Role of different Skyrme forces and surface corrections in exotic cluster decay

We present cluster-decay studies of ⁵⁶Ni^* formed in heavy-ion collisions using different Skyrme forces. Our study reveals that different Skyrme forces do not alter the transfer structure of fractional yields significantly. The cluster decay half-lives of different clusters lie within ±10% for preformed cluster models (PCM) and ±15% for unified fission models (UFM).     

α-Decay half-lives, α-capture cross sections, and α-nucleous interaction

The expression for the α-nuclear potential was found. This potential describes the α-decay half-lives for the ground states of nuclei and the α-particle capture cross sections for ⁴⁰Ca, ⁴⁴Ca, ⁵⁹Co, ²⁰⁸Pb, and ²⁰⁹Bi nuclei well. The potential was used to calculate the probabilities of α-transitions from the ground states of parent nuclei to different excited states of daughter nuclei. Simple analytical relations for calculating α-decay half-lives for transitions between the ground states of nuclei are determined.     

Light particle accompanied quasifission in superheavy composite systems

The dynamics of the excited superheavy system with Z = 118 in the reaction ⁸⁶Kr + ²⁰⁸Pb at E _Kr = 460, 500, and 600 MeV has been investigated. The mass and kinetic energy of binary fragments were measured by the time-of-flight method. Double-differential distributions of protons and α particles were measured in coincidence with fragments. The proton spectra can be described considering only evaporation from fragments. Evidence of the neck fragmentation was obtained from analysis of double-differential α spectra. Properties of the α-particle neck fragmentation component are close to those known from the ternary fission of actinide nuclei, but the multiplicity is much larger than can be expected from extrapolation of the ternary fission data. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Alpha decay and cluster decay of some neutron-rich actinide nuclei

Nuclei in the actinide region are good in exhibiting cluster radioactivity. In the present work, the half-lives of α-decay and heavy cluster emission from certain actinide nuclei have been calculated using cubic plus Yukawa plus exponential model (CYEM). Our model has a cubic potential for the overlapping region which is smoothly connected by a Yukawa plus exponential potential for the region after separation. The computed half-lives are compared with those of other theoretical models and are found to be in good agreement with each other. In this work, we have also studied the deformation effects on half-lives of cluster decay. These deformation effects lower the half-life values and it is also found that the neutron-rich parent nuclei slow down the cluster decay process. Geiger–Nuttal plots for various clusters are found to be linear and most of the emitted clusters are α-like nuclei.     

Cluster radioactivity leading to doubly magic <Superscript>100</Superscript>Sn and <Superscript>132</Superscript>Sn daughters

Decay of neutron-deficient ^{128 − 137}Gd parents emitting ⁴He to ³²S clusters are studied within the Coulomb and proximity potential model. The predicted half-lives are compared with other models and most of the values are well within the present experimental limit for measurements (T _1/2 < 10³⁰ s). The lowest T _1/2 value for ²⁸Si emission from ¹²⁸Gd indicates the role of doubly magic ¹⁰⁰Sn daughter in cluster decay process. It is also found that neutron excess in the parent nuclei slows down the cluster decay process. Geiger–Nuttal plots for all clusters are found to be linear with different slopes and intercepts. The α-decay half-lives of ^{148 − 152}Gd parents are computed and are in agreement with experimental data. The role of doubly magic ¹³²Sn daughter in cluster decay process is also examined for various neutron-rich Ba, Ce, Nd, Sm and Gd parents emitting clusters ranging from ⁴He to ³²Si. Alpha-like structures are most probable in the decays leading to ¹⁰⁰Sn, while non-α-like structures are probable in the decays leading to ¹³²Sn. The neutron–proton asymmetry in parent and daughter nuclei is responsible for the reduced decay rate in the decay leading to ¹³²Sn.     

Recoil-fission tagging of the transfermium nucleus 252No

An in-beam study of the transfermium nucleus ²⁵²No has been performed using the JUROSPHERE II array of germanium detectors coupled to the gas-filled recoil separator RITU. A new technique of recoil-fission tagging was used to extract tagged γ-ray data. Having significant spontaneous fission and α-decay branches, ²⁵²No is an ideal candidate for a comparative study. In a similar manner to α-decay tagging the fission events can be used to obtain γ-ray data. The recoil-fission tagged γ-ray spectrum showed a similar structure to the α-decay tagged γ-ray spectrum. By comparing the α-tagged and fission-tagged spectra and decay curves, it was shown that the spontaneous fission originates from the same initial state as the α decay. This extension of the tagging method allows in-beam spectroscopic data to be obtained from heavy nuclei with significant spontaneous-fission branches.     

Distinction between pre-formed cluster emission and heavy ion decay by fission

For studying cluster radioactivity in the actinide region as well as trans-tin region two types of models are used: the pre-cluster formation model and the unified fission model. In the case of the actinide region, the cluster-like shapes are preferred for very high asymmetry while fissioning shapes are more suitable for less asymmetry and symmetry (the line of demarcation being around A _c =31). In this work this line of demarcation is studied in the case of the trans-tin region. The results of this study show that the transition from cluster mode to fission mode takes place at A _c =16.     

