Search for molecular bands in 13C

In a systematic search through experimental results for transfer reactions, inelastic excitations and other data for ¹³C we identify states which have no simple structure related to the low-lying states of ¹²C. We propose that these states have strong α-clustering and that they are related to chain states expected in ^13-14C. The properties of these states are discussed on the basis of a molecular orbital model. Received: 12 December 2001 / Accepted: 3 April 2002     

Structure of neutron-rich Be and C isotopes

The structure of neutron-rich beryllium isotopes has been investigated using different heavy-ion-induced transfer reactions. In neutron transfer reactions, the population of final states shows a strong sensitivity to the chosen core nucleus, i.e., the target nuclei ⁹Be or ¹⁰Be, respectively. Molecular rotational bands up to high excitation energies are observed with ⁹Be as the core due to its pronounced 2α-cluster structure, whereas only a few states at low excitation energies are populated with ¹⁰Be as the core. For ¹¹Be, a detailed investigation has been performed for the three states at 3.41, 3.89, and 3.96 MeV, which resulted in the most probable spin-parity assignments 3/2⁺, 5/2^?, and 3/2^?, respectively. Furthermore, we have studied particle-hole states of ¹⁶C using the ¹³C(¹²C, ⁹C)¹⁶C reaction and found 14 previously unknown states. Using the ¹²C(¹²C, ⁹C)¹⁵C reaction, five new states were observed for ¹⁵C.     

Coexisting wobbling and quasiparticle excitations in the triaxial potential well of 163 Lu

High-spin states of the nucleus ¹⁶³Lu have been populated through the fusion-evaporation reaction ¹³⁹La(²⁹Si, 5n) with a beam energy of 157 MeV. In addition to the two lowest excited triaxial strongly deformed (TSD) bands, recently interpreted as one- and two-phonon wobbling excitations, a third excited TSD band has been firmly established decaying to the yrast TSD band. The assignment of this band as a three-quasiparticle band shows together with the normal deformed (ND) level scheme the presence not only of shape coexistence between ND and TSD structures, but also an interplay of wobbling and quasiparticle excitations in the triaxial strongly deformed potential well of ¹⁶³Lu.Received: 18 July 2003, Revised: 28 August 2003, Published online: 23 December 2003PACS: 21.10.-k Properties of nuclei; nuclear energy levels - 23.20.Lv transitions and level energies - 25.70.-z Low and intermediate energy heavy-ion reactions - 27.70. + q H. Amro: Present address: Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8124, USA.     

Coexisting oblate and strongly triaxial structures in <Superscript>191</Superscript>Pt

Excited states in ¹⁹¹Pt have been populated using the reaction ¹⁸⁶W + ¹¹B at 85MeV beam energy. Gamma-ray coincidences were measured using the EUROGAM-II spectrometer array. The level scheme has been extended considerably. Evidence for favoured structures of highly triaxial shape with -90^° coexisting with oblate structures has been obtained by comparison with total Routhian surface and cranked shell model calculations. The presence of proton excitations in both positive- and negative-parity states has been confirmed.     

Dimers based on the α + α potential and chain states of carbon isotopes

Using the well established binding energies of one and two valence neutrons in the two-center α+α system (forming the states in ⁹Be and ¹⁰Be*) the structure of these nuclear dimers and their rotational bands including those with more than 2 nucleons are discussed using published transfer reaction data for Be and Boron isotopes. Based on the 0 ₂ ⁺ state in ¹²C which is supposed to be an 3α particle chain at an excitation energy of 7.65 MeV and using the binding energy of these valence neutrons in ⁹Be and ¹⁰Be*, chain states in the system ¹²C* + x neutrons are constructed. The energy position of the lowest chain states are estimated and ways for their population in reactions on ⁹Be and using radioactive beams are proposed. It is expected that these states are metastable and could have appreciable branches for γ-decay. Further extrapolations to longer chain states (polymers) in neutron rich light isotopes are made.     

