Precision measurement of the half-life and the decay branches of 62Ga

In an experiment performed at the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyväskylä, the -decay half-life of ⁶²Ga has been studied with high precision using the IGISOL technique. A half-life of T_1/2 = 116.09(17) ms was measured. Using - coincidences, the intensity of the 954 keV transition and an upper limit of the -decay feeding of the 0⁺₂ state have been extracted. The present experimental results are compared to previous measurements and their impact on our understanding of the weak interaction is discussed.     

High-spin isomer in 93Mo

The high-spin states of ⁹³Mo have been studied by a ⁸²Se( ¹⁶O, 5n) ⁹³Mo reaction at a beam energy of 100 MeV using techniques of in-beam -ray spectroscopy. Measurements of -t, --t coincidences, -ray angular distributions and -ray linear polarizations were performed. The high-spin isomer was found as a (39/2^-) state at about 9.7 MeV. The near-yrast states in ⁹³Mo were interpreted using the weak-coupling picture of a d_5/2 neutron to a neutron magic core nucleus ⁹²Mo.     

Gamma-ray spectroscopy in 110Sn and 111Sn

Excited states in ¹¹⁰Sn and ¹¹¹Sn nuclei have been investigated using in-beam -ray spectroscopic methods. An ¹⁶O beam with an energy of 60-80MeV was used to bombard a ⁹⁸Mo target. On the basis of the relative excitation functions, -ray angular distributions, - and -time distributions, -ray multiplicity and total energy data, the level schemes of ¹¹⁰Sn and ¹¹¹Sn have been studied and extended up to E_exc 11.5MeV, I = 24, and E_exc 11.1MeV and I = (51/2), respectively. An extension of the intruder, g.s. and negative-parity bands, as well as 5 new band-like structures are proposed in ¹¹⁰Sn. The nature of newly introduced collective band 8 as well as 10⁺ states fed in the decay of the collective band is discussed. In the ¹¹¹Sn nucleus an intruder band based on the 23/2^- state has been reinvestigated and the extension of the g.s. band and second negative-parity band is given. Evidence for neutron-core coupling in ¹¹¹Sn is found. The structure and systematics of excited states in light Sn isotopes is discussed.     

Beta-decay of 71Co and 73Co

A decay spectroscopy study of the neutron-rich cobalt isotopes has been performed using fragmentation of a ⁸⁶Kr³⁶⁺ beam and the new LISE2000 spectrometer at GANIL. For ⁷¹Co and ⁷³Co, the -delayed radiation has been observed for the first time, and the half-lives were found to be 79(5) ms and 41(4) ms, respectively. Features of the decay are discussed qualitatively in terms of nuclear models.     

Alpha-decay of neutron-deficient 200Fr and heavier neighbours

A new measurement of the ²⁰⁰Fr -decay half-life, with improved accuracy compared to previous measurements, has been carried out at the Isolde-CERN on-line mass separator. A half-life of 49(4) ms has been obtained, which is substantially different from earlier literature values. For the ¹⁹⁶At daughter decay, a half-life of 389(54) ms and an branching ratio b = 94(5)% were measured. In addition, the half-lives of ^{201, 203, 205}Fr and ^197,199At are reported.     

Neutron and light-charged-particle productions in proton-induced reactions on 208Pb at 62.9 MeV

Neutrons and light charged particles produced in 62.9MeV proton-induced reactions on ²⁰⁸Pb were measured during a single experiment performed at the CYCLONE facility in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium). Two independent experimental set-ups were used to extract double differential cross-sections for neutrons, protons, deuterons, tritons, ³He and alpha-particles. Charged particles were detected using a set of Si- Si- CsI telescopes from 25^° to 155^°, by step of 10 degrees. Neutrons were measured using shielded DeMoN counters, liquid NE213 scintillators, at 24^°, 35^°, 55^°, 80^° and 120^°. These data allowed the determination of angle differential, energy differential and total production cross-sections. A comparison with theoretical calculations (MCNPX, FLUKA and TALYS) has been performed. It shows that the neutron and proton production rates are well predicted by MCNPX, using the INCL4 option. All the other codes underestimate the neutron production whereas they overestimate the proton one. For composite particles, which represent 17% of the charged particle total reaction cross-section, neither the shape nor the amplitude of the cross-sections are correctly predicted by the models.     