Mechanisms for the appearance of prescission γ-rays and their related T-odd asymmetries

Conditions for the appearance and observation of prescission γ-rays emitted by a fissioning nucleus before its separation into fission fragments were investigated within the quantum theory of fission. It was demonstrated that these conditions can be fulfilled in the γ-decay of giant electric isovector dipole resonances in a fissioning nucleus that become excited due to the nonadiabaticity of the collective deformation motion of the nucleus at the final stages of its prefission evolution. Angular and energy distributions of prescission γ-rays emitted by unpolarized fissioning nuclei were analyzed. Characteristics of T-odd asymmetries in angular distributions of prescission γ-rays were investigated for fission of unpolarized target nuclei induced by polarized cold neutrons, and these correlations were shown to be similar in nature to the T-odd ROT correlations earlier found for α-particles emitted in ternary nuclear fission.     

Even and odd amplitudes of distributions of third particles in nuclear fission

The principal values for the even and odd components of the amplitudes of the angular distributions of α particles emitted as the third particles in true low-energy ternary fission of nuclei are calculated within the quantum theory of fission using natural approximations for the dependence of the potential scattering phases of the α particle on its orbital momenta and experimental angular distributions, unperturbed by the fissioning nucleus rotation, of these third α particles. Knowing the angular dependences of these components, we can estimate the angular dependences of the T-odd ROT and TRI asymmetry coefficients for the ternary fission of actinide nuclei induced by cold polarized neutrons.     

Low-energy neutron-deuteron reactions with N 3 LO chiral forces

Based on the preformed cluster model (PCM), we have extended our earlier study on cluster decays of heavy parent nuclei to analyze the effects of different nuclear proximity potentials in the ground-state clusterization of superheavy nuclei with Z = 113, 115 and 117. In order to look for the possible role of deformations, calculations are performed for spherical as well as β ₂-deformed choices of fragmentation. The relevance of “hot compact” over “cold elongated” configurations due to orientations is also explored, in addition to the role of Q value and angular momentum ℓ effects. As the PCM is based on collective clusterization picture, the preformation and penetration probabilities get modified considerably, and hence do so the decay constants and half-lives of the clusters, with the use of different nuclear proximity potentials. The comparative importance of nuclear proximity potentials Prox-1977 and Prox-2000 is analyzed and the calculated decay half-lives in the framework of PCM are compared with the recent predictions of the analytical super-asymmetric fission model (ASAFM). The possible role of shell corrections is also investigated for understanding the dynamics of heavy particle radioactivity. Finally, the potential energy surfaces are compared for different proton and neutron magic numbers in superheavy mass region.

     

Dynamics of α-clusters in N = Z nuclei

The systematics for binding energies per α-particle in N = Z nuclei, E _Bα/N _α, are studied up to ¹⁶⁴Pb. It is shown that, although a geometrical model can be used to explain the systematics for light nuclei, the binding energy per α-particle exhibits structures which are due to the well-known shells of the mean field of nucleons in nuclei. The overall dependence of E _Bα/N _α on N _α in N = Z nuclei (for the ground-state masses) can be described in a liquid-drop model of α-particles. Conditions for a phase change with the formation of an α-particle condensate, a dilute Bose gas in excited compound nuclei are discussed for E _Bα/N _α = 0, at the thresholds. This is achieved when the binding energy per nucleon in nuclei is equal to or smaller than in the α-cluster. At somewhat smaller excitation energies the appearance of a Bose gas with a closed-shell core (N = Z, e.g. of ⁴⁰Ca) is proposed within the same concept. The experimental observation of the decay of such condensed α-particle states is proposed with the coherent emission of several correlated α-particles not described by the Hauser-Feshbach approach for compound-nucleus decay. This decay will be observed by the emission of unbound resonances in the form of ⁸Be and ¹²C ^* (0⁺ ₂) clusters.     

The new isotope 270110 and its decay products 266Hs and 262Sg

The even-even nucleus ²⁷⁰110 was synthesized using the reaction ⁶⁴Ni + ²⁰⁷Pb. A total of eight α-decay chains was measured during an irradiation time of seven days. Decay data were obtained for the ground-state and a high-spin K isomer. The new nuclei ²⁶⁶Hs and ²⁶²Sg were identified as daughter products after α-decay. Spontaneous fission of ²⁶²Sg terminates the decay chain. The measured data are in agreement with calculations using the macroscopic-microscopic model and with self-consistent HFB calculations with Skyrme-Sly4 interaction. Received: 27 November 2000 / Accepted: 16 January 2001     

