Vanishing N = 20 shell gap: study of excited states in (27,28)Ne

This Letter reports on the (1)H((28)Ne, (28)Ne) and (1)H((28)Ne, (27)Ne) reactions studied at intermediate energy using a liquid hydrogen target. From the cross section populating the first 2(+) excited state of (28)Ne, and using the previously determined BE(2) value, the neutron quadrupole transition matrix element has been calculated to be M(n)=13.8 +/- 3.7 fm(2). In the neutron knockout reaction, two low-lying excited states were populated in (27)Ne. Only one of them can be interpreted by the sd shell model while the additional state may intrude from the fp shell. These experimental observations are consistent with the presence of fp shell configurations at low excitation energy in (27,28)Ne nuclei caused by a vanishing N=20 shell gap at Z=10.     

Study of N = 16 for Ne isotopes

²⁷Ne has been investigated through the one neutron transfer reaction ²⁶Ne(d,p)²⁷Ne in inverse kinematics at 9.7 MeV/nucleon. The results support the existence of a low lying negative parity state in ²⁷Ne which is a signature of a reduced sd-fp shell gap in the N = 16 neutron rich region, at variance with stable nuclei.     

One-neutron knockout from Ne isotopes

One-neutron knockout reactions of ^24–28Ne in a beryllium target have been studied in the Fragment Separator (FRS), at GSI. The results include inclusive one-neutron knockout cross-sections as well as longitudinal-momentum distributions of the knockout fragments. The ground-state structure of the neutron-rich neon isotopes was obtained from an analysis of the measured momentum distributions. The results indicate that the two heaviest isotopes, ²⁷Ne and ²⁸Ne, are dominated by a configuration in which a s_1/2$s_{1/2}$ neutron is coupled to an excited state of the ²⁶Ne and ²⁷Ne core, respectively.     

Direct evidence for the onset of intruder configurations in neutron-rich Ne isotopes

We report on direct experimental evidence of the population of the 3/²⁻$3/2^{-}$ intruder state in ²⁷Ne in the knockout of a single neutron from the ground state of ²⁸Ne. This low-lying negative parity state is consistent with a narrower shell gap for exotic nuclei with Z?N$Z?N$ and N≈20$N\approx 20$. Monte Carlo shell-model calculations with the modern SDPF-M interaction successfully describe neutron-rich nuclei in the vicinity of N=20$N=20$ where normal and intruder configurations coexist at low excitation energy. This observation demonstrates the importance of direct reactions for the study of exotic nuclei and the predictive power of these large-scale shell-model calculations.     

Nuclear magnetic moment of 57Cu ground state

The nuclear magnetic moment of the ground state of ⁵⁷Cu(I^π = 3/2^-, T_1/2 = 196.3 ms) has been measured to be |μ(⁵⁷Cu)| = (2.00 ±0.05) μ_N using the β-NMR technique. Together with the known magnetic moment of the mirror partner ⁵⁷Ni, the spin expectation value was extracted as = -0.78 ± 0.13. Discrepancy between present results and shell model calculations in the full fp shell implies significant shell breaking at ⁵⁶Ni with the neutron number N = 28.     

Structure of the mirror nuclei21Ne and21Na

Theγ-decay of levels in²¹Ne up to 10 MeV excitation energy has been investigated byn — γ coincidence measurements initiated with the¹⁸O(α, nγ) reaction at 12, 13, 14.5 and 15.4 MeV bombarding energies. Spin(-parity) assignments of excited states are obtained by combining then — γ angular correlation measurements performed atE _α=11, 11.82 and 13.6 MeV with a consideration of lifetimes, neutron penetrabilities of the unbound states, and information from the mirror nucleus²¹Na. The resulting values of E_x[keV]?J ^π are as follows: 4525-5⁺, 4686-3⁺, 5431-7⁺, 5549-3⁺, 5819-7^?, 6175-7⁺, 6268-9⁺, 6550-9, 6639-9, 7006-7⁺, 7041-9, 7356-7 or 9, 7422-11^(?), 7648-7⁺, 7981-11 or (7⁺), 8154-9, 8240-11, 8664-9^? or 11 or 13^?, 9401-13^?, 9867-13^? or 15⁺, 9941-13^? or 15 or 17⁺. The assignment of mirror levels in²¹Ne —²¹Na has been extended to the 6175 keV level of²¹Ne. Excitation energies, electromagnetic properties, Gamow?Teller matrix elements and spectroscopic factors of positive parity states are compared with the results of shell-model calculations which employ a unifieds—d shell Hamiltonian and the unrestricted configuration space of the 0d _5/2 —1s _1/2—0d_3/2 shell. Collective properties contained in shell model wave functions are explored up to the termination of bands atJ=17/2 or 19/2. The spectrum of intruder states in²¹Ne is observed to begin with a 5628 keV,J ^π=7/2⁺ state. The 7422, 8664 and 9401 keV levels are assigned as members of previously established negative-parity rotational bands.     