Effects of phonon-phonon coupling on low-lying states in neutron-rich Sn isotopes

Starting from an effective Skyrme interaction we present a method to take into account the coupling between one- and two-phonon terms in the wave functions of excited states. The approach is a development of a finite rank separable approximation for the quasiparticle RPA calculations proposed in our previous work. The influence of the phonon-phonon coupling on energies and transition probabilities for the low-lying quadrupole and octupole states in the neutron-rich Sn isotopes is studied.     

Decay studies of <Superscript>210-214</Superscript>Fr using α- γ-coincidences

The -decay fine structure of ^210-214Fr has been studied by --coincidence measurements. The nuclei were produced using the ¹²C on ²⁰⁹Bi reaction. Evaporation residues recoiling out of the target were separated in-flight by the velocity filter SHIP and stopped in a position-sensitive 16-strip PIPS-detector in order to study their subsequent decays. In the present work new and improved results for ^210-214Fr, produced by -decay of the primary reaction products ^214-218Ac, were extracted. The results are discussed and compared to previously published data.     

Beta-decay studies of neutron-rich Sc- Cr nuclei

The neutron-rich nuclei ₂₁^{57, 58}Sc, ₂₂^58-60Ti, ₂₃^60-63V, ₂₄^62-66Cr have been produced at Ganil via interactions of a 61.8A MeV ⁷⁶Ge beam with a ⁵⁸Ni target. Beta-decay studies have been performed using combined - and -ray spectroscopy. Half-lives have been determined and -decay schemes are proposed for ⁵⁸Ti, ⁶¹V and ⁶²Cr. From these studies, new hints for the existence of -decaying isomers in ⁶⁰V and in ⁶²Mn are provided. These results are compared to shell model calculations. The role of the f_7/2- f_5/2 proton-neutron interaction is examined through its influence on the lifetime values.     

Pionic degrees of freedom in atomic nuclei and quasielastic knockout of pions by high-energy electrons

The microscopic mechanism of the identical bands in odd-odd nucleus ¹⁹⁴Tl and its neighbor odd-A nuclei ^193,195Tl is investigated using the particle-number-conserving (PNC) method for treating the cranked shell model with monopole and quadrupole pairing interactions. It is found that the blocking effect of the high-j intruder orbital plays an important role in the variation of moments of inertia (J⁽¹⁾ and J⁽²⁾) with rotational frequency for the superdeformed bands and identical bands. The variation of the occupation probability of each cranked orbital and the contributions to moment of inertia from each cranked orbital are presented.     

Decay studies of <Superscript>214-216</Superscript>Ac by α- γ- γ-coincidences

The -decay fine structure of ²¹⁴Ac, ²¹⁵Ac and ²¹⁶Ac has been studied using the --coincidence technique. The nuclei were produced by ²⁰⁹Bi( ¹²C, xn)^221-xAc-reactions. Evaporation residues were separated in-flight from the primary beam using the velocity filter SHIP at GSI, Darmstadt. The separated nuclei were implanted into a position-sensitive 16-strip PIPS Si detector and their subsequent decays were measured. In these studies new and improved decay data for ^214-216Ac were obtained.     

PAC Measurements on New Ferromagnetic Compound Pd2TiSn

Magnetic hyperfine field (mhf) acting on ¹⁸¹Ta at the Ti site has been investigated in the alloy Pd₂TiSn by Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) measurements using the (133–482) keV – cascade in ¹⁸¹Ta following the ^– decay of ¹⁸¹Hf. The magnetic hyperfine field was measured as a function of temperature in the range of 45–1000K. The magnetization measurements were carried out with a vibrating sample magnetometer. The interpretation of the experimental results is based on the assumption that the probe nuclei occupy both the regular Ti sites as well as the Ti atom sites randomly distributed on the Pd sublattice.     

Levels in <Superscript>127</Superscript>La fed by the <Superscript>127</Superscript>Ce beta-decay

The low-lying levels in ¹²⁷La have been studied through the -decay of ¹²⁷Ce ( T_1/2 = 29s) produced by bombarding a ^natMo target with a 185-MeV ³⁵Cl beam. Reaction products were on-line mass-separated, and -ray singles and - coincidence measurements were performed. Conversion electrons were also measured and multipolarities of transitions have been derived. The half-life of the 210.9-keV level was determined to be (1.9±0.3)ns by the - delayed coincidence technique. The level scheme obtained has been compared with calculations based on the Nilsson model.     