\alpha-decay spectroscopy of light odd-odd Bi isotopes - II: 186Bi and the new nuclide 184Bi

Alpha-decay of the new nuclide ¹⁸⁴Bi has been studied in the complete-fusion reaction ⁹³Nb(⁹⁴Mo, 3n)¹⁸⁴Bi at the velocity filter SHIP. The evaporation residues were separated in-flight and subsequently identified on the basis of recoil- , recoil- - analysis and excitation functions measurements. Two -decaying isomeric states in ¹⁸⁴Bi with half-life values of 13(2) ms and 6.6(1.5) ms were identified. The -branching ratio of ¹⁸⁰Tl was deduced for the first time as . Improved data on the fine-structure -decay of ¹⁸⁶Bi were obtained in the ⁹³Nb(⁹⁵Mo, 2n)¹⁸⁶Bi reaction. A similarity of the decay energies and half-life values of ^184,186Bi is pointed out and a possible explanation for this effect is suggested.Received: 14 March 2003, Revised: 29 April 2003, Published online: 2 September 2003PACS: 23.60.+e decay - 27.70.+q - 27.80.+w K. Heyde: Present address: EP-ISOLDE, CERN, CH-1211, Geneva 23, Switzerland.     

The 16 O( e, e‘ pp) 14 C reaction to discrete final states

Differential cross-sections for exclusive ¹⁶O(e,epp)¹⁴C processes are computed within a distorted-wave framework which includes central short-range correlations and intermediate excitations. The cross-sections are compared to high-resolution data from the MAMI facility at Mainz for a central energy and momentum transfer of MeV and MeV, respectively. A fair agreement between the numerical calculations and data is reached when using spectroscopic information extracted from a ¹⁵N C experiment. The comparison between the calculations and the data provides additional evidence that short-range correlations exclusively affect nucleon pairs with a small center-of-mass momentum residing in a relative S state.Received: 3 September 2003, Revised: 2 December 2003, Published online: 18 June 2004PACS: 24.10.-i Nuclear-reaction models and methods - 21.60.-n Nuclear-structure models and methods - 25.30.Fj Inelastic electron scattering to continuum     

Multi-quasiparticle states in 184 W via multi-nucleon transfer

A multi-nucleon transfer reaction using an 850 MeV ¹³⁶Xe beam incident on a ¹⁹⁸Pt target was used to populate high-spin states in ¹⁸⁴W, 14 nucleons from the target. A 4-quasiparticle isomer with ns has been observed for the first time and its de-excitation through collective and intrinsic structures studied. The results are compared with predictions of blocked BCS Nilsson calculations. Observation of this metastable state completes the tungsten 4-quasiparticle isomer systematics from A = 176 to 186. Mapping out the most yrast 4-quasiparticle isomers in these even-even tungsten isotopes suggests the existence of a highly favoured state in ¹⁸⁸W, within reach of current experimental set-ups.Received: 14 October 2003, Revised: 14 November 2003, Published online: 18 May 2004PACS: 21.10.Tg Lifetimes - 23.20.Lv transitions and level energies - 27.70. + q      

Molecular and cluster structures in 18O

We have studied the multi-nucleon transfer reaction ¹²C ( ⁷Li ,p) at E _lab = 44 MeV, populating states in the oxygen isotope ¹⁸O . The experiments were performed at the Tandem accelerator of the Maier-Leibniz Laboratory in Munich using the high-resolution Q3D magnetic spectrograph. States were populated up to an excitation energy of 21.2MeV with an overall energy resolution of 45keV, and 30 new states of ¹⁸O have been identified. The structure of the rotational bands observed is discussed in terms of cluster bands with the underlying cluster structures: ¹⁴C$ $\displaystyle \otimes$ $\displaystyle \alpha$ $and 12C ? 2n ? $ \alpha$ . Because of the broken intrinsic reflection symmetry in these structures the corresponding rotational bands appear as parity doublets.     

Structure studies of neutron-rich beryllium and carbon isotopes

The structure of neutron-rich beryllium isotopes has been investigated using different heavy-ion induced transfer reactions. A strong sensitivity to the chosen core nucleus is found for the cores of ⁹Be and ¹⁰Be, respectively. With a ⁹Be core, molecular rotational bands up to high excitation energies are observed due to the pronounced 2α-cluster structure, whereas only few states at low excitation energies are populated with a ¹⁰Be core. For ¹¹Be a detailed investigation has been performed for the three states at 3.41 MeV, 3.89 MeV and 3.96 MeV, which resulted in the most probable spin-parity assignments 3/2⁺, 5/2^? and 3/2^?, respectively. Furthermore we have studied particlehole states of ¹⁶C using the ¹³C(¹²C,⁹C)¹⁶C reaction and found 14 previously unknown states.     

