In-trap decay spectroscopy for 2�ͦ¦� decay experiments

Knowledge of 2??|? nuclear matrix elements is essential to probe the theoretical framework of 0??|? decays. At TITAN, TRIUMF??s Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science, a novel technique has been developed to measure electron capture branches of virtual intermediate nuclei in ?|? decays. During two experiments with radioactive ^{124, 126}Cs isotopes the feasibility of this new method was proven.     

A high-current electron beam ion trap as an on-line charge breeder for the high precision mass measurement TITAN experiment

The precision of atomic mass measurements in a Penning trap is directly proportional to the charge state q of the ion and, hence, can be increased by using highly charged ions (HCI). For this reason, charge breeding with an electron beam ion trap (EBIT) is employed at TRIUMF’s Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN) on-line facility in Vancouver, Canada. By bombarding the injected and trapped singly charged ions with an intense beam of electrons, the charge state of the ions is rapidly increased inside the EBIT. To be compatible with the on-line requirements of short-lived isotopes, very high electron beam current densities are needed. The TITAN EBIT includes a 6 Tesla superconducting magnet and is designed to have electron beam currents and energies of up to 5 A and 60 keV, respectively. Once operational at full capacity, most species can be bred into a He-like configuration within tens of ms. Subsequently, the HCI are extracted, pass a Wien filter to reduce isobaric contamination, are cooled, and injected into a precision Penning trap for mass measurement. We will present the first results and current status of the TITAN EBIT, which has recently been moved to TRIUMF after assembly and commissioning at the Max-Planck-Institute (MPI) for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany.     

Mass splittings of nuclear isotopes in chiral solition approach

The differences in the masses of isotopes with atomic numbers between ～10 and ～30 can be described within the chiral soliton model in satisfactory agreement with data. The rescaling of the model is necessary for this purpose—a decrease in the Skyrme constant by ～30%, providing the “nuclear variant” of the model. The asymmetric term in the Weizsäcker-Bethe-Bacher mass formula for nuclei can be obtained as the isospin-dependent quantum correction to the nucleus energy. Some predictions of the binding energies of neutron-rich isotopes are made in this way from, e.g., ¹⁶Be, ¹⁹B to ³¹Ne or ³²Na. The neutron-rich nuclides with high values of isospin are unstable relative to decay owing to strong interactions. The SK4 (Skyrme) variant of the model, as well as the SK6 variant (sixth-order term in the derivatives of the chiral field in the Lagrangian as soliton stabilizer), is considered; the rational-map approximation is used to describe multi-Skyrmions.     

Beta-decay energies of neutron-rich nuclei in the mass region 142≦A≦150

The β-endpoint energies of 6 neutron-rich nuclei with mass numbersA=146 andA=147 have been measured with a plastic scintillator telescope at the on-line mass separator OSTIS. With theQ _β-values derived from these experiments and with those obtained in earlier studies, nuclear structure effects in this part of the nuclear chart are investigated. In addition, nuclear masses derived from the experimentalQ _β-values are compared with the predictions of theoretical mass calculations.     

Rearrangements in neutron shell closures far from stability

A survey of experimental results obtained at GANIL (Caen, Prance) on the study of the properties of very neutron-rich nuclei (Z = 6–20, A = 20–60) near the neutron drip line and resulting in an appearance of further evidence for the new magic number N = 16 is presented. Very recent data on mass measurements of neutron-rich nuclei at GANIL and some characteristics of binding energies in this region are discussed. Nuclear binding energies are very sensitive to the existence of nuclear shells and together with the measurements of instability of doubly magic nuclei ¹⁰He and ²⁸0 they provide information on changes in neutron shell closures of very neutron-rich isotopes. The behaviour of the two-neutron separation energies S_2n derived from mass measurements gives a very clear evidence for the existence of the new shell closure N = 16 for Z = 9 and 10 appearing between 2s_1/2 and ld_3/2 orbitals. This fact, strongly supported by the instability of C, N and O isotopes with N > 16, confirms the magic character of N = 16 for the region from carbon up to neon while the shell closure at N = 20 tends to disappear for Z ≤ 13. Decay studies of these hardly accessible short-lived neutron-rich nuclei from oxygen to silicon using the in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy are also reported.     

