Search for tensor couplings in the weak interaction

The existence of exotic couplings in the weak interaction can be tested by a precise measurement of the β-ν angular correlation parameter a in nuclear beta decay. In the case of ⁶He, the ratio of tensor and axial-vector couplings can be determined. The goal of the LPC Trap experiment is to improve the limits on the existence of tensor currents. The LPCTrap setup is installed on the low energy beam line LIRAT of the SPIRAL/GANIL facility. The ⁶He⁺ ions are confined in a novel transparent Paul trap allowing the detection in coincidence of both the β-particle and the recoil ion. The detection setup enables to detect the position and energy of these two particles. The a parameter can then be extracted from the time of flight spectrum of the recoil ions. The first ⁶He⁺ decay events were observed in May 2005 during a commissioning run. Over 10⁵ coincidence events have been recorded during a second run in July 2006.     

New BCS and renormalized QRPA formalism with application to double beta decay

A new analysis of the renormalized proton–neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation based on simultaneous recalculation of the one-body density matrix and the pairing tensor has been used to study the double beta decay. We demonstrated that inclusion of the quasiparticle correlations at the BCS level reduces ground state correlations in the particle–particle channel of the proton–neutron interaction. We also simplified the RQRPA equations significantly obtaining a low-dimensioned set of linear equations for the quasiparticle densities. The formalism was applied to the double beta decay of ⁷⁶Ge. Received: 4 January 1999 / Revised version: 29 March 1999     

Charged lepton production from iron induced by atmospheric neutrinos

The charged current lepton production induced by neutrinos in ⁵⁶Fe nuclei has been studied. The calculations have been done for the quasielastic as well as the inelastic reactions assuming Δ-dominance and take into account the effect of Pauli blocking, Fermi motion and the renormalization of weak transition strengths in the nuclear medium. The quasielastic production cross-sections for lepton production are found to be strongly reduced due to nuclear effects, while there is about 10% reduction in the inelastic cross-sections in the absence of the final-state interactions of the pions. The numerical results for the momentum and angular distributions of the leptons averaged over the various atmospheric-neutrino spectra at the Soudan and Gran Sasso sites have been presented. The effect of nuclear-model dependence and the atmospheric-flux dependence on the relative yield of μ to e has been studied and discussed.     

Is the weak interaction constant really constant?

A comparison is made of the probability of the process of two neutrino double-beta decay for ⁸²Se and ⁹⁶Zr in direct (counter) and geochemical experiments. The experimental data for ¹³⁰Te are also analyzed. It is shown that the probability is systematically lower in geochemical experiments, which characterize the probability of decay a few billions years ago. In addition geochemical measurements on young minerals give lower values of T (¹³⁰Te) as compared to measurements on old minerals. It is proposed that this could be due to a change in the weak interaction constant with time. The possibilities of new precise measurements to be performed with the aid of counters and geochemical experiments are discussed. A new geochemical experiment with ¹⁰⁰Mo is proposed. Received: 24 February 2000 / Accepted: 4 March 2000     

Phase shift analysis and extraction of structure functions for Coulomb distortion on (e, e'p) reactions at high electron energies

New results for the double beta decay of ⁷⁶ Ge are presented. They are extracted from data obtained with the HEIDELBERG-MOSCOW experiment, which operates five enriched ⁷⁶ Ge detectors in an extreme low-level environment in the Gran Sasso underground laboratory. The two-neutrino-accompanied double beta decay is evaluated for the first time for all five detectors with a statistical significance of 47.7 kg y resulting in a half-life of T _1/2 ^2ν = [1.55±0.01(stat)^+0.19 _-0.15(syst)]×10²¹ y. The lower limit on the half-life of the 0νββ decay obtained with pulse shape analysis is T _1/2 ^0ν > 1.9×10²⁵(3.1×10²⁵) y with 90% C.L. (68% C.L.) (with 35.5 kg y). This results in an upper limit of the effective Majorana-neutrino mass of 0.35 eV (0.27 eV) using the matrix elements of A. Staudt et al.'s work (Europhys. Lett. 13, 31 (1990)). This is the most stringent limit at present from double beta decay. No evidence for a majoron-emitting decay mode is observed. Received: 22 August 2001 / Accepted: 18 October 2001     

Interplay of direct and spin-flip contributions in Gamow-Teller decay to odd-odd N = Z nuclei

Strengths of Gamow-Teller decays of T_z = ±1 nuclei to T_z = 0 odd-odd nuclei have been calculated by using spherical shell model and deformed Nilsson wave functions. The role and competition of the microscopic direct and spin-flip mechanisms generating Gamow-Teller transitions are analyzed. Analytical expressions derived for the B(GT) values give useful insight into the regularities of B(GT) values along the N = Z line. The crucial role of configuration mixing is discussed.     