Proton-induced direct capture on 21Ne and 22Ne

The direct capture process in the reactions ²¹Ne(p, γ)²²Na and ²²Ne(p, γ)²³Na has been investigated at E_p = 0.3–1.6 MeV using neon gas enriched to 91 % in ²¹Ne and to 99 % in ²²Ne, respectively. The gas was recirculated in a differentially pumped gas target system of the extended-static and quasi-point supersonic jet type. For ²²Ne(p, γ)²³Na, the direct capture process has been observed to several final states in ²³Na up to E_x = 8.83 MeV excitation energy. The deduced spectroscopic factors C²S are in fair agreement with the corresponding values from stripping reactions. The capture transition into the ²³Na ground state exhibits broad structures, which resemble Ericson fluctuations. The data remove the previously reported discrepancies in C²S for the ²³Na ground state. The excitation functions for the ²¹Ne(p, γ)²²Na reaction are dominated by broad and intense resonances, which hampered the measurement of the direct capture process. The nuclear and astrophysical aspects of the results are discussed.     

Untersuchungen zur Struktur des Kerns23Ne

Low-lying states of²³Ne up to about 3 MeV excitation energy have been investigated by studying the reactions²²Ne(d, p)²³Ne (E _d =4–6 MeV) and²³Na(n, p γ)²³Ne(E _n=8–9 MeV). From the (d, p) data,l-values and spectroscopic factors for the transferred neutron have been extracted by DWBA analyses. From the (n, p γ) data,γ-ray branchings and possible spin assignments have been derived. The results are used to discuss the applicability of the Nilsson model and the excited core model to the nucleus²³Ne.     

DSA lifetime measurements in21Ne at high recoil velocity

States in²¹Ne up to 5 MeV excitation energy have been populated using the inverted reaction²H(²⁰Ne,pγ). The Doppler shift attenuation (DSA) analysis of thepγ coincidence spectra taken in a Ge(Li) detector at 45° and 135° and an annular silicon surface barrier detector near 0° yielded the lifetimes of 8 states in²¹Ne. Due to the large recoil ofπ _i/c～ 4% three new lifetimes were determined for the short lived levels at 2.80, 4.68 and 4.73 MeV, namely 10±4 fs, 16±4 fs and 10±4 fs, respectively. The results are compared with rotational and shell model calculations.     

Singlet-triplet excitation ratios in Ne III, Ar III and N II under ion impact

Peculiar properties of ion-atom collision systems, in particular deviations from statistical populations of singlet and triplet levels, can be studied by optical spectroscopy. We have extended earlier studies by VUV spectroscopy of a number of collision systems at various collision energies in the 0.01-MeV/nucleon to 1-MeV/nucleon range, involving H₂ ⁺, H⁺, He⁺, He²⁺, Ne⁺, Ar⁺, and N₂ ⁺ as projectiles and Ne, Ar, and N₂ as target gases. Statistically significant deviations of the relative intensities of singlet and triplet lines from simple ratios are observed in the displaced terms of the valence shell of Ne III, corroborating and extending earlier work. For Ar III, the energy dependences of singlet-to-triplet excitation ratios are very different for different projectiles. For N II, in contrast, all observed line ratios are practically independent of the projectile energy. Received 17 November 2000 and Received in final form 31 January 2001     

Ionization of hydrogen and deuterium atoms in thermal energy collisions with state-selected Ne(3s 3 P 2,3 P 0) metastable atoms