Precision mass measurements of neutron halo nuclei using the TITAN Penning trap

Precise atomic mass determinations play a key role in various fields of physics, including nuclear physics, testing of fundamental symmetries and constants and atomic physics. Recently, the TITAN Penning trap measured the masses of several neutron halos. These exotic systems have an extended, diluted, matter distribution that can be modelled by considering a nuclear core surrounded by a halo formed by one or more of loosely bound neutrons. Combined with laser spectroscopy measurements of isotopic shifts precise masses can be used to obtain reliable charge radii and two-neutron-seperation energies for these halo nuclei. It is shown that these results can be used as stringent tests of nuclear models and potentials providing an important metric for our understanding of the interactions in all nuclei.     

基于不稳定核基本性质测量的原子核结构研究

精密激光谱学是通过测量核素原子光谱的超精细结构和同位素移位来研究原子核的基本性质,为原子核自旋、磁矩、电四极矩及电荷均方根半径的确定提供了一种模型独立的测量方式。这些原子核基本性质的测量,能够比较精确地描述原子核微观结构的演化。近年来,随着放射性束流装置的发展,产生远离β-稳定线的丰中子/丰质子核素成为可能,也进一步促进了高分辨和高灵敏度的激光谱技术更加广泛的应用。简单介绍了基于放射性核素超精细结构的激光谱学测量原理,并通过几个经典实例来回顾近年来激光谱学在原子核奇特结构研究领域的独特贡献。主要通过分析几个重要核区原子核的基本性质,结合大尺度壳模型、ab initio理论、密度泛函理论等,来探索丰中子核中展现出来的一些新的奇特现象,如晕结构、幻数演化、形状共存等。High-precision laser spectroscopy technique is used to determine the ground state properties of exotic nuclei by probing its electronic hyperfine structure and isotope shift. It provides a model-independent measurement of nuclear spin, magnetic moment, electric quadrupole moment and charge radii. These nuclear parameters can be used to investigate the nuclear structure evolution and the nuclear shapes. With the development of accelerators and isotope separators, exotic isotopes far from β stability became accessible experimentally, which enhanced the capability of the laser spectroscopy technique being applied in the field of nuclear physics. A brief introduction to experimental principle is given, followed by a review of several typical examples for the experimental investigations in the different regions of nuclear chart. This aims to demonstrate the contributions of ground state properties measurement by using laser spectroscopy technique to the nuclear structure study of exotic isotopes. This discussion involves several different nuclear theory models in order to interpret the exotic phenomena observed in the neutron-rich isotopes, such as halo structure, shell evolution, shape coexistence and so on.     

First use of high charge states for mass measurements of short-lived nuclides in a Penning trap

Penning trap mass measurements of short-lived nuclides have been performed for the first time with highly charged ions, using the TITAN facility at TRIUMF. Compared to singly charged ions, this provides an improvement in experimental precision that scales with the charge state q. Neutron-deficient Rb isotopes have been charge bred in an electron beam ion trap to q=8-12+ prior to injection into the Penning trap. In combination with the Ramsey excitation scheme, this unique setup creating low energy, highly charged ions at a radioactive beam facility opens the door to unrivaled precision with gains of 1-2 orders of magnitude. The method is particularly suited for short-lived nuclides such as the superallowed β emitter 74Rb (T(1/2)=65 ms). The determination of its atomic mass and an improved Q(EC) value are presented.     

Atomic masses above146Gd derived from a shell model analysis of high spin states

From a shell model analysis of high-spin states in neutron deficient nuclei above¹⁴⁶Gd we have derived the ground state masses of theN=82 and 83 isotones of Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er. The results can be used to calculate the energies of aligned multiparticle yrast configurations. They also link ten α-decay chains to the nuclei with known masses, providing many new absolute mass values which are compared with predictions. An examination of the two-proton separation energies atN=82 shows an 0.5 MeV break in the nuclear mass surface atZ=64.     

Charge radii and structural evolution in Sr,Zr, and Mo isotopes

The evolution of the ground-state nuclear shapes in neutron-rich Sr, Zr, and Mo isotopes, including both even-even and odd-A nuclei, is studied within a self-consistent mean-field approximation based on the D1S–Gogny interaction. Neutron separation energies and charge radii are calculated and compared with available data. A correlation between a shape transition and a discontinuity in those observables is found microscopically. While in Sr and Zr isotopes the steep behavior observed in the isotopic dependence of the charge radii is a consequence of a sharp prolate–oblate transition, the smooth behavior found in Mo isotopes has its origin in an emergent region of triaxiality.     

