Prompt light particle emission in the 36Ar + 58Ni reaction at 95 MeV/nucleon

The prompt component at intermediate velocity of light charged particles is investigated. An improved coalescence model coupled to the intra-nuclear cascade code ISABEL is used to obtain light complex particle energy spectra and multiplicities as a function of impact parameter. The results are compared with experimental data from the ³⁶Ar + ⁵⁸Ni experiment at 95 MeV/nucleon, performed with the INDRA 4π detection system. The calculated prompt component is found to rather well reproduce proton spectra. For complex light charged particles the calculated components well populate the high energy part of spectra. Prompt emission can therefore explain the large transverse energies experimentally observed at mid-rapidity. Received: 27 July 2000 / Accepted: 20 November 2000     

Emission of 8Begs in the interaction of 12C with nuclei at incident energies up to 33 MeV/amu

The spectra of ⁸Be_gs fragments emitted in the interaction of 100, 200, 300 and 400 MeV ¹²C with ⁵⁹Co, ⁹³Nb and ¹⁹⁷Au have been measured and analysed. Our analysis suggests that, before breaking up, ¹²C may suffer a considerable energy loss which increases with increasing incident energy. The amount of excitation energy provided to the target nucleus in this process increases with decreasing charge of the target nucleus. Received: 3 May 2001 / Accepted: 5 June 2001     

Dynamical effects on the quasiprojectile temperature in the Ar + Al reaction

The temperature of the quasiprojectile (QP) emerging from binary collisions of the light Ar + Al system at 65 MeV/nucleon is studied theoretically in the framework of the Landau-Vlasov dynamical model. The slope parameter of a charged-particle kinetic-energy spectrum, calculated in the forward-hemisphere of the QP reference frame, is taken as the apparent temperature. The apparent temperature associated to the true QP emission displays a weak dependence on the impact parameter and the hottest primary QPs are formed at intermediate values of b. Received: 28 April 2000 / Accepted: 27 October 2000     

Flow effects in 84Kr induced collisions in emulsion at 0.95 GeV per nucleon

Using emulsion detector the collective flow signals in inelastic interactions of ⁸⁴Kr nuclei with Ag(Br) at 950 MeV/nucleon are studied. A transverse momentum analysis is performed to determine the reaction plane. The bounce-off of spectator fragments is observed. In azimuthal distributions relative to the reaction plane squeeze-out and side-splash of participants are seen. Received: 27 September 1999     

Transfer reactions and sub-barrier fusion in 40Ca + 90, 96Zr

The two systems ⁴⁰Ca + ^90,96Zr have been studied by measuring nucleon transfer reactions at two energies near the Coulomb barrier, thus complementing the available sub-barrier fusion cross-sections. Angular distributions for various transfer channels have been determined. Significantly larger neutron transfer cross-sections are found for the target ⁹⁶Zr that exhibits the larger enhancement in the sub-barrier fusion cross-sections. All data have been analyzed with a new model for heavy-ion collisions that calculates simultaneously transfer cross-sections, fusion excitation functions and barrier distributions. The model gives a good account of both transfer and fusion data. Received: 2 May 2002 / Accepted: 4 June 2002 / Published online: 26 November 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: montagnoli@pd.infn.it, Fax +39049 8277102, Tel. +39049 8277117. RID="b" ID="b"On leave from the China Institute for Atomic Energy, 102413 Beijing, China. Communicated by C. Signorini     

Interaction at the barrier in the systems 9, 10, 11Be + 209Bi: Well-established facts and open questions

The experimental data relative to the interaction for the systems ^{9, 10, 11}Be + ²⁰⁹Bi at the Coulomb barrier are critically discussed and compared also with present theories. The break-up (BU) of the two loosely bound projectiles, ^{9, 11}Be, seems to influence the fusion process by “hindering” the fusion cross-sections; but, contrary to expectations, the ¹¹Be halo structure has no influence, since no “enhancement” is evident from the existing data. Attempt to describe simultaneously all the ⁹Be + ²⁰⁹Bi system data: fusion, elastic scattering and BU, within a coupled-channel (CC) approach is only partly successful. It is important, from a theoretical viewpoint, to include in the CC formalism as well as possible the BU process both to continuum states as well as to unbound resonances. More accurate and well-focused experiments are also necessary to pin down this problem. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