Perturbative analysis of the 2νββ decays of <Superscript>100</Superscript>Mo and <Superscript>116</Superscript>Cd

We have performed a theoretical analysis of the ground-state-to-ground-state transitions in ¹⁰⁰Mo and ¹¹⁶Cd, based on the quasiparticle random-phase approximation and on a straightforward perturbative scheme. The results show that the single-state dominance found in the realistic calculations of the nuclear matrix elements, which is consistent with data, can be viewed as a result of the interference between few two-quasiparticle configurations. Received: 12 August 2002 / Accepted: 23 October 2002 / Published online: 18 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: civitarese@fisica.unlp.edu.ar Communicated by V.V. Anisovich     

Equivalence between local Fermi gas and shell models in inclusive muon capture from nuclei

Motivated by recent studies of inclusive neutrino nucleus processes and muon capture within a correlated local Fermi gas model (LFG), we discuss the relevance of nuclear finite-size effects in these reactions at low energy, in particular for muon capture. To disentangle these effects from others coming from the reaction dynamics we employ here a simple uncorrelated shell model that embodies the typical finite-size content of the problem. The integrated decay widths of muon atoms calculated with this shell model are then compared for several nuclei with those obtained within the uncorrelated LFG, using in both models exactly the same theoretical ingredients and parameters. We find that the two predictions are in quite good agreement, within 1-7%, when the shell model density and the correct energy balance is used as input in the LFG calculation. The present study indicates that, despite the low excitation energies involved in the reaction, integrated inclusive observables, like the total muon capture width, are quite independent of the fine details of the nuclear wave functions. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Superallowed 0+ → 0+ beta-decay and CKM unitarity

Precise measurements of the ft-values for superallowed nuclear β-decay yield results that support conservation of the weak vector current but violate the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix by more than two standard deviations. This apparent violation of the Standard Model has led to considerable theoretical and experimental activity largely focussed on reducing uncertainties in the small correction terms that account for charge-dependent nuclear effects. This activity is outlined and the prospects for future sharpening of the unitarity test are assessed. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: hardy@comp.tamu.edu     

Unrestricted symmetry-projected Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations for SD-shell nuclei

Abstact: The solution of the Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov problem with restoration of the broken symmetries before the variation has been generalized for the use of totally unrestricted quasi–particle determinants. With this method doubly–even, doubly–odd and odd nuclei can be treated on the same footing. Comparison with the results of complete shell–model diagonalizations shows that already one–determinant representations yield a very good approximation to the exact solutions even in the middle of the 1s0d shell. The problem is especially suited for numerical implementation on parallel computers. First tests show a linear dependence of the inverse CPU time with the number of processors used. Received: 26 February 1998 / Revised version: 8 May 1998     

Evolution of the N = 20 and N = 28 shell closures in neutron-rich nuclei

The isospin dependence of shell closure phenomena is studied for light neutron-rich nuclei within a microscopic self-consistent approach using the Gogny force. Introducing configuration mixing, ³²Mg is found to be dynamically deformed, although the N = 20 spherical shell closure persists at the mean-field level for all N = 20 isotones. In contrast, the N = 28 spherical shell closure is found to disappear for N - Z≥ 10 whereas deformed shell closures are preserved and lead to shape coexistence in ⁴⁴ S. Configuration mixing shows that the ground state of this nucleus is triaxially deformed. The first 2⁺ excitation energy E_x = 1.46 MeV and the reduced transition probability B(E2;0⁺ _gs→ 2⁺ ₁)= 420 e ² fm ⁴ obtained with our approach are in good agreement with experimental data. Received: 26 July 2000 / Accepted: 30 August 2000     

Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations of the rotational band of the very heavy 254No nucleus

We report on Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) calculations of the ground-state rotational band of the heavy nucleus ²⁵⁴No recently observed experimentally. The calculated quadrupole deformation is consistent with the experimental value of β = 0.27 and is almost constant over the whole band. We also reproduce fairly well the excitation spectra and moments of inertia of this isotope up to the maximal experimentally observed state of spin 20. The rather high stability of this nucleus against fission is illustrated by the deformation energy curve providing very high fission barriers at zero spin within the HFB and HFB plus Lipkin-Nogami formalisms. The variation of these barriers with increased angular velocities is also studied. Received: 23 November 2000 / Accepted: 24 October 2001     