Observation of a superdeformed band in <Superscript>190</Superscript>Pb

A superdeformed band has been observed in the N = 108 isotope ¹⁹⁰Pb. This is the most neutron-deficient Pb isotope in which superdeformed states have been observed. Several theoretical approaches have predicted that N = 108 will mark the limit of observable superdeformation in the Pb isotopes. The band, which consists of five (possibly six) transitions, is observed to feed at least one isomeric level in its decay to the ground state. This decay pattern supports a spin assignment of 10 for the lowest observed level.     

A search for spontaneous emission of heavy clusters in the 127I nuclide

The results of an experimental search for spontaneous cluster decay in ¹²⁷I are presented. Several possible channels have been investigated considering an exposure of 33834 kg ^. day collected by a large-mass highly radiopure NaI(Tl) set-up deep underground in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the INFN. New lower limits on the lifetime of ²⁴₁₀Ne, ²⁸₁₂Mg, ³⁰₁₂Mg, ³²₁₄Si, ³⁴₁₄Si, ⁴⁸₂₀Ca, ⁴⁹₂₁Sc cluster radioactivity in ¹²⁷I have been achieved.     

Study of 19Na at SPIRAL

The excitation function for the elastic-scattering reaction p( ¹⁸Ne, p) ¹⁸Ne was measured with the first radioactive beam from the SPIRAL facility at the GANIL laboratory and with a solid cryogenic hydrogen target. Several broad resonances have been observed, corresponding to new excited states in the unbound nucleus ¹⁹Na. In addition, two-proton emission events have been identified and are discussed.     

Gravitational Waves in Matter

The theory of gravitational waves in matter is given. This covers the questions of constitutive relation, number of independent polarizations, index of refraction, reflection and refraction at an interface, etc. The theory parallels the familiar optics of electromagnetic waves in material media, but there are some striking differences. The use of the Campbell-Morgan formalism in which the gauge-invariant tidal force dyads E and B rather than the gauge-dependent metric perturbations are the unknowns is essential. The main justification of the theory at the moment is as a theoretical exercise worth doing. The assumption: size L of the medium gravitational wave length (infinite medium) rules out application to the already well-understood detection problem, but there may be an application to gravitational wave propagation through molecular gas clouds of galactic or inter-galactic size.     

Medium-spin excitations of the neutron-rich 84Se isotope: Possible decrease in energy of the N = 50 neutron-core excitation

The ⁸⁴Se nucleus has been produced as fission fragment in the fusion reaction ¹⁸O + ²⁰⁸Pb at 85MeV bombarding energy and studied with the Euroball IV array. Medium-spin states of this neutron-rich isotope have been identified for the first time. Its level scheme has been obtained up to 4.9MeV excitation energy and spin I 7. Its structure is interpreted by analogy with those of the stable heavier isotones. The evolution of the energy of the N = 50 neutron-core excitation is discussed as a function of the proton number.     

Coexisting oblate and strongly triaxial structures in <Superscript>191</Superscript>Pt

Excited states in ¹⁹¹Pt have been populated using the reaction ¹⁸⁶W + ¹¹B at 85MeV beam energy. Gamma-ray coincidences were measured using the EUROGAM-II spectrometer array. The level scheme has been extended considerably. Evidence for favoured structures of highly triaxial shape with -90^° coexisting with oblate structures has been obtained by comparison with total Routhian surface and cranked shell model calculations. The presence of proton excitations in both positive- and negative-parity states has been confirmed.     

Prolate structures in 189Po and 185Pb

The 3/2^- isomer in ¹⁸⁵Pb and states above it have been populated in the -decay of ¹⁸⁹Po. The observed -decay strengths to and the electromagnetic decay properties of the excited states in ¹⁸⁵Pb have been combined with Potential Energy Surface and Particle-Plus-Rotor calculations to propose configuration assignments. It is suggested that the -decaying isomer of ¹⁸⁹Po is of prolate origin and that the prolate configuration becomes very low in energy in ¹⁸⁵Pb.