Strong reaction channels at barrier energies in the system 6Li + 208Pb

Large cross-section reaction channels were measured in the systems ⁶Li( ⁷Li) + ²⁰⁸Pb with high statistical accuracy at 5(3) energies around the Coulomb barrier from 29 to 39 MeV. These channels were assigned (mainly) to the breakup of ⁶Li, very loosely bound, into α + d and to the breakup of ⁵Li, produced by n-transfer to the target, into α + p and to similar processes with ⁷Li beam. The cross-sections with ⁶Li, S _α = 1.475 MeV, are systematically larger than the ⁷Li ones. This reflects, most likely, the higher binding energy of ⁷Li, S _α = 2.468 MeV. Theoretical predictions for the ⁶Li + ²⁰⁸Pb system which include for ⁶Li breakup to continuum states within a continuum discretized coupled-channels approach (CDCC) and resonant breakup plus n-transfer with DWBA reproduce the angular distribution shapes but still underestimate the cross-sections by a factor ∼ 3. Received: 15 January 2001 / Accepted: 3 March 2001     

Discrete structures in fusion-barrier distributions for vibrational nuclei

We obtain a closed-form expression for the distribution of fusion barriers for vibrational nuclei using a generalization of Dasso, Landowne, and Winther's model, which represents the nuclear surface vibrations as a number of harmonic oscillators, and allows the excitation of an arbitrary number of phonons in the target and/or projectile. We find that this expression is in reasonable agreement with the average trends of the empirical distributions for the fusion of ¹⁶O with ⁹²Zr, ¹⁴⁴Sm and ²⁰⁸Pb, but fails to reproduce the double peaking of the distribution for the ¹⁴⁴Sm target. Only when we restrict the number of excited phonons to a limited number, we are able to reproduce such discrete structures. We show that limiting the number of coupled channels, particularly in the case of strong coupling, increases the spacings between the channel eigenvalues that determine the positions of the peaks of the barrier distribution and modifies their heights. Received: 6 March 2000 / Accepted: 31 January 2001     

16O-8Be break-up states and cluster structure of 24Mg

High-spin states of ²⁴Mg produced in the ¹⁶O + ¹²C interaction and decaying into the ¹⁶O_g.s. + ⁸Be_g.s. channel have been observed in the excitation region between 35 and 52 MeV. Spins have been assigned on the basis of the analysis of the measured angular correlations. Some of these states with positive parity correspond to the known resonances of the ¹²C( ¹²C, ⁸Be_g.s.) ¹⁶O reaction belonging to the ¹⁶O-2α rotational band of ²⁴Mg. Moreover other resonances show up at higher excitation energy with an energy-spin relationship again suggesting a ¹⁶O-2α cluster structure for the associated configuration. Received: 6 July 2001 / Accepted: 16 October 2001     

Target effect on fragmentation reaction at E = 290A MeV

The longitudinal and transverse momentum (P_L and PYen_T) distributions of projectile-like fragments, which were produced with an Ar beam and various targets (C, Al, Nb, Tb, Au), were measured at E=290A MeV. No significant target effects are found in P _L distribution. The width of P_T distribution increases with target mass. It is plausible that this result is explained by the deflection of orbit arising from Coulomb repulsion. The nuclear structural effects are observed in isotopic and isotonic distributions of production cross-sections of fragments, which are derived from observed momentum distributions.     

Emission of intermediate-mass fragments in the interaction of 16O with 59Co, 93Nb and 197Au

In this paper we study the emission of ⁸Be_gs, B and N fragments in the interaction of ¹⁶O ions with ⁵⁹Co, ⁹³Nb and ¹⁹⁷Au at incident energies varying from 6 to 25 MeV/nucleon. The spectra of these fragments, as well as those of C fragments studied in a previous paper, are dominated at forward angles by a component originating from break-up of ¹⁶O. At the higher incident energies break-up occurs after quite a sizeable projectile energy loss. Another mechanism which dominates at large emission angles, favours the emission of low-energy fragments and is attributed to the coalescence of nucleons during the cascade of nucleon-nucleon interactions by means of which the excited nuclei produced in the primary two-ion interaction thermalize. Received: 21 January 2003 / Accepted: 27 March 2003 / Published online: 5 June 2003     

Isotopic dependence of fusion cross-sections – linear relationships

A systematic study of isotopic dependence of fusion cross-section is carried out by adding neutrons gradually to N=Z colliding nuclei. We find that fusion barrier position increases and height decreases, both linearly with the increase of N/Z ratio of the compound system. The increase in barrier position is larger compared to decrease in barrier height. In terms of these linear relationships, a parameterized form of fusion cross-sections is given for the neutron-rich colliding nuclei. The fusion cross-sections are also enhanced linearly with the N/Z ratio, and this enhancement is larger for lower incident centre-of-mass energies and independent of the choice of reaction partners. Experimental data and other theoretical studies are called for to verify these results. Received: 27 February 1998 / Revised version: 22 May 1998     

Excitation functions of evaporation residues in the interaction of 16O with 103Rh at incident energies up to 400 MeV

The excitation functions for production of 48 residues in the interaction of ¹⁶O with ¹⁰³Rh have been measured at incident energies varying from about 40 to 400MeV. Their analysis shows that many competing reaction mechanism contribute to the formation of these residues including complete fusion, break-up-fusion reactions and ¹⁶O inelastic scattering. The cross-sections of most of these mechanisms are obtained by independent measurements of the spectra of intermediate-mass fragments observed in the interaction of ¹⁶O on ⁹³Nb. The agreement between measured and calculated excitation functions is satisfactory in most of the cases.     

