Q value related mass determinations using a Penning trap

We report here about measurements of reaction and decay Q values by precise determination of pairs of atomic masses. These were performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer SMILETRAP. Measurements with Penning traps give reliable and accurate masses, in particular Q values, due to the fact that certain systematic errors to a great deal cancel in the mass difference between the two atoms defining the Q value. Some Q values that are of fundamental interest will be discussed here, for example, a new Q value for the ⁶Li (n,γ) ⁷Li reaction, for the β-decay of tritium, related to properties of the electron neutrino mass, and for the neutrino-less double β-decay of ⁷⁶Ge, related to the question of whether the neutrino is a Majorana particle or not. In case of the latter two we report the most accurate Q values, namely 18,589.8(12) eV for the tritium decay and 2,038.997(46) keV for the neutrino-less double β-decay of ⁷⁶Ge.     

Hadronic equation of state and the onset of kaon condensation

An equation of state is presented which takes the finite size of baryons and of mesons consistently into account and incorporates the contributions of both nonstrange and strange hadrons. All extensive quantities (energy, particle number, entropy) are modified by a factor taking into account the excluded volume due to baryon repulsion. Intensive quantities (pressure) are not modified. This is achieved by introducing a baryon chemical potential, _B, which is shifted from its point-like value, _B ⁰ , by a term proportional to the finite volume of a hadron,V ₀, as follows: _B= _B ⁰ + V₀[P⁰(T, _B ⁰ )–P⁰(T, 0)], whereP ⁰ is the pressure for pointlike particles. The last term is necessary to conserve baryon number at the phase transition point. The differences between the new equation of state and those considered previously in the literature are discussed. It is shown that kaon condensation sets in only in the mixed phase of the transition, where hadrons, quarks and gluons are present simultaneously in thermodynamical equilibrium.     

Influence of a continuum on cluster-decay processes

A microscopic approach to cluster decay including single-particle states in a continuum is given. The equations of motion describing cluster-like states are derived within the multistep shell-model approach. The lowest collective two-particle eigenmodes are used as building blocks for α-like states. Good agreement with low-lying states in ²¹²Po is obtained. The spectroscopic factor for the α decay between ground states is reproduced. It is shown that only by including the continuum part of the single-particle spectrum is the decay width for α-and cluster-decay processes reproduced. The α-like structure of the lowest states in ²¹²Po is analyzed, and strong high-lying resonances are predicted.     

Beta-decay strength measurement,total beta-decay energy determination,and dcay-scheme completeness testing by total absorption <Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis>-ray spectroscopy

Applications of total absorption γ-ray spectroscopy and its combination with high-resolution nuclear spectroscopy methods for measurements of a β-decay strength function S _β (E), determination of the total β-decay energy Q _β , and testing of decay-scheme completeness are presented.     

Evaporative cooling and coherent axial oscillations of highly charged ions in a penning trap

Externally, in an electron beam ion trap, generated Ar16+ ions were retrapped in a Penning trap and evaporatively cooled in their axial motion. The cooling was observed by a novel extraction technique based on the excitation of a coherent axial oscillation which yields short ion bunches of well-defined energies. The initial temperature of the ion cloud was decreased by a factor of more than 140 within 1?s, while the phase-space density of the coldest extracted ion pulses was increased by a factor of up to about 9.     

Theoretical analysis of the possible ultra-low-Q-value decay branch of Cs

We have investigated the feasibility of observing an ultra-low-Q-value beta-decay branch of ¹³⁵Cs by applying the microscopic quasiparticle-phonon model with a realistic two-body nuclear interaction. This work was motivated by an earlier combined experimental and theoretical work on decays of ¹¹⁵In. The inaccuracy of the ground-state-to-ground-state Q value limits our ability to draw definite conclusions, and therefore modern precision measurements for it are called for. We present the computed partial half-lives of each channel for the most likely ranges of Q values.     

Beta decays and muon capture as probes of ββ matrix elements

Detection of the neutrinoless double-beta decay is essential in probing physics beyond the standard model of electroweak and strong interactions. At the moment there is a considerable uncertainty associated with the calculation of the involved nuclear matrix elements. This uncertainty can be diminished by suitably chosen nuclear probes, like beta decays and nuclear muon capture. The related experiments are urgently called for. Presented by J. Suhonen at the Workshop on calculation of double-beta-decay matrix elements (MEDEX’05), Corfu, Greece, September 26–29, 2005.     

The hadronisation of a quark-gluon plasma

We consider two scenarios for the expansion of a quark-gluon plasma. If the evolution is slow enough, the system can remain in equilibrium throughout its entire history up to the freeze-out of a hadron gas; for a very rapid expansion, it may break up into hadrons before or at the confinement transition, without ever going through an equilibrium hadron phase. We compare hadron production rates in the two approaches and show that for a hadronisation temperatureT?200 MeV and baryonic chemical potential μ _B ?500 MeV, their predictions essentially coincide. Present data on strange particle production lead to values in this range and hence cannot provide a distinction between the two scenarios. Pion, nucleon and non-strange meson production seem to require a considerably lower freeze-out temperature and baryonic chemical potential. In the hadron gas picture, this is in accord with the difference in mean free path of the different hadrons in the medium; it suggests a sequential freeze-out, in which strange hadrons stop interacting earlier than non-strange hadrons. In the quark-gluon plasma break-up, the hadronic final state fails to provide the high entropy per baryon observed in non-strange hadron production. The break-up moreover leads to a decrease of the entropy per baryon; hence it must be conceptually modified before it can be considered as a viable hadronisation mechanism.     

Detailed investigation of the β-decay of the 9/2+ ground state of 99Nb to levels in 99Mo

The decay of ⁹⁹Nb to ⁹⁹Mo has been investigated. The use of the ion-guide technique for on-line mass separation and of a Ge-array for γ-ray detection have allowed the observation of decay branchings lower than 10^?3. Mediumspin levels, some already known from reaction studies and new ones at high energy, are populated. The β-feeding patterns of the decays of the 9/2⁺ states in ⁹⁹Nb and in its isotones ⁹⁷Y, and ¹⁰¹Tc are qualitatively reproduced by QRPA calculations.