Study of Light Neutron-Rich Nuclei Using a Multilayer Semiconductor Setup

The characteristics of two modifications of the semiconductor (s.c.d.) setup consisting of telescopes on the basis of silicon detectors are presented. These settings allow performing a precision measurement of energy in a large dynamic range (from a few to hundreds of MeV) and particle identification in a wide range of masses. The issues of measurement of the characteristics of s.c.d. telescopes and their impact on the quality of the obtained experimental data are considered. Considerable attention is paid to the use of created semiconductor devices for the search for and spectroscopy of light exotic nuclei on the accelerators of PNPI (Gatchina) and LANL (Los Alamos).     

Formation of the Heavy Isotope $${}^{\boldsymbol{6}}$$ He upon Stopped Pion Absorption by Nuclei

Physics of Atomic Nuclei - A survey of experimental results on the level structure in the heavy helium isotope $${}^{6}$$ He that were obtained in reactions induced by stopped pion absorption in...     

The formation of the superheavy hydrogen isotope <Superscript>6</Superscript>H in the absorption of stopped π<Superscript>−</Superscript>-mesons by nuclei

An experimental search for the superheavy hydrogen isotope ⁶H was conducted through studying the absorption of stopped π^?-mesons by ⁹Be and ¹¹B nuclei. A structure in the missing mass spectrum caused by the resonance states of ⁶H was observed in three reaction channels, namely, ⁹Be(π^?, pd)X, ¹¹B(π^?, d³He)X, and ¹¹B(π^?, p⁴He)X. The parameters of the lowest state E_r=6.6±0.7 MeV and Γ=5.5±2.0 MeV (E_r is the resonance energy with respect to the disintegration into the triton and three neutrons) are evidence that ⁶H is a more weakly bound system than ⁴H and ⁵H. Three excited states of ⁶H were observed. Their resonance levels (E_1r=10.7±0.7 MeV, Γ_1r=4±2 MeV, E_2r=15.3±0.7 MeV, Γ _2r=3±2 MeV, and E_3r=21.3±0.4 MeV, Γ_3r=3.5±1.0 MeV) are energetically capable of disintegrating into six free nucleons.     

Search for superheavy hydrogen isotopes <Superscript>4,5</Superscript>H in reactions of pion absorption by <Superscript>10,11</Superscript>B nuclei

The results of searching for production of superheavy hydrogen isotopes ^4,5H in reactions of absorption of stopped π^? mesons by ^10,11B nuclei are reported. A peak near 3 MeV was observed in the missing mass spectra measured in the reactions ^10,11B(π^?, t⁴He)X, ¹⁰B(π^?, d⁴He)X, and ¹⁰B(π^?, t³He)X. A structure caused by two ⁵H states with the resonance energies E _R = 5.2 and 10.4 MeV was observed in the missing mass spectra measured in the reactions ¹¹B(π^?, d⁴He)X, ¹¹B(π^?, t³He)X, and ¹⁰B(π^?, d³He)X.     

Production of Heavy Helium <Superscript>5</Superscript>Hе in the Absorption of Stopped Pions by <Superscript>10,11</Superscript>B Nuclei

Helium ⁵Hе states are sought in missing-mass (MM) spectra from reactions of the absorption of stopped pions: ¹⁰В(π^?, dt)Х and ¹¹В(π^?, tt)Х. The experiment is conducted using the LANL accelerator equipped with a two-arm semiconductor charged-particle spectrometer. The parameters of the ground state agree with the literature data. The best fit for the first excited level is obtained at E_r = 1.8(5) MeV and Γ = 4.7(7) MeV. Neither of the two reactions produce statistically significant evidence for the presence of highly excited (E_x ≥ 20 MeV) states of ⁵Hе.     

Searching for exotic cluster structure in the absorption of pions by the 11B nucleus

Correlation measurements of the reaction of stopped pion absorption ¹¹B(π^?, tt)X are made with a semiconductor double-arm charged particle spectrometer on a low-energy pion beam at the LAMPF meson factory. Analysis of a two-dimensional Dalitz plot and the momentum distribution of the residual nucleus allows us to identify the absorption of pions in a 6Li intranuclear cluster and demonstrate the configuration ⁶Li + ⁵He_g.s is present in the ¹¹B nucleus.     

Spectroscopy of superheavy hydrogen isotopes <Superscript>4</Superscript>H and <Superscript>5</Superscript>H

The superheavy hydrogen isotopes ⁴H and ⁵H have been investigated in the stopped pion absorption on ⁹Be. Three states of ⁴H were proposed in the reaction channel ⁹Be( ^{{ - }}, dt)X. Four states of ⁵H were proposed in the reaction channels ⁹Be(^{{ - }}, pt)X and ⁹Be(^{{ - }}, dt)X. The excited states of ⁵H can decay into free nucleons.     

Investigating highly excited states of the 8Li isotope

Highly excited states of the ⁸Li isotope are sought in absorption reactions of π^? mesons stopped by ^10,11B isotopes. The ground and three excited states of the ⁸Li isotope are observed in inclusive measurements of reactions ¹⁰B(π^?, d)X and ¹¹B(π^?, t)X. The states with excitation energies E _x ≈ 8.7 and 10.1 MeV are observed for the first time in correlation measurements of reactions ¹⁰B(π^?, dt)X and ¹¹B(π^?, tt)X.     

Search for light neutron-rich isotopes in stopped pion absorption

The results based on the spectroscopy of superheavy hydrogen isotopes (^4?7H), heavy helium isotopes (^6,7He), and heavy lithium isotopes (^7?12Li) produced in stopped pion absorption by light nuclei were analyzed. Search for nuclear states was performed in inclusive and correlation measurements of missing mass spectra. A broad range of excitation energies studied in correlation measurements provided the possibility of search for isobaric analog states and cluster resonances. A comparison with experimental and theoretical results of other authors was conducted.     

Spectroscopy of 7Li in stopped pion absorption reactions

The structure of excited levels in the ⁷Li isotope is studied via inclusive and correlation measurements in the stopped π^? meson absorption reactions ¹⁰B(π^?, t)X and ¹²C(π^?, dt)X, respectively. The experiment is conducted using a low-energy pion beam at the LAMPF meson factory. Analysis of the missing mass spectra reveals ⁷Li states with the resonance parameters (E _x , Γ) (4.7, 0.1), (6.6, 0.9), (7.3, 0.1), (9.1, 2.8), and (9.6, 0.4) MeV. A highly excited state with E _x ≈ 11.2 MeV (i.e., an isobar analog of ⁷He) is observed in the ¹⁰B(π^?,t)X reaction. An excited state with E _x = 10.3 ± 0.1 MeV and γ = 1.8 ± 0.4 Mev is observed for the first time in the ¹²C(π^?,dt)X reaction.