16, 18O induced transfer reactions on122, 120Sn

The reactions¹²⁰Sn+72 MeV¹⁸O and¹²²Sn+74 MeV¹⁶O were investigated with time of-flightE-E-telescopes. Data are presented for all quasi-elastic reaction channels. The two neutron stripping and pickup reactions (¹⁸O,¹⁶O), (¹⁸O,²⁰O) and (¹⁶O,¹⁸O) are analyzed in detail. It is shown that these heavy ion induced two neutron transfer reactions proceed with essentially the same type of selectivity as the corresponding light ion induced reactions. The differential cross sections for transfer reactions leaving the^{120, 122}Sn nuclei in their 2⁺ first excited states are shown to be influenced by interference effects due to additional inelastic excitations.     

Introduction to BRAG: The Baryon Resonance Analysis Group

High-spin states in ^160,161,162Ho have been populated in the reactions ^158,160Gd(⁷Li, xn) at 56 MeV. In all three isotopes the known rotational bands have been extended to significantly higher spin. In ¹⁶⁰ Ho, the band crossing in the 7/2^-[523] 11/2^-[505] band has been observed for the first time. The sequences built on the proton 7/2^-[523], 7/2 ⁺ [404], 1/2 ⁺ [411] and 1/2^-[541] states in ¹⁶¹Ho have been extended up to spin 51/2^-, 35/2 ⁺ , 51/2 ⁺ and 41/2^-, respectively, leading to the first observation of upbends in all four cases. In addition, a new band most probably belonging to this nucleus has been identified. In the most neutron-rich isotope ¹⁶²Ho, the only known rotational band, which is built on the 7/2^-[523] 5/2 ⁺ [642] configuration, has been extended up to the 28^- state. The properties of all observed bands are discussed and compared to the neighbouring isotopes.Received: 4 November 2003, Published online: 23 July 2004PACS: 23.20.Lv transitions and level energies - 27.70. + q - 21.10.Re Collective levels     

Hard-to-reach nuclei studied with deep-inelastic heavy-ion reactions

Spectroscopic studies performed with deep-inelastic heavy-ion reactions are reviewed for two regions of neutron-rich nuclei. The identification of isomers in nearly complete series of Sn isotopes and the resulting systematic of B(E2) values for isomeric transitions is presented and followed by the discussion of shell model states studied in neutron-rich Te isotopes including the new four neutron-hole isomers identified in ¹³⁰Te. Yrast spectroscopy studies of nuclei from the doubly magic ²⁰⁸Pb region are described by outlining the highest spin states observed in the ²⁰⁸Pb core nucleus. The E3 transitions observed abundantly in yrast decays are discussed within the framework of particle-octupole vibration coupling and the validity of a simple rule connecting energy shifts of octupole states built on one-particle states with the ones observed for two-particle states is demonstrated.Received: 15 January 2003, Published online: 23 March 2004PACS: 21.60.Cs Shell model - 23.20.Lv transitions and level energies - 27.60. + j - 27.80. + w      

Observation of signature inversion in the πh9/2?vi13/2 oblate band

High-spin states in ¹⁹⁰Tl have been studied via the ¹⁶⁰Gd(³⁵Cl, 5nγ) reaction. The level scheme, consisting of the πh _9/2⊗vi _13/2 oblate band and a cascade with character of single particle excitations, has been established. Spin values have been firmly assigned to the oblate band in ¹⁹⁰Tl, resulting in low-spin signature inversion in the πh _9/2⊗vi _13/2 oblate band for the first time. Based on the similarity of the level structure in doubly odd Tl nuclei, spin values for the oblate bands in ^192–200Tl should be re-assigned, and a consistent low-spin signature inversion has occurred in these oblate deformed nuclei. The low-spin signature inversion phenomena can be interpreted qualitatively by using the 2-quasiparticle plus rotor model including p-n residual interactions.     