Mass measurement of neutron-rich isotopes from51Ca to72Ni

The ground state masses of thirty-nine neutronrich nuclei from⁵¹Ca to⁷²Ni have been measured using the Time-of-Flight Isochronous (TOFI) spectrometer. Eight of these masses have been measured for the first time and thirty-one are remeasurements of neutron-rich nuclei previously reported. Good agreement between these results and a previous TOFI experiment was observed except for the most neutron-rich isotopes of vanadium through iron with the present results being more bound and in better agreement with theory. The low binding energy of⁶⁸Ni, as indicated by an unreasonably low two-neutron separation energy, suggests the presence of a high-lying, long-lived isomeric state in this nucleus.     

原子核基态性质的系统研究

在Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov（SHFB）理论框架下,利用SkOP1,SkOP2,SKC和SKD 4套新的Skyrme相互作用参数系统地研究了Ca,Ni,Sn和Pb同位素链上原子核的结合能、电荷半径等基态性质,并重点讨论了丰中子Ca核的新中子幻数以及Pb的同位素位移现象。通过与实验数据和SLy5相互作用参数的结果对比,发现这4套相互作用参数都能很好地再现结合能的实验数据,其预言精度比SLy5要高。对于丰中子Ca核,只有SKC和SKD相互作用参数能够再现N=28处的壳效应,而对于实验上发现的新幻数N=32和34,所有的相互作用参数均不能再现这一结果。对于电荷半径,发现所有的相互作用参数均不能很好地预言Ca同位素链电荷半径的演化规律以及Pb的同位素位移现象。另外,还将这些相互作用参数推广至远离β稳定线原子核的单粒子能级结构研究,发现其不适用于描述其随同位旋的演化行为。因此,为了更好地描述远离β稳定线原子核的宏观性质及单粒子能级,建议在拟合Skyrme相互作用参数时,除自旋-轨道耦合项包括合理的同位旋依赖外,还要考虑张量力成分。The nuclear ground state properties of Ca, Ni, Sn and Pb isotopes, such as the binding energies, the charge radii, are studied systematically by 4 sets of new Skyrme parametrizations SKC, SKD, SkOP1 and SkOP2 in the framework of the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (SHFB) method. The new magic numbers of neutronrich Ca isotopes and the isotopic shift of Pb isotopes are discussed emphatically. By the comparisons between the calculations and the experimental data and results from the SLy5 interaction parametrization, it is found that the experimental binding energies can be reproduced accurately by all parametrizations. The calculated accuracies of SKC, SKD SkOP1 and SkOP2 parametrizations are higher than the ones of SLy5 parametrization. For the neutron-rich Ca nuclei, the shell effect of N=28 can be reproduced by the SKC and SKD parametrizations, but the magic numbers at N=32 and 34 are not found by the calculations of all the parametrizations. For the charge radii, the experimental evolution tendency of Ca isotopes and isotopic shift of Pb isotopes can not be reproduced by all the parametrizations. In addition, all Skyrme parametrizations are extended to study the structure of the nuclei far from the β stability line, it is shown that the single-particle energy evolutions with the isospin are not suitable for being studied by these parametrizations. Thus the tensor force component should be considered besides the isospin dependence in spin-orbit coupling term when the Skyrme interaction parametrizations are fitted.     

New neutron magic number <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis> = 16 for neutron-rich nuclei

A survey of experimental results obtained at GANIL (Caen, France) on the study of the properties of very neutron-rich nuclei (Z=6–20, A=20–60) near the neutron drip line and resulting in an appearance of further evidence for the new magic number N=16 is presented. Very recent data on mass measurements of neutron-rich nuclei at GANIL and some characteristics of binding energies in this region are discussed. Nuclear binding energies are very sensitive to the existence of nuclear shells, and together with the measurements of instability of doubly magic nuclei ¹⁰He and ²⁸O, they provide information on changes in neutron shell closures of very neutron-rich isotopes. The behavior of the two-neutron separation energies S_2n derived from mass measurements gives very clear evidence for the existence of the new shell closure N=16 for Z=9 and 10 appearing between the 2s_1/2 and 1d_3/2 orbitals. This fact, strongly supported by the instability of C, N, and O isotopes with N>16, confirms the magic character of N=16 for the region from carbon up to neon, while the shell closure at N=20 tends to disappear for Z≤13. Decay studies of these hardly accessible short-lived neutron-rich nuclei from oxygen to silicon using in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy are also reported.     

