(EC +β+) decay study of 128Ce

The (EC+β⁺) decay of ¹²⁸Ce was reinvestigated in the ¹¹⁶Sn (¹⁶O, 4n) reaction by using a helium-jet tape transport system. The close half-lives of ¹²⁸Ce and ¹²⁹Ce made it difficult to separate the decay γ rays of both nuclei apart. Instead of the excitation-function measurements, both reactions of ¹⁶O+¹¹⁶Sn and ¹⁶O+¹¹⁷Sn were carried out, and from their comparisons, the decay γ rays of ¹²⁸Ce were clearly told from those of ¹²⁹Ce. Based on X-γ and γ-γ coincidence measurements, a detailed (EC +β⁺) decay scheme of ¹²⁸Ce has been proposed, which revises the previous one. Received: 29 September 1999 / Revised version: 5 November 1999     

(EC+β +) decay of 130Nd and 140Tb

The available astrophysical S(E) factor data for the reaction ⁷Li (p,α)α at 10 < E < 1000keV exhibit an exponential increase at low energies due to the effects of electron screening. A parametrisation of the data using a non-resonant, direct process and two subthreshold resonances reproduces the data at energies E≥ 100keV, while at lower energies this calculated S _b(E) factor curve for bare nuclides drops below the data, which in turn represent the case of electron-shielded nuclides, i.e. the electron-shielded S _s(E) factor. The comparison between S _b(E) and S _s(E) leads to an electron-screening potential energy U _e = 350eV, which is much higher than the adiabatic limit of 175eV and not understood at present. The deduced value of S _b(0) is considerably smaller than the previously adopted value of 59keV b, significantly increasing the calculated abundance of ⁷Li in big-bang nucleosynthesis. The Trojan-horse method was applied to the reaction ⁷Li (p,α)α to determine the energy dependence of the S _b(E) factor for 10 < E < 370keV, free from the effects of the Coulomb barrier and electron screening. The THM results are close to the calculated S _b(E) curve and suggest that the THM may become a powerful way to obtain improved information on low-energy cross-sections and associated electron-screening effects in a model-independent way. Received: 9 September 2000 / Accepted: 5 December 2000     

The (EC+β+) decay of153Er

¹⁵³Er has been produced by irradiation of¹⁴²Nd with¹⁶O,and studied using a He-jet recoil tape transport system.A decay scheme is proposed for the first time,based on X- and - coincidence measurements, which takes account of 12 observed -rays.This work was supported by Academia Sinica     

New nuclide 139Tb and (EC +β+) decay of 138,139Gd

Excited levels in ¹³³Sn and ¹³⁴Sb, populated in spontaneous fission of ²⁴⁸Cm, were studied by means of prompt-γ spectroscopy, using the EUROGAM 2 multidetector array. The neutron i _13/2 single-particle energy has been determined for the first time in the ¹³²Sn region. The energy of the h _9/2 neutron level, proposed previously, has been confirmed. Received: 13 January 1999 / Revised version: 22 March 1999     

EC/β+ decay of six medium-heavy nuclei

Previous experimental results of (EC+β+) decay for the medium-heavy nuclei reported by our group since 1996, including 153Er, 157Yb, 209Fr, 128Ce, 130Ce, and 128Pr have been briefly summarized. The observed low-lying states in their daughter nuclei have been reviewed in a systematic way and compared with different model calculations. Finally, some questions have been put forward for further study and discussion.     

(EC+β+) Decay of 130Pm and 128Pr

¹³⁰Pm and ¹²⁸ Pr were produced by irradiation of ⁹⁶Ru with 171MeV ³⁶Ar beam,and a He-jet recoil tape transport system transported radioactivities to shielded reigon. Based on X-γ-t and γ-γ-t coincidence measurements ,the (EC+β⁺)decay scheme of ¹³⁰Pm was proposed for the first time and the (EC+β⁺)decay scheme of ¹²⁸Pr was revised.     

β+ decay of unstable praseodymium isotopes: 127Pr, 126Pr and the new isotope 125Pr

The β⁺ decay of ^127,126,125Pr was studied for on-line mass-separated sources. The decay scheme of ¹²⁷Pr reported previously was revised from the results of a more-detailed analysis of the experimental data. The ¹²⁵Pr isotope was newly identified with a half-life of 3.3(7) s and its decay scheme is presented. The γ band in ¹²⁶Ce was identified in the decay of ¹²⁶Pr and its properties are compared with the prediction of the interacting boson model 2.     

