Complete and incomplete fusion studies in7Li and16O induced reactions on51V by measurement of excitation functions and recoil ranges

Excitation function and mean projected recoil ranges of nuclei produced in the⁷Li and¹⁶O induced reactions on⁵¹V target were measured by conventional stacked foil and thick-target thick-recoil-catcher technique for bombarding energiesE ≤ 50.0 MeV for⁷Li ions andE ≃ 60.0-96.0 MeV for the¹⁶O ions. The measured recoil ranges are converted to momentum transfer. The momentum transfer information was used to get clues about some aspects of the interaction such as complete and incomplete fusion reaction mechanism which correspond to full and reduced momentum transfer respectively. The measured excitation functions are compared with the calculation based on the statistical model which describes only equilibrium decay of the compound nucleus using the CASCADE code. The comparison of the CASCADE code with the measured excitation functions for the residue radioisotopes⁵¹Cr and⁵⁴Mn for the⁷Li +⁵¹V system indicates the reaction mechanisms is complete fusion of⁷Li with the target nucleus⁵¹V. Similarly the comparison of the CASCADE code with the measured excitation functions of the residue radioisotopes for the system¹⁶O +⁵¹ V indicates that the four reaction mechanisms (i) complete fusion of¹⁶O, (ii) incomplete fusion of¹²C, (iii) incomplete fusion of⁸Be and (iv) incomplete fusion of⁴He respectively with the target might be contributing to reaction cross sections.     

Measurement and analysis of alpha-induced reactions on Ta,Ag and Co

Excitation functions for the reaction¹⁸¹Ta (α,xn)^185−x Re,^107,109Ag (α, ypxn) and⁵⁹Co (α, ypxn) were obtained from measurements of residual activity of stacked foils from threshold to 60 MeV. The excitation functions for the production of¹⁸¹Re,¹⁸²Re,¹⁸³Re,¹⁸⁴Re,¹⁰⁵Ag,¹¹¹In,⁵⁴Mn,⁵⁶Co,⁵⁸Co, and⁶⁰Co, are being presented. The experimental data are compared with calculations considering equilibrium as well as pre-equilibrium reactions according to the hybrid model of Blann. High energy part of the excitation functions is dominated by the pre-equilibrium reaction mechanism. Calculations were done using a priori calculational method of Overlaid Alice Code of Blann. Most of the excitation functions in the energy range mentioned above could be very well fitted with the hybrid model calculation for exciton numbern=4 withn _p=2 andn _n=2. The overall agreement with theory is good. Certain discrepancies, however, indicate the necessity to revise the hybrid model with respect to emission of complex particles.     

Measurement and analysis of excitation functions for alpha induced reactions on iodine and cesium

The excitation functions for the reactions¹²⁷I(α, 2n)¹²⁹Cs,¹²⁷I(α, 4n)¹²⁷Cs,¹³³Cs(α, 2n)¹³⁵La and¹³³Cs(α, 4n)¹³³La have been measured up to ≈50 MeVα-particle energy using the stacked foil activation technique. Measured excitation functions are compared with pre-equilibrium geometry dependent hybrid model calculations. It has been found that theoretical calculations using an initial exciton numbern ₀=4 (2p+2n+0h) give good agreement with experimental excitation functions.     

Analysis of the excitation functions of (α, xnyp) reactions on natural copper

Excitation functions of the reactions⁶³Cu[(α, n), (α, 2n)+(α, pn)] and⁶⁵Cu[(α, n), (α, 2n), (α, 3n), (α, 4n)+(α, p3n)] were investigated up to 50 MeV using stacked foil activation technique and Ge(Li) gamma ray spectroscopy method. Since natural copper used as the target has two odd-mass stable isotopes of abundance,⁶³Cu(69.17%) and⁶⁵Cu(30.83%), their activation in some cases, gives the same residual nucleus through different reaction channels but with very different threshold energies. In such cases, the individual reaction cross sections are separated with the ratio of theoretical cross sections. The experimental results were compared with the predictions of preequilibrium hybrid model of Blann. A general agreement was found in all reactions using initial exciton numbern ₀=4(4p0h) and also preequilibrium fraction depends on the incident particle energy.     

Hybrid model analysis of the excitation function for alpha induced reaction on121Sb and123Sb

Excitation functions for the reactions¹²¹Sb(α, xn)^125−x I,¹²³Sb(α, xn)^127−x I and¹²¹Sb(α, p3n)¹²¹Te were obtained from the measurements of the residual activity of stacked foils of antimony trioxide evaporated on Al backings from threshold to 60 MeV. The excitation functions for the production of¹²¹I,¹²³I,¹²⁴I,¹²⁶I and¹²¹Te are presented. The experimental data are compared with calculations considering equilibrium as well as pre-equilibrium reaction mechanism according to the hybrid model of Blann. The high energy part of the excitation functions are dominated by the pre-equilibrium reaction mechanism. Calculations were done using a priori calculational method of Overlaid Alice Code of Blann. Most of the excitation functions in the energy range mentioned above could very well be fitted with the hybrid model calculation for exciton numbern=4 withn _n=2 andn _p=2. The overall agreement with the theory is good. Certain discrepancies for example¹²¹Sb(α, p3n)¹²¹Te excitation function, indicate that the production mechanism is different from the one presumed for the calculation.     