Microscopic insight into the quasi-particle structure of odd-mass terbium isotopes

The present work has been focussed on the application of Projected Shell Model to study the negative parity rotational band structure up to the high spin states of the neutron-rich odd mass Terbium isotopes with neutron numbers ranging from 90 to 98. The structure evolution in these nuclei has been made on the basis of various nuclear structure properties like energy spectra, transition energies, wave functions and electromagnetic transition probabilities (B(E2) and B(M1)). Besides, the occurrence of back bending has also been reported in the present work.     

Electron-capture branching ratio measurements of odd-odd intermediate nuclei in double-beta decay at the TITAN facility

A novel technique to measure electron-capture branching ratios is being introduced, where the TITAN ion traps and the ISAC radioactive beam facility at TRIUMF are the central components. The technique will be applied to the intermediate odd-odd nuclei in double-beta decay. The decay properties of these nuclei will constrain theoretical models dealing with the evaluation of the nuclear matrix elements for both the 2ν and the 0ν mode. The present setup and its potential for measuring extremely low branching ratios at low instrumental backgrounds is described.     

Nuclear structure studies on halo nuclei by direct reactions with radioactive beams

The investigation of direct reactions with exotic beams in inverse kinematics gives access to a wide field of nuclear structure studies in the region far off stability. The basic concept and the methods involved are briefly discussed. The present contribution will focus on the investigation of light neutron-rich halo nuclei. Such nuclei reveal a new type of nuclear structure, namely an extended neutron distribution surrounding a nuclear core. An overview on this phenomenon, and on the various methods which gave first evidence and qualitative confirmation of our present picture of halo nuclei, is given. To obtain more quantitative information on the radial shape of halo nuclei, elastic proton scattering on neutron-rich light nuclei at intermediate energies was recently investigated for the first time. This method is demonstrated to be an effective means for studying the nuclear matter distributions of such nuclei. The results on the nuclear matter radii of ⁶He and ⁸He, the deduced nuclear matter density distributions, and the significance of the data on the halo structure is discussed. The present data allow also a sensitive test of theoretical model calculations on the structure of neutron-rich helium isotopes. A few examples are presented. The investigation of few-nucleon transfer reactions in inverse kinematics may provide new and complementary information on nuclear structure, as well as astrophysical questions. The physics motivation and the experimental concept for such experiments, to be performed due to momentum matching reasons at low incident energies around 5–20 MeV/u at the new generation low energy radioactive beam facilities SPIRAL, PIAFE, etc., is briefly discussed.     

A cooler ion trap for the TITAN on-line trapping facility at TRIUMF

We present simulations of electron and proton cooling of highly charged ions in a Penning trap, including the potentially detrimental effects of radiative, dielectronic, and three-body recombination in electron cooling. We show a preliminary design for a cooler trap accommodating both electron and proton cooling, which will be a component of the TITAN ion-trap facility under construction at TRIUMF for precision mass measurements of short-lived radioactive nuclei.      

Criteria for comparison of bands in even-even nuclei

A cluster model gives a satisfactory reproduction of normal deformed (ND) ground state bands in a wide range of even-even nuclei. We show here that the fractional change of the transition energies in two bands is closely related to the fractional change in the corresponding reduced masses. We compare our predictions to data on ground state ND bands for a series of light rare-earth and actinide isotopes.     

The neutron halo structure of 17B studied with the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory

The properties of neutron-rich boron isotopes are studied in the relativistic continuum Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in coordinate space with NL-SH, PK1 and TM2 effective interactions. Pairing corrections are taken into account by a density dependent force of zero range. The binding energies calculated for these nuclei agree with the experimental data quite well. The neutron-rich nucleus ¹⁷B has been predicted to have a two-neutron halo structure in its ground state. The halo structure of ¹⁷B is reproduced in a self-consistent way, and this halo is shown to be formed by the valence neutron level 2_s1/2.