The E1 capture amplitude in 12C(α,γ0) 16O

An excitation function of the ground-state γ₀-ray capture transition in ¹²C (α,γ)¹⁶O at θ_γ = 90^° was obtained in far geometry using six Ge detectors, where the study of the reaction was initiated in inverse kinematics involving a windowless gas target. The detectors observed predominantly the E1 capture amplitude. The data at E = 1.32 to 2.99 MeV lead to an extrapolated astrophysical S factor S _E1(E ₀) = 90±15 keV b at E ₀ = 0.3 MeV (for the case of constructive interference between the two lowest E1 sources), in good agreement with previous works. However, a novel Monte Carlo approach in the data extrapolation reveals systematic differences between the various data sets such that a combined analysis of all available data sets could produce a biased estimate of the S _E1(E ₀) value. As a consequence, the case of destructive interference between the two lowest E1 sources with S _E1(E ₀) = 8±3 keV b cannot be ruled out rigorously. Received: 6 June 2001 / Accepted: 26 July 2001     

Stability and instability of a hot and dilute nuclear droplet

The diabatic approach to dissipative collective nuclear motion is reformulated in the local-density approximation in order to treat the normal modes of a spherical nuclear droplet analytically. In a first application the adiabatic isoscalar modes are studied and results for the eigenvalues of compressional (bulk) and pure surface modes are presented as function of density and temperature inside the droplet, as well as for different mass numbers and for soft and stiff equations of state. We find that the region of bulk instabilities (spinodal regime) is substantially smaller for nuclear droplets than for infinite nuclear matter. For small densities below 30% of normal nuclear matter density and for temperatures below 5 MeV all relevant bulk modes become unstable with similar growth rates. The surface modes have a larger spinodal region, reaching out to densities and temperatures way beyond the spinodal line for bulk instabilities. Essential experimental features of multifragmentation, like fragmentation temperatures and fragment-mass distributions (in particular the power-law behavior) are consistent with the instability properties of an expanding nuclear droplet, and hence with a dynamical fragmentation process within the spinodal regime of bulk and surface modes (spinodal decomposition). Received: 4 September 2000 / Accepted: 14 November 2000     

Fusion-fission reactions induced by 6He-ions

The experimentally measured excitation functions for the fission and 4n evaporation channels are presented for the ⁶He + ²⁰⁹Bi reaction. The secondary ⁶He beam was produced using the special beam line (Q4DQ-spectrometer) of the U400M accelerator at FLNR, JINR. The comparison of the obtained experimental data with similar results for the ⁴He + ²⁰⁹Bi reaction shows that in the case of the ⁶He + ²⁰⁹Bi reaction a significant enhancement of the cross-section is observed for energies above the barrier. In order to get an agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical calculations it is necessary to reduce the Coulomb barrier by 15-20% , which corresponds to an increase of the parameter r₀ of the nuclear potential up to 1.5-1.6 fm. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

III. A stochastic two-stage reaction model for heavy-ion collisions

We propose a two-stage, stochastic model of heavy-ion reactions. Nucleons becoming participants by mean-field effects or by nucleon-nucleon interactions are transferred to definite final states, creating a PLF, a TLF, clusters, or escaping to continuum. Nucleon transfer probabilities are governed by state densities. In this way different hot particle sources are created which afterwards decay by particle emission. Received: 12 March 2001 / Accepted: 20 June 2001     

Analytical calculation of fusion cross-sections

We analyse the fusion cross-sections, calculated by using two different analytical parameterisations and compare them with the experimental data. Both the parameterisations are based on ion-ion potentials calculated within the framework of Skyrme energy density formalism. In the first case, the ion-ion potential (including the spin-density term) was parameterised and then, by adding the Coulomb potential, one could compute the fusion barrier analytically. In the second case, the calculated fusion barrier heights and positions were parameterised directly. Both of these (previously) reported parameterisations are used here to calculate the fusion barriers and fusion excitation functions for more than 50 reactions belonging to the s-d and f-shell nuclei. A detailed comparison of these parametrisations with the experimental and several other theoretical results shows that both of these parameterisations are able to reproduce the experimental data equally well. As the (second) direct parameterisation depends only on the charges and masses of colliding nuclei, it is very useful for predicting/ understanding the fusion process in low energy heavy-ion reactions. Received: 24 February 1999 / Accepted: 16 March 2000