EC/β+ decay of six medium-heavy nuclei

Previous experimental results of (EC+β⁺) decay for the medium-heavy nuclei reported by our group since 1996, including ¹⁵³Er, ¹⁵⁷Yb, ²⁰⁹Fr, ¹²⁸Ce, ¹³⁰Ce, and ¹²⁸Pr have been briefly summarized. The observed low-lying states in their daughter nuclei have been reviewed in a systematic way and compared with different model calculations. Finally, some questions have been put forward for further study and discussion.     

Nuclear structure calculation ofβ + β +,β +/EC and EC/EC decay matrix elements

Nuclear matrix elements for double positron emisson ( ^{+ +}), positron emission/electron capture ( ⁺/ EC) and double electron capture (EC/EC) in the 2 decay mode and for ^{+ +} and ⁺/EC decay in the 0 mode are calculated for the experimentally most promising isotopes⁵⁸Ni,⁷⁸Kr,⁹⁶Ru,¹⁰⁶Cd,¹²⁴Xe,¹³⁰Ba and¹³⁶Ce within pn-QRPA. We point out that the matrix element for the 2 ⁺/EC decay differs from the 2 ^{+ +} matrix element, an effect not considered previously. For the neutrino accompanied decays our calculation predicts for the ⁺/EC and the EC/EC mode half lives which are shorter typically by 4–7 orders of magnitude than those for the double positron emission. However, even for the best candidates typical values for 2 ⁺/EC (2 EC/EC) are still in the range of 10²² ((some) 10²¹) years. For 0 decay we have calculated all matrix elements relevant for both, the mass mechanism and the right-handed currents for the first time complete. A detailed discussion of the differences between the 0 ⁺⁺, the 0 ⁺/EC and 0 ^{– –} decay is given.This work is supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (05243204) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. One of us (M.H.) would like to thank the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (Monbusho) for financial support. He also acknowledges valuable discussions with S.S.     

133 Sm的(EC+β+)衰变和133Pr的1.1s同质异能态

通过96 Ru( 4 0 Ca ,ln2p)反应 ,采用氦喷嘴带传输系统和X γ与γ γ符合测量方法 ,首次建议了133Sm的简单的 (EC + β+)衰变纲图 .由于Ru靶中含有98— 10 2 Ru的成分 ,同时产生了133Pr,并首次测定了133Pr的 1 1 / 2 - 同质异能态的寿命为( 1 .1± 0 .2 )s.用单粒子模型提取了131,133,135 ,137Pr的 1 1 / 2 - 同质异能态的约化跃迁几率的实验值 ,并与Weisscopf近似估计进行了比较 .     

The 130Nd↦130Pr↦130Ce decay chain revisited

An investigation of low-lying energy levels of ¹³⁰Pr and ¹³⁰Ce has been made via β-decay. The radioactive parent nuclei were produced via ^94,96Mo + ⁴⁰Ca reactions at 6.8 MeV/nucleon and transported by a He-jet system. Gamma-γ-t, γ-X-t, γ-e^--t coincidence measurements were performed. Internal conversion coefficients have been measured with a magnetic spectrometer. The new β-decay half-life of ¹³⁰Nd has been determined to be 21(3) s. A partial level scheme of ¹³⁰Pr at low-spin has been constructed. The β-decay of ¹³⁰Pr to ¹³⁰Ce suggests the existence of three β-instable isomeric states in ¹³⁰Pr, while only one half-life T _1/2 = 40(4) s has been measured. Based on the present work and low-lying excited states in neighbouring odd-mass nuclei, the spins and parities of isomeric states in ¹³⁰Pr are proposed to be 2⁺, (4,5)⁺ and (7,8^±). The ground state in ¹³⁰Pr is still undetermined. Received: 20 August 2001 / Accepted: 6 November 2001     

