u=0.20;z=1, which is chosen to fit the experimental results for ω(W, Θ) and which is in agreement with the CVC theory, indicates aK-selection rule effect for the 0,795 MeV beta transition of¹⁴⁶Pm.     

Kernspektroskopische Untersuchungen zu den Termschemata einiger Nuklide im Bereich der abgeschlossenen NeutronenschaleN=82:141Pr,143Pm,139Pr und141Pm

The level schemes of the nuclei¹⁴¹Pr,¹⁴³Pm,¹³⁹Pr, and¹⁴¹Pm were investigated by measuring theγ-spectra following theΒ-(decay of the corresponding (Z+1)-isobars. The existing level schemes for these nuclides were thereby enlarged or revised. The results are discussed using the weak-coupling picture.     

A study of17N levels andT=3/2 multiplets in mass 17 nuclei

Ten states of¹⁷N have been excited via the¹⁸O(d,³He)¹⁷N reaction atE _itd=52 MeV. Thel-transfer values are presented for eight of these states. Based on the subsequent spin and parity assignments severalT=3/2 isobaric multiplets are proposed.     

Neutron-hole strength distributions in heavy nuclei: (II). The 144, 148, 152Sm(3He, α) 143, 147, 151Sm and the 144, 148, 150, 152, 154Sm(p,d) 143, 147, 149, 151, 153Sm reactions

Valence and deep-lying neutron-hole strengths corresponding to orbits near and well below the Fermi surface have been observed in high-resolution studies of the ^{144, 148, 152}Sm(³He, α) and of the ^{144, 148, 150, 152, 154}Sm(p, d) reactions at 70 and 42 MeV bombarding energy, respectively. The explored excitation energy range was 28 MeV for the (³He, α) experiment and about 12 MeV in the (p, d) study. Complete angular distributions have been measured in both cases and the data was analyzed within the framework of the distorted waves Born approximation theory of direct reactions.For the neutron closed shell target (¹⁴⁴Sm), in addition to the well-known fragmentation of the 2d_{$\text{5}\text{2}$} and 1g_{$\text{7}\text{2}$} valence-hole strength, a new bump observed around 7.6 MeV excitation energy is excited in both reactions. This structure corresponds to the 1g_{$\text{9}\text{2}$} inner-hole strength in ¹⁴³Sm and the analysis of the (³He, α) data suggests that more than 50% of the l = 4 strength can be found between 6 and 12 MeV. When one goes to the heavier Sm isotopes, the energy spacing between valence-hole states located above and just below the N = 82 shell decreases strongly and disappears in ¹⁵¹Sm as a result of increasing deformation.Combining good energy resolution and detailed analysis of the two reactions, rather complete spectroscopic information is obtained for the valence-hole strength distributions. With regard to inner-hole states, the energy spectra exhibit a narrow structure whose centroid energy decreases from 4.4 to 2.9 MeV when the mass number increases from A = 147 to A = 153. The main peak displays an asymmetric shape with an extremely large high-energy tail. The 1h_{$\text{11}\text{2}$} hole strength is split into the Nilsson Orbitals. The narrow bumps are found to carry a large fraction of the l = 5 and l = 2 hole strengths in ^{147,149,151,152}Sm isotopes. In the high-energy tail of the structures one observes overlapping and increasing spreading of the g_{$\text{7}\text{2}$}, 2d_{$\text{5}\text{2}$} and possibly 1g_{$\text{9}\text{2}$} inner-hole strengths due to the disappearance of the N = 82 shell gap between N = 83 and N = 89 neutron numbers. The experimental hole strengths distributions are compared where possible to the predictions of the quasiparticle-phonon nuclear model or to the simple Nilsson model.     

TheN=83 nucleus149Dy from Gamow-Teller decay of its 11/2− and 1/2+ 149Ho parents

A high-sensitivityγ-spectroscopic study of the¹⁴⁹Hoπh _11/2 andπs _1/2 β-decays using mass separated sources has located dominant 0⁺ → 1⁺ GT decay strength associated with decay of pairedh _11/2 protons, leading to 3п-states in the¹⁴⁹Dy daughter nucleus. In theirγ-decay low-lying¹⁴⁹Dy levels characteristic of anN=83 nucleus are excited. They include theνf _7/2,νp _3/2,νh _9/2 andνp _1/2 single particle- and theνs ₁ ^2/?1 andνd ₃ ^2/?1 two-particle one-hole states, as well as the νf _7/2 × 3^? andνf _7/2 × 2⁺ particle-phonon multiplets. A synopsis is given of these excitations in theN=83 isotones from¹⁴⁹Nd to¹⁵³Yb. The¹⁴⁹Dy GT decay strength is discussed in terms of the¹⁴⁷Tb₈₂ and¹⁴⁸Dy₈₂ decays. The strength function results are also compared with independent¹⁴⁹Ho 11/2^? decay data from the literature based on totalγ-ray absorption measurements.     

In-beam study of the doubly-odd nucleus 61 140 Pm79 above the 8− β +-decaying isomer

An in-beamγ-ray study performed with the¹¹⁴Cd(³⁰Si,p 3n) reaction has established the structure of theN=79 nucleus¹⁴⁰Pm. States up toI=(20)? and 5.5 MeV excitation energy have been recognized above the 5.95 m isomeric state which we identify, from the GT decay to¹⁴⁰Nd, as the 8^? member of the (πd ₅ ^2/?1 vh ₁₁ ^2/?1 ) multiplet, changing the present 7^? assignment. The low energy part of the level scheme is discussed in terms of the coupling of the valence holes in respect to theZ=64,N=82 shell closure. A new 8⁺ isomeric state witht _1/2=1 _?0.5 ⁺¹ ns has been observed, having most likely a (πh _11/2 vh _11/2 ^-1 )₈ configuration.