Weak-interaction-mediated rates on iron isotopes for presupernova evolution of massive stars

During the presupernova evolution of massive stars, the isotopes of iron, ^{54, 55, 56}Fe , are advocated to play a key role inside the cores primarily decreasing the electron-to-baryon ratio (Y_e) mainly via electron capture processes thereby reducing the pressure support. Electron decay and positron capture on ⁵⁵Fe , on the other hand, also have a consequential role in increasing the lepton ratio during the silicon burning phases of massive stars. The neutrinos and antineutrinos produced, as a result of these weak-interaction reactions, are transparent to the stellar matter and assist in cooling the core thereby reducing the entropy. The structure of the presupernova star is altered both by the changes in Y_e and the entropy of the core material. The aim of this paper is to report the improved microscopic calculation of Gamow-Teller (GT_±) strength distributions of these key isotopes of iron using the pn-QRPA theory. The main improvement comes from the incorporation of experimental deformation values for these nuclei. Additionally six different weak-interaction rates, namely electron and positron capture, electron and positron decay, and, neutrino and antineutrino cooling rates, were also calculated in presupernova matter. The calculated electron capture and neutrino cooling rates due to isotopes of iron are in good agreement with the large-scale shell model (LSSM) results. The calculated beta decay rates, however, are suppressed by three to five orders of magnitude.     

Spin-orbit-like terms in semileptonic weak Hamiltonian

It is shown that new spin-orbit-like terms appear in the effective nonrelativistic weak Hamiltonian for nucleon provided that nuclear potential is taken into account. Arguments for their considerable enhancement, in particular, in relativistic nuclear model of Walecka are advanced. Received: 29 July 1999     

Generalized hybrid derivative coupling model for finite nuclei

The generalized hybrid derivative coupling model has been applied to explore various ground state properties of different nuclei. In this work we have confined our calculation only to the model characterized by the hybridization parameter α = 1/4 which gives better results than the other models of the same class, as we have seen earlier, for nuclear matter calculations. The binding energy, single-particle energy spectra, density and charge radii of different doubly closed nuclei like ¹⁶O, ⁴⁰Ca, ⁴⁸Ca, ⁹⁰Zr, ¹³²Sn, ²⁰⁸Pb have been studied. The success of this model, in describing the doubly closed nuclei, motivates us to extend this calculation further in the case of open shell nuclei after incorporating the pairing interaction and using a BCS transformation. We have calculated the binding energy for such nuclei. We have also studied the isotopic shift for different Pb isotopes with respect to ²⁰⁸Pb. We have compared our results with the other standard theoretical results as well as with the experimental values. Received: 18 August 2000 / Accepted: 13 April 2001     

Superheavy nuclei in deformed mean--field calculations

The ground–state properties of superheavy nuclei are investigated within various parametrisations of relativistic and nonrelativistic nuclear mean–field models. The heaviest known even–even nuclei starting with Z = 98 are used as a benchmark to estimate the predictive power of the models and forces. From that starting point, deformed doubly magic nuclei are searched in the region 100 ≤ Z ≤ 130 and 142 ≤ N ≤ 190. Received: 6 April 1998 / Revised version: 16 June 1998     

Decoupling and coherence in E1 and E2 moments in drip line nuclei

I discuss first the effect of decoupling of extended wave functions and the coherence in the low-energy E1 strength in drip line nuclei ¹²Be and ¹³O, which are studied by large-scale shell model calculations including 3 ?ω configuration space. The calculated results are compared to recent experimental data of Coulomb excitations. The quenching of the core polarization charges in drip line nuclei is also discussed in relation to recent observations of quadrupole moments in B-isotopes. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

Application of the Dyson boson expansion method to the treatment of the pairing force

The treatment of the separable pairing interaction in the context of the BRST formalism and in the Dyson boson expansion method is discussed. The approach is based on the use of the vacuum expectation value of the boson number operator to define a suitable mean field. Received: 10 April 2000 / Accepted: 6 July 2001     

New limits on the ββ decay of 130Te to excited states of 130Xe

Experimental limits on half-lives of the (0ν + 2ν)ββ decay of ¹³⁰Te to excited states of ¹³⁰Xe are obtained using low-background HPGe detectors. At the 90% CL, these limits are equal to 1.6 ^. 10²¹ y, 2.7 ^. 10²¹ y and 2.3 ^. 10²¹ y for transitions to the 2⁺ ₁, 2⁺ ₂ and 0⁺ ₁ levels, respectively. Received: 16 March 2001 / Accepted: 18 June 2001