New search for 0νEC/EC and 2νEC/EC decay of 106Cd

The studies aimed at decreasing the background of the TGV-2 spectrometer have led to constructive changes in the cryostat and increased the sensitivity of the 32-detector spectrometer. New search for 0νEC/EC, 2νEC/EC) decays of ¹⁰⁶Cd was started with ～13.6 g of ¹⁰⁶Cd with enrichment of 75%. The evaluation of the experimental data accumulated for 4800 h was performed. Limits (at 90% CL) on the half-lives of 0νEC/EC resonant decay of ¹⁰⁶Cd to the 2741 keV excited state of ¹⁰⁶Pd (T _1/2 ≥ 6.5 × 10¹⁹ y) and on t 2νEC/EC decay to the ground state of ¹⁰⁶Pd (0⁺ → 0⁺, g.s.) (T _1/2 ≥ 1.7 × 10²⁰ y) were obtained. The limits on the other branches of ¹⁰⁶Cd decay—2νEC/EC decay to the 2⁺, 512 keV and 0 ₁ ⁺ , 1334 keV excited states of ¹⁰⁶Pd and 2νβ⁺β⁺ and 2νβ⁺ EC decays of ¹⁰⁶Cd to the ground and excited states of ¹⁰⁶Pd were improved.     

130Nd和140Tb的EC/β+衰变研究

利用能量为１７０ＭｅＶ左右的３６Ａｒ重离子束轰击９６Ｒｕ和１０６Ｃｄ浓缩同位素靶,分别生成缺中子同位素１３０Ｎｄ和１４０Ｔｂ．借助氦喷嘴带传输系统,用 Ｘ－γ和 γ－γ符合方法,分离鉴别了这两种核素,并进一步测定了它们的衰变性质．得到１３０ Ｎｄ的半衰期为（１３± ３）ｓ,首次建议了它的ＥＣ／β＋衰变纲图,推测了其子核１３０Ｐｒ的基态和低位能级的自旋宇称．修订了１４０Ｔｂ的原有极简单的ＥＣ／β＋衰变纲图并指认１４０Ｔｂ的基态自旋宇称为７＋．     

(EC/β+) Decay of 130Nd and 140Tb

Isotopes,¹³⁰Nd and ¹⁴⁰Tb were produced using enriched targets ⁹⁶Ru and ¹⁰⁶Cd, respectively,bombarded by ³⁶Ar ion beam. The two nuclides were identified and studied by a He-jet tape transport system in combination with "X-γ" and "γ-γ" coincidence measure- ments. The half-life of ¹³⁰Nd was determined to be (13±2)s. The EC/β⁺ decay scheme of 130Nd was proposed for the first time, and the spins and parties of the ground-state and observed low-lying states in the daughter nucleus ¹³⁰Pr were speculated tentatively. The previous simple EC/β⁺ decay scheme of ¹⁴⁰Tb was revised, and the spin-parity of its groundstate was assigned to be 7⁺.     

缺中子核素129Ce的(EC/β+)衰变

利用 10 2MeV16O6+束轰击同位素靶117Sn ,通过熔合蒸发 4n反应产生核素12 9Ce.由氦喷嘴快速带传输系统将反应产物送到低本底区 .通过化学分离来制备待测的Ce样品 ,与此同时用16O束轰击117Sn的两种相邻的同位素靶118Sn和116Sn ,并比较上述 3种反应中的产物来进一步区分元素Ce的不同的同位素 .结果一种半衰期为 4.1min的活性被鉴定为12 9Ce.基于X -γ -t和γ -γ -t符合测量 ,建议了包括 5 1条射线在内的12 9Ce的 (EC/ β+)衰变纲图 .其中 ,12 9Ce基态直接馈送到12 9La基态的份额 ( 2 6± 7) %是用观测到的12 9La衰变的 2 78.6keV的γ射线的生长和衰变曲线估计出来的 .另外还给出了用La Kα X射线和6 8.2keVγ射线开门的γ谱以及典型的衰变γ射线的时间谱     

Laser-induced fluorescence decay lifetimes of shock-heated NO (A 2Σ+)

Radiative emission in the NO -band system occurs when air at a few Torr initial pressure is shock-heated at sufficiently high temperatures of 3500–7000 K. Emission spectra of this system in shocks indicate that collisional quenching of the emitting A ²⁺ state is a critical quantity controlling the intensity. Quenching of excited NO by NO itself has been measured using direct time decay of laser-induced fluorescence in the shock tube at 3500 K. The cross section (2– error) is 59±20 Ų, compared to the room temperature value 37±8 Ų. At 3500 K, N₂ also quenches NO with a cross section 2 Ų, much larger than the value at 300 K.Sabbatical visitor, on leave from DLR Stuttgart, Fed. Rep. Germany     

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