High resolution energy spectra of electrons and ions resulting from thermal energy collisions of hydrogen and deuterium atoms with state-selected metastable Ne(Ne(3s ³ P ₂,³ P ₀) atoms are reported. The electron spectra for Ne(³ P ₂)+H(D) are very broad: The high energy part due to formation of NeH⁺ (NeD⁺) bound states (associative ionization), amounts to about 30% of the ionizing events, whereas the dominant part of the spectrum including a prominent low-energy peak is due to Penning ionization out of a strongly-attractive entrance potential curve. Comparison of the spectra with quantum mechanical fit calculations yields fairly accurate information on this potential, in particular its well depthD _e [Ne(³ P ₂)?H,D]= 2.0(1) eV. The spectra for Ne(³ P ₀)+H, D are comparatively narrow with much lower cross sections than the one for the Ne(³ P ₂) state. The corresponding entrance channel is a weakly bound van der Waals molecule with a well depth below 0.1 eV. A perturbation calculation of the Ne(3s)+H(1s) potential energy curves at large distances explains the observed difference between the Ne(³ P ₂)+H(D) and Ne(³ P ₀)+H(D) systems. Symmetry arguments are given that the major contribution to the Ne(³ P ₂)+H(D) spectra is due to the² Σ potential.     

Helium burning of22Ne

The²²Ne(α, γ)²⁶Mg and²²Ne(α, n)²⁵Mg reactions were investigated forE _α(lab) from 0.71 to 2.25 MeV. Neon gas enriched to 99% in²²Ne was recirculated in a differentially pumped gas target system of the extended type. Theγ-ray transitions were observed with Ge(Li) detectors and the neutrons with³He ionization chambers. A previously known resonance at E_R(lab)=2.05 MeV was verified and 15 new resonances were found in the energy range covered, with the lowest at E_R(lab)=0.83 MeV. Information on resonance energies, widths, strengths,γ-ray branching ratios, as well asJ ^π assignments, is reported. The energy range investigated corresponds to the important temperature range ofT ₉ from 0.3 to 1.4 (10⁹ K), for which the astrophysical rates were determined for both reactions. The results show that the ratios of the rates for²²Ne(α, n)²⁵Mg and²²Ne(α, γ)²⁶Mg are significantly smaller than the previously adopted values, e.g., by at least a factor of 60 nearT ₉=0.65. Thus, the²²Ne(α, n)²⁵Mg reaction will likely play a smaller role as a neutron source fors-process nucleosynthesis, than has frequently been assumed.     

Giant resonance decays in 20Ne, 22Ne and interference effects with quasifree scattering processes

The charged particle (c) decay from excited states up to the giant quadrupole resonance (GQR) in ²⁰Ne has been studied in a kinematically complete ²⁰Ne(α, α′ c) coincident experiment at E_α = 155 MeV. Angular correlation functions and branching ratios are extracted for the α₀, α₁ and p₀ decay channels. The (α, α′ α₀) angular correlation functions are analysed in PWBA in terms of coherent interference with the quasifree scattering process leading to the same final states. Good fits to the data are achieved over a large range of excitation energies. Branching ratios have been extracted and compared to results of Hauser-Feshbach calculations. Above E_x = 12.5 MeV excitation energy a discrepancy was found between the experimentally observed α₀ branching ratios and the HF predictions. These results yield evidence for a direct α₀ decay mechanism of the split isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance in ²⁰Ne. Some results are presented also for a ²²Ne(α, α′ c) coincidence experiment. Qualitative comparison has been made between the general decay behaviour of the two Ne isotopes.     

20Ne(p,p0)20Ne and states of 21Na

Cross-section and analyzing power angular distributions have been measured for ²⁰Ne(p, p)²⁰Ne and ²⁰Ne(p, p₁)²⁰Ne¹(1.63 MeV) for proton energies between 3.7 and 7.9 MeV. The measurements were made in 25 keV intervals between 3.7 and 4.4 MeV, and in 10 keV intervals over most of the region between 4.4 and 7.9 MeV. A phase-shift analysis of the elastic-scattering data has yielded resonance parameters for thirty-three levels in ²¹Na in the excitation energy region 6.0–9.9 MeV. Some of the strong even-parity resonances can be understood within the framework of the Nilsson model or the shell model. These resonances are also predicted by a macroscopic coupled-channels calculation involving rotational excitation of the 2⁺ and 4⁺ states of ²⁰Ne.     

