Observation of two-proton radioactivity of 19Mg by tracking the decay products

We have observed the two-proton radioactivity of the previously unknown (19)Mg ground state by tracking the decay products in-flight. For the first time, the trajectories of the 2p-decay products, (17)Ne+p+p, have been measured by using tracking microstrip detectors which allowed us to reconstruct the 2p-decay vertices and fragment correlations. The half-life of (19)Mg deduced from the measured vertex distribution is 4.0(15) ps in the system of (19)Mg. The Q value of the 2p decay of the (19)Mg ground state inferred from the measured p-p-(17)Ne correlations is 0.75(5) MeV.     

Quasi-free (p,pα) scattering on 24Mg, 28Si, 40Ca and 58Ni at 157 MeV

Sixfold energy spectra have been measured for the (p, pα) reaction at 157 MeV on ²⁴Mg, ²⁸Si, ⁴⁰Ca and ⁵⁸Ni around quasi-free kinematic conditions. For the three s-d shell nuclei the experiment covered a map ranging from 0 to 220 MeV/c in recoil momentum and from 0 to 20 MeV in excitation energy of the final nucleus. Recoil momentum distributions have been obtained for the 0⁺ ground state and the 2⁺ first excited state of ²⁰Ne, ²⁴Mg and ³⁶Ar, and also for the states around 4.4 MeV (mainly 4⁺) of ³⁶Ar. The a spectroscopic factors extracted by a DWIA analysis are about three times larger than those predicted by the SU(3) model; however, they agree quite well in relative magnitude for a number of cases. The disagreement in shape between experiment and theory observed at low recoil momentum for the 2⁺ states might result from another reaction mechanism. The cross sections for ⁵⁸Ni are about a factor often smaller than those for ⁴⁰Ca. The ⁵⁸Ni(p, pα)⁵⁴Fe reaction seems to lead mainly to excited states of the final nucleus.     

Proton and Two-proton Emissions from Proton-rich Nuclei with 10≦Z≦20

Proton (p) and two-proton (2p) emissions from the proton-rich nuclei with 10≦Z≦20 have been explored by the in-fight decay and implantation decay methods, respectively, in a series of experiments at the HIRFL-RIBLL facility. The in-flight 2p emissions from the excited states of 28,29S /26,27P and 17;18Ne were studied by complete-kinematics measurements. Mechanisms of 2p decay and related p-p correlations have been explored. Obvious 2p correlated emissions have been observed in the cases of 28,29S but not in 27,28P, indicating the 2p halo plays an important role in the diproton emission. In the 17;18Ne cases, a small 2p opening angles were deduced by the HBT analyses, implying the BCS-BEC crossover may occur in the dilute nuclear matter. Moreover, 27S/26P/25Si, 22Si/20Mg, 23Si/22Al/21Mg, 24Si/23Al, and 36;37Ca were implanted in a thin double-sided-silicon-strip detector and their -delayed p and 2p decays have been measured by a surrounding silicon detector array under the continuous-beam mode. Important information on the nuclear spectroscopy, such as energy, lifetime, branching-ratio, and so on, has been extracted, which helps us to understand the nuclear structures of proton-rich exotic nuclei close to the drip-line.     

Isomeric decay studies around 204Pt and 148Tb

Relativistic energy projectile fragmentation of ²⁰⁸Pb has been used to produce a range of exotic nuclei. The nuclei of interest were studied by detecting delayed gamma rays following the decay of isomeric states. Experimental information on the excited states of the neutron-rich N=126 nucleus, ²⁰⁴Pt, following internal decay of two isomeric states, was obtained for the first time. In addition, decays from the previously reported isomeric I=27ħ and I=(49/2)ħ states in ¹⁴⁸Tb and ¹⁴⁷Gd, respectively, have been observed. These isomeric decays represent the highest spin discrete states observed to date following a projectile fragmentation reaction, and opens further the possibility of doing `high-spin physics' using this technique.     