Measurement and analysis of alpha particle induced reactions on gold

Stacked foil activation technique and Ge(Li) gamma ray spectroscopy have been used for the measurement of excitation functions of¹⁹⁷Au(α,xn) (x=1−3),¹⁹⁷Au(α,2pn) and¹⁹⁷Au(α,αn) reactions up to 50 MeV. The experimental cross-sections were compared with the predictions of pre-equilibrium hybrid model, as well as with the more recent index model. A general agreement was found in all reactions using initial exciton numbern ₀=4(4p0h) except for¹⁹⁷Au(α,n) reaction, where index model gives fairly good agreement withn ₀=5(5p0h).     

Near-barrier fusion reactions induced by α on197Au,193Ir,191Ir,185Re,181Ta,121Sb and69Ga nuclei

Fusion-evaporation cross-sections for the α-induced reactions upon¹⁹⁷Au,¹⁹³Ir,¹⁹¹Ir,¹⁸⁵Re,¹⁸¹Ta,¹²¹Sb and⁶⁹Ga nuclei at bombarding energies near the Coulomb barrier have been measured by off-line observation of the γ-rays emitted in the radioactive decay of the residual nuclei using stacked foil technique. The total fusion cross-section for the systems have been compared with simple statistical model calculations using the code ALICE/91 as well as with the coupled channel calculations that include the β₂ and ν₄ slatic deformations and dynamic couplings of the vibrational/rotational states of the target and the projet tile using the code CCDEF.     

Measurement of the fragmentation of Carbon nuclei used in hadron-therapy

The increasing use of Carbon nuclei in cancer therapy centres is motivated by their potential advantages as a very precise high LET radiation. The knowledge of the fragmentation of Carbon nuclei when they interact with the human body is important to evaluate the spatial profile of their energy deposition in the tissues, hence the damage to the tissues neighbouring the tumour. We report here a study of the fragmentation with the nuclear emulsion experimental technique. We have designed, built and exposed to a Carbon nuclei beam a chamber made of Lexan plates alternated with nuclear emulsion films. Lexan plates acted as passive material simulating human body tissues while nuclear emulsion films were used as both tracking devices with micrometric accuracy and ionisation detectors. Such a detector allowed the detection of Carbon interactions produced along their path, the identification of the fragments produced and the measurement of their scattering angle. We have measured the Carbon ion survival probability and studied their interactions. We report on the secondary particle multiplicity and the electrical charge distribution. We give results of the scattering angle of final state fragments as well as the range for H and He. Finally we give the total and partial charge-changing cross-sections for Δz=1,2,3,4$\mathrm{\Delta }z=1,2,3,4$ which are compared with previous results when available. The present work aims at providing data required as input to Monte Carlo simulations of Carbon ion interactions in the human body and ultimately of their therapeutic effectiveness.     

Effect of entrance channel parameters on the fusion of two heavy ions: Excitation functions of reaction products in16O +66Zn and37Cl +45Sc reactions

Excitation functions of reaction products formed in¹⁶O +⁶⁶Zn and³⁷Cl +⁴⁵Sc systems, leading to the same compound nucleus,⁸²Sr, were measured using recoil-catcher technique and off-line γ-ray spectrometry. The contribution of non-compound processes like transfer and incomplete fusion (ICF) reactions to the cross-sections of different evaporation residues were delineated by comparing the experimental data with the predictions of Monte Carlo simulation code PACE2. The results show that non-compound processes become a significant fraction of the total reaction cross-section in¹⁶O +⁶⁶ systems in the beam energy range studied, while³⁷Cl +⁴⁵Sc gives mainly compound nucleus products. The mass asymmetry dependence of the fusion and non-compound cross-sections have been analysed in terms of the static fusion model and sum rule model     

Cross-sections for the formation of isomeric pair Ge through (n, 2n), (n, p) and (n, α) reactions measured over 13.73 MeV to 14.77 MeV and calculated from near threshold to 20 MeV neutron energies

The cross-sections for formation of isomeric pair, ⁷⁵Ge^m(σ_m) and ⁷⁵Ge^g(σ_g), through ⁷⁶Ge(n, 2n), ⁷⁵As(n, p) and ⁷⁸Se(n, α) reactions were measured at 13.73 MeV, 14.42 MeV and 14.77 MeV neutrons and also estimated using EMPIRE-II and TALYS codes over neutron energies from near threshold to 20 MeV. For each (n, 2n), (n, p) and (n, α) reaction, the cross-section initially increases with neutron energy, but starts decreasing as the neutron energy exceeds the respective threshold of (n, 3n), (n, pn) and (n, αn) reactions. The higher values of σ_m relative to σ_g reveal that the transitions of the excited ⁷⁵Ge from higher energy levels to metastable state (7⁺/2) are favored as compared to unstable ground state (1⁻/2). The present values of cross sections for formation of ⁷⁵Ge^m,g through (n, 2n) and (n, α) reactions are lower, and that of (n, p) reaction are higher compared to most of the corresponding literature cross-sections.     

Analysis of alpha-cluster transfer in O + C and C + O at energies near Coulomb barrier

The aim of this work is to track the phenomenon of α-cluster transfer mechanism at low energies 1.25, 1.5 and 1.75 MeV/n, close to the Coulomb barrier energy for ¹²C(¹⁶O, ¹²C)¹⁶O and ¹⁶O(¹²C, ¹⁶O)¹²C nuclear systems. The measurements of the angular distribution show a significant increase in the differential cross section at large angles due to alpha-transfer mechanism. The optical model code SPI-GENOA could be used effectively for fitting the experimental data with the theoretical predictions nearly up to angle 90°, where the differential cross section decreases steadily with increasing the scattering angle. For the second hemisphere, at angles greater than 100°, there is a large increase in cross section due to the contribution of α-transfer mechanism, and the Distorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA) method could be used effectively for fitting the experimental data with the theoretical predictions at this region using (DWUCK5) code.