Quadrupole transitions in 20Ne

Untruncated shell model calculations in the 1s-0d shell using Chung-Wildenthal effective interactions have been performed for ²⁰Ne and the electron scattering form factors for elastic scattering and for the excitation of 2₁⁺, 2₁⁺ and 2₃⁺ states have been examined. Saxon-Woods wave functions and a phase-shift analysis have been used. It is shown that within the limited space of the 1s-0d shell, it is possible to obtain vastly different momentum transfer dependence for the electro-excitation of ΔJ^π = 2⁺ transitions. The 2₁⁺ and 2₂⁺ states are seen to be adequately described by the wave functions obtained in this calculation, but 2₃⁺ is not described well.     

On the He(I) and Ne(I) photoelectron spectra of OCS

The He(I) (58.43 nm) and Ne(I) (73.59–74.37 nm) photoelectron spectra of carbonyl sulphide have been reinvestigated at an improved resolution and a high signal-to-noise ratio; deconvolution of the data was carried out to aid interpretation of the spectra. Improved values are deduced for the vibrational wavenumbers and the ionization energies. The spin—orbit components of the Ã²Π II level are well resolved and a value of 135 cm^?1 (17 ± 5 meV) is proposed for the splitting. Perturbations in the relative intensities are observed in the Ne(I) spectrum; they suggest that the autoionizing Rydberg state located around 73.7 nm is excited by the 73.59 nm Ne(I) line and contributes to populate, with different probabilities, the ionic levels of lower energy, and particularly the X?²Π state.     

Nuclear resonance flourescence in 22Ne

States at 5.328, 6.851, 8.553, 9.165 and 10.203 MeV in ²²Ne have been observed in a nuclear resonance fluorescence experiment using bremsstrahlung and high resolution Ge(Li) diodes. Photon scattering cross sections, γ-ray decay widths to the ground and first excited states, and lifetimes are derived. The results are compared with inelastic electron scattering data and shell model calculations.     

Proton induced resonances on 21Ne

Excitation curves for the ${}^{21}\text{Ne}\text{(}\text{p}\text{, γ)}{}^{22}\text{Na}\text{,}{}^{21}\text{Ne}\text{(}\text{p, p}\text{′γ)}{}^{21}\text{Ne and}{}^{21}\text{Ne}\text{(}\text{p, p}\text{)}{}^{21}\text{Ne}$ reactions have been obtained for E_p = 0.4–1.6 MeV. Neon gas enriched to 92 % in ²¹Ne was recirculated in a differentially pumped gas target system. The fifteen previously reported (p, γ) resonances were established and nineteen new (p, γ) resonances found. Anomalies in the elastic scattering yield were observed for fourteen resonances. The reported state at E_x = 7278 ± 7 keV in ²²Na was resolved into a doublet separated by 1 keV. All unbound states in ²²Na, observed previously in other reactions, have been confirmed as resonance states in the energy range covered, with the exception of the E_x = 7942 ± 7 keV state. The new E_p = 663, 694, 1235, 1432 and 1543 keV resonances correspond to new unbound states in ²²Na. Excitation energies, γ-ray decay schemes, resonance widths and strengths as well as limits on J^π assignments are reported for all the resonances. From the Coulomb excitation of the E_x = 350 keV, first excited state in ²¹Ne a value of B(E2) = 0.014 ± 0.002 e² · b² is deduced. The astrophysical as well as the nuclear structure implications of the present results are discussed.     

Masses of62Fe and the new isotope68Ni from (18O20Ne) reactions

The utility of the (¹⁸O²⁰Ne) reaction at small angles for the mass determination of highly neutron rich nuclei is demonstrated by a determination of the mass excess of⁶²Fe as (?58.946±0.022) MeV and of⁶⁸Ni as (?63.466±0.028) MeV. An excited state of⁶²Fe is observed at 0.875 MeV.