The 12C(18O, α)26Mg and 12C(18O, 8Be)22Ne reaction

Excitation functions for α-emission leading to the ground and first excited states of ²⁶Mg and ⁸Be emission leading to the ground and first and second excited states of ²²Ne have been measured at several forward angles for E_c.m. = 15 to 22.4 MeV. There is little evidence for correlated structure. The angular distribution at 16.5 MeV for the α + ²⁶Mg(g.s.) channel is rather structureless while that for the ⁸Be+²²Ne(g.s.) channel appears to be dominated by a J = 13 contribution. Statistical model calculations indicate that much of the yield for both the α and ⁸Be exit channel is compound nuclear in origin, with some indication of a larger direct contribution for the ⁸Be channel at the lower end of the bombarding energy range.     

Level structure of 72As studied with the (α, xnp) reaction

States of ⁷²As, excited through the ⁷⁰Ge(α, np) and ⁷²Ge(α, 3np) reactions at E_α = 30 to 55 MeV, were studied. Excitation functions, γ-ray angular distributions, γ-γ coincidences and γ-time distributions with respect to the beam bursts, were determined. Five excited states are identified with levels previously observed with the (p, n) reaction. In addition seven new levels and their decay pattern are incorporated into a level scheme. A half-life of 17 ± 3 nsec was determined for the 309.8 keV state, and evidence for the existence of a long-lived state (>100 nsec) was obtained. A simple scheme based on simple particle shell-model configurations accounts for the gross properties of the low lying levels. While definite spin and parity assignment for the upper excited states require further measurements, tentative spin values up to 7 are obtained.     

Properties of resonant interatomic Coulombic decay in Ne dimers

Properties of the interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) process in Ne dimers have been obtained by tracking the formation of energetic Ne+ ions. The double photoionization cross section, deduced from the Ne+/Ne+ coincidence signal, is dominated by the ICD process and presents a threshold 280 meV below the atomic Ne+2s(-1) threshold. Rydberg excitation of a 2s electron in the dimer creates molecular Rydberg states whose Sigma and Pi symmetries have been resolved. These excited states decay by a resonant ICD process releasing an energetic Ne+ ion and a neutral excited Ne* fragment. Subsequent autoionization of the Ne* fragment explains a double photoionization threshold below the dimer 2s ionization threshold.     

20Mgβ衰变谱学与15O(α,γ)19Ne反应(英文)

15O（α,γ）19Ne（p,γ）20Na反应链是高温CNO循环向快速质子俘获过程突破的一条关键路径,相关的反应率输入量可通过20Mg的β衰变可布居19Ne共振态并测量其衰变性质来获得。通过高效率高精度地测量20Mg β衰变中产生的质子与γ射线得到了20Mg衰变的详细信息,并构建了完整的衰变纲图,还进行了19Ne 4 033 keV共振态衰变性质的探索,获得了该态在20Mg β衰变中被布居的分支比上限。通过比20Mg和20O镜像能级跃迁的结果确认了同位旋非对称性,为检验相关理论模型提供了精确的实验数据。对于突破路径中有重要影响的19Ne 4 033 keV共振态的性质,有待更高统计的实验进一步研究。The breakout from the hot CNO cycle to the rapid proton capture process can occur via the 15O(α,γ)19Ne(p,γ)20Na reaction sequence, and the β decay of 20Mg can be used as an alternative method to characterize some specific resonances, which will provide detailed nuclear structure input for reaction rate calculations. The reliable information on the decay properties and structure of 20Mg was obtained by measuring the emitted particles and γ-rays in the β decay with high efficiency and high resolution. Attempt was also made to search for the decay channels associated with the 4 033 keV resonance in 19Ne. To test fundamental symmetries, the transitions in the mirror decays of 20Mg and 20O were compared. The precise experimental data presented here would be important to constrain the theoretical calculations. It is desirable to clarify the astrophysically relevant problem by further experiments with improved statistics on the basis of the present work.     