Pseudo-spin band in the odd-odd nucleus 172Lu

High-spin states in the odd-odd nucleus ¹⁷²Lu have been populated in a ¹⁷⁰Er(⁷Li, 5n) reaction and the emitted -radiation was detected with the GASP array. Two sequences of a new identical band have been observed with the transition energies in the favoured and unfavoured sequences being identical within keV at low spins and keV at high spins over the whole observed spin range. Aninterpretation as a pseudo-spin singlet band of configuration is proposed. It represents the best example of a pseudo-spin singlet band in normal deformed nuclei known until now.Received: 19 February 2003, Revised: 27 March 2003, Published online: 12 August 2003PACS: 21.10.-k Properties of nuclei; nuclear energy levels - 21.10.Re Collective levels - 23.20.Lv transitions and level energies - 27.70.+q      

Role of multi-step processes in 16O(11B,12C)15N at 41.25 MeV

The ¹⁶O(¹¹B,¹²C)¹⁵N reaction at 41.25 MeV has been investigated using the kinematical coincidence method. Polarization tensors t₂₀ and t₄₀ of ¹²C[2⁺ ₁] for the quantization axis taken along the direction of propagation have been measured at center-of-mass angles (Θ_c.m.) between 48^° and 62^° by analyzing the energy spectrum of ¹²C[2⁺ ₁] modulated by the effect of γ-ray emission. The cross-sections of the transfer reactions leading to the ¹²C[g.s.]+¹⁵N[g.s.], ¹²C[2⁺ ₁]+¹⁵N[g.s.] and ¹²C[g.s.]+¹⁵N[3/2^- ₁] final states have also been measured in the range 48^°≤Θ_c.m.≤ 120^°. The polarization tensor terms of ¹²C[2⁺ ₁] largely deviating from zero have been observed, contrary to the prediction by the distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA). The one-step DWBA calculation also fails in describing the transfer reaction cross-sections. It is shown that the coupled channel model calculation including excitations and reorientations in ¹¹B and ¹²C satisfactorily reproduces both the tensor terms and the cross-sections of the transfer reactions. The multi-step processes passing through the excited states of ¹¹B are found to significantly contribute to the reaction. Received: 3 July 2000 / Accepted: 15 September 2000     

Transverse asymmetry of $^3\!\stackrel{\rightarrow}{\rm He}$ and the magnetic form factor of the neutron

Multi-nucleon transfer reactions in ⁴⁰Ca + ²⁰⁸Pb have been studied at several bombarding energies close to the Coulomb barrier. Light reaction products have been identified in mass and charge with a time-of-flight spectrometer. The energy spectra of the inclusive two-neutron pick-up channel show a population in a narrow region of excitation energies which corresponds to the predicted energy of pairing-vibration states in ⁴²Ca.Received: 30 September 2003, Revised: 9 December 2003, Published online: 13 July 2004PACS: 25.70.Hi Transfer reactions - 24.10.-i Nuclear reaction models and methods - 21.60.Cs Shell model - 21.10.Pc Single-particle levels and strength functionsA.M. Vinodkumar: Present address: Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.     

Asymptotic normalization coefficients and astrophysical direct capture rates

Peripheral transfer reactions can be used to determine asymptotic normalization coefficients (ANCs). These coefficients, which specify the normalization of the tail of the nuclear overlap function, determine S-factors for direct capture reactions at astrophysical energies. A variety of proton transfer reactions involving both stable and radioactive beams have been used to measure ANCs. Tests have demonstrated that ANCs determined from proton transfer reactions can be used to calculate astrophysical direct capture rates to within 9%. The ¹⁰B(⁷Be, ⁸B)⁹Be and ¹⁴N(⁷Be, ⁸B)¹³C reactions have been used to measure the ANC appropriate for determining the ⁷Be(p,γ)⁸B rate, and the ¹⁴N(¹¹C, ¹²N)¹³C reaction has been used to measure the ANC required to calculate the ¹¹C(p,γ)¹²N rate. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001