Synthesis of superheavy nuclei in the reactions of 244Pu and 248Cm with 48Ca

This paper presents results of the experiments aimed at producing long-lived superheavy elements located near the spherical-shell closures with Z ⩾ 114 and N ⩾ 172 in the ²⁴⁴Pu + ⁴⁸Ca and ²⁴⁸Cm + ⁴⁸Ca reactions. The large measured α-particle energies of the newly observed nuclei, together with the long decay times and spontaneous fission terminating the chains, offer evidence of the decay of nuclei with high atomic numbers. The decay properties of the synthesized nuclei are consistent with the consecutive α-decays originating from the parent nuclides ^{288, 289}114 and ²⁹²116, produced in the 3n and 4n evaporation channels with cross-sections of about a picobarn. The present observations can be considered as experimental evidence of the existence of the “island of stability” of superheavy elements. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: utyonkov@sungns.jinr.ru     

Angular analysis of bremsstrahlung in α-decay

A new quantum electrodynamical method of calculations of bremsstrahlung spectra in the α-decay of heavy nuclei taking into account the angle between the directions of α-particle motion (or its tunneling) and photon emission is presented. The angular bremsstrahlung spectra for ²¹⁰Po have been obtained for the first time. According to calculations, the bremsstrahlung in the α-decay of this nucleus depends extremely weakly on the angle. Taking into account nuclear forces, such dependence is not changed visibly. An analytical formula of the angular dependence of the bremsstrahlung spectra is proposed and gives its harmonic behavior. The extremal values of the angle, at which the bremsstrahlung has maximal and minimal values, have been found. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr Ivan Egorovich Kashuba --a brilliant scientist with bright nature who worked in science till his last days.     

Radioactive decay of 217Pa

The radioactive decay of ²¹⁷Pa was investigated by means of α-γ-spectroscopy. Fine structure in the ground-state α-decay was established. Ambiguities in the fine structure of the α-decay of the previously known isomeric state could be clarified by α-γ-coincidence measurements. A previously unknown α-transition of E _α = (8306 ± 5) keV was detected and identified by means of delayed α-α- and α-γ-γ-coincidence measurements. A second isomeric state decaying by α-emission was not observed. The quality of the previously reported data of the α-decay fine structure of ²¹⁷Th was improved. Received: 29 April 2002 / Accepted: 17 June 2002 / Published online: 19 November 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: f.p.hessberger@gsi.de Communicated by J. ?yst?     

Problem of the conservation of the fissile-nucleus-spin projection onto the fissile-nucleus symmetry axis and quantum dynamics of the low-energy fission process

Within quantum-mechanical fission theory, it is shown that, in the low-energy fission of actinide nuclei, the projection K of the spin of a fissile nucleus onto its symmetry axis is conserved as this nucleus traverses the second well of the deformation potential and the region of descent from the external fission barrier to the scission point, this spin projection being an integral of motion despite the effect of Coriolis interaction. This leads to the conclusion that the fission probability is determined by the concerted effect of the internal- and external-fission-barrier penetration factors. A global analysis of information that can be extracted from experimental investigations of (n, f) and (γ, f) reactions and which can be employed in theoretically describing fission mechanisms is performed.     

Cluster radioactivity in xenon isotopes

Half-life time and branching ratio for cluster decay from various xenon isotopes are studied taking Coulomb and proximity potentials as interacting barrier. Inclusion of proximity potential reduces the height of potential barrier, which closely agrees with the experiments. It is found that⁴He,⁸Be,¹²C and¹⁶O emissions are well within the present upper limit for measurements (T _1/2 10³⁰ s). Our predicted half-life time values lie close to those values reported by Gupta and collaborators based on preformed cluster model (PCM) and also with those values reported by Poenaruet al based on ASAFM. The calculated half-life time shows that⁸Be from¹⁰⁸Xe and¹¹⁰Xe are most favourable for emission (T _1/2 ≈ 10⁸ s). LowestT ^1/2 value for⁸Be emission from¹⁰⁸Xe stress the role of doubly magic¹⁰⁰Sn daughter in cluster decay process. The logarithm of half-life time calculated for⁴He emission from¹¹⁰Xe is −0.39 s which is in good agreement with experimental value which is −0.40 s. Geiger-Nuttall plots for all clusters are studied and are found to be linear. Nuclear structure effect and shell effect are evident from the observed variation in slope and intercept of Geiger—Nuttall plots. It is found that neutron excess in the parent will slow down the cluster decay process.     

Beta Decay of 111Tc to 111Ru

The β-decay of the very neutron-rich ¹¹¹Tc nucleus has been observed. A partial decay scheme of ¹¹¹Ru is presented, complementing the high-spin levels earlier reported in spontaneous fission work. Received: 15 January 1998     

The β-decay of 22Al

In an experiment performed at the LISE3 facility of GANIL, we studied the decay of ²²Al produced by the fragmentation of a ³⁶Ar primary beam. A β-decay half-life of T_1/2 = 91.1±0.5ms was measured. The β-delayed one- and two-proton emission as well as β-α and β-delayed γ-decays were measured and allowed us to establish a partial decay scheme for this nucleus. New levels were determined in the daughter nucleus ²²Mg. The comparison with model calculations strongly favours a spin-parity of I^π = 4⁺ for the ground state of ²²Al.