Spectroscopy of the continuum states of 24Mg using the 20Ne(α, α′) and 23Na(p, α) reactions

We have measured excitation functions for the ²⁰Ne(α, α′)²⁰Ne and ²³Na(p, α)²⁰Ne reactions in the energy ranges corresponding to, respectively, 17.85-21.67 and 19.35-20.65 MeV of excitation in ²⁴Mg, that is in the region of the sub-Coulomb resonances in ²⁴Mg observed in the ${}^{12}\text{C}\text{+}{}^{12}\text{C}$ reactions. By using statistical analysis techniques we have determined the energies of possible quasibound states in ²⁴Mg responsible for the deviations from the average trends in the above excitation functions and compared them to the energies of known sub-Coulomb resonances in ²⁴Mg. The comparison speaks in favour of interpreting the simple structures associated with the resonances as alpha-like configurations in the ²⁴Mg continuum.     

Recoil-distance measurements of g-factors for 24Mg(21+) and 20Ne(21+)

Time-differential recoil-into-vacuum measurements have been performed with a plunger on the first-excited I^π = 2⁺ states of ²⁴Mg and ²⁰Ne. The states were populated by the reactions ¹²C(¹⁶O, α)²⁴Mg and ¹²C(¹²C, α)²⁰Ne. The measured anisotropy of the α-γ angular correlation was greatly increased by means of a vertical slit on the annular particle detector. Values of $\text{¦g¦= 0.51 ± 0.02}\text{and}\text{0.54 ± 0.04}$ have been deduced for the ²⁴Mg and ²⁰Ne g-factors, respectively. The mean lives of these states have been determined as τ_m = 2.09 ± 0.13 ps and 0.8 ± 0.2 ps, respectively. Various theoretical calculations are discussed and compared with the measured g-factors.The analysis of the measurement also yields values for the populations of electronic states contributing to the hyperfine interaction. For ²⁰Ne the populations of the different electronic configurations are compared with the results of a separate time-integral measurement, in which the correlations were measured for each ionic state separately. Large fractions of two-electron excited states are found to contribute.     

The decay of isoscalar giant resonances in 24Mg and 40Ca

In this paper we present data on the charged-particle decay of the isoscalar 2⁺ strength between 10 and 20 MeV excitation energy (E_x) in ²⁴Mg and ⁴⁰Ca. The isoscalar strength was excited by inelastic scattering of 120MeV α-particles at 14° and 12.5° for ²⁴Mg and ⁴⁰Ca, respectively. The charged particles originating from the decay were detected in coincidence with the α′ particles at several angles in the scattering plane. J^π assignments of the decaying states were made on the basis of the angular correlation pattern of the α₀ decay to the ground state of ²⁰Ne and ³⁶Ar, respectively, using a DWBA calculation for the m-state population of the decaying state.For ⁴⁰Ca, about 40% of the E2 EWSR is found to be located in the interval E_x = 13.5 ± 1.5 MeV, which is similar to what has been found from previous inelastic scattering experiments at E_x = 18 ± 2 MeV, but much more than such experiments located in the region E_x = 12–15 MeV. The difference for the region E_x < 16 MeV is due to the fact that from our α₀ angular correlation pattern we conclude that virtually no continuum is excited in the (α, α′) process up to E_x = 16 MeV while all previous inelastic hadron scattering experiments assumed such a continuum to be present. The E2 strength distribution for ⁴⁰Ca thus obtained is very different from what previous theoretical calculations predict. For ²⁴Mg about 30% of the E2 EWSR is present in the interval 12.5 ? E_x ? experiments. 16.5 MeV which again is about twice as much as deduced from previous inelastic scattering The observed branching ratios are compared with calculated ones assuming statistical decay. Reasonable agreement was obtained for ⁴⁰Ca, but for ²⁴Mg especially the α₀-decay branch and to a lesser extent also the p₁ one are much stronger than the statistical calculations predict, indicating that especially the α₀ decay occurs mainly in a non-statistical way.A similar conclusion can be drawn from the behaviour of the forward-backward asymmetry in the angular correlations of the decay particles as a function of the excitation energy FBA(E_x). For ⁴⁰Ca, FBA(E_x) for all decay channels increases smoothly on the average once E_x is above a well-defined threshold, which is due to the onset of knock-out processes. For ²⁴Mg, however, the FBA(E_x) for the α₀ shows a large fluctuation as a function of E_x, indicating an interference process between semi-direct decay and knock-out processes.     

A re-investigation of 19O(β−)19F

Gamma rays observed in¹⁹O(β^?)¹⁹F have been studied with Ge(Li) spectroscopy utilizing activity created via the ¹⁸O(d, p) ¹⁹O reaction. Precision measurements of γ-ray energies and intensities, in conjunction with previous work, define the following excitation energies (in keV) and β-branching ratios (in %) for states of ¹⁹F: 109.894(5), 0.055(13/38); 197.143(4), 45.4(1.5); 1345.67(13), 0.017(2); 1554.038(9), 54.4(1.2); 2779.849(34), < 0.002; 3908.17(20), 0.0081(5); 4377.700(42), 0.0984(30). The corresponding values of logft are 8.34(30/10); 5.384(14); 8.25(5); 4.625(10); > 8.17; 6.133(27); and 3.859(17), respectively. The β-branches to the 1346 and 3908 keV states had not been observed previously. The β-branch for the 4378 keV state is in significantly better accord with theoretical expectations than the previous value of 0.160(12) %.     

Probing electronic states of Ne2+ and Ar2+ by measuring kinetic-energy-release distributions

Dissociative decay of metastable, electronically excited neon and argon dimer ions produces fragment ions with strikingly dissimilar kinetic-energy-release distributions. The distributions have been modeled based on ab initio calculations of potential energy curves. The unusual bimodal distribution observed for dissociation of Ne2+ arises from competition between radiative and nonradiative decay of the long-lived II(1/2)(u) state. For Ar2+, however, electronic predissociation is insignificant.     

双电荷离子He2+与Ne,Ar原子碰撞中的激发态

实验用光学多道分析系统(OMA)测量了He²⁺和Ne,Ar碰撞过程中的发射光谱,结果表明,这些碰撞体系存在着三种激发过程:双电子俘获激发过程、单电子俘获激发过程和直接激发过程。给出了HeI,HeII,NeI,NeII和ArI,ArII谱线的发射截面,并对He²⁺+Ne和He²⁺+Ar两个碰撞体系的发射截面作了一些比较,发现在入射离子速度相同的情况下,后者的发射截面要比前者大得多,并对此进行了定性讨论。OMA的光谱波长范围为200—800nm。入射离子He²⁺的能量范围为140—340keV。 关键词：     

Experimental studies of nuclei beyond the proton drip line by tracking technique

A novel experimental technique for measurements of in-flight decays of proton-unbound nuclei with pico-second lifetimes is described on the examples of the recent discovery of ¹⁹Mg and its two-proton (2p) radioactivity and the study of the reference 2p decay of the known isotope ¹⁶Ne . The method of measurements of 2p decays in flight by tracking all fragments with micro-strip detectors has also proven to be a potent tool for obtaining valuable spectroscopic information on exotic isotopes like ¹⁹Mg or ¹⁶Ne . Systematic studies of other 2p emitters predicted theoretically are foreseen with this powerful technique whose sensitivity is larger by factor of 20-30 in comparison with a conventional invariant-mass method. Information about the respective one-proton unbound subsystems can be obtained at the same time by evaluating proton-heavy-fragment correlations, which is illustrated on the example of the spectroscopy of ¹⁵F . This finding opens a way for systematic studies of exotic nuclei beyond the proton drip line, e.g., ⁶⁹Br . The properties of such nuclei may be important for the understanding of the element abundance in the Universe and may be used as input data for modeling the rp-process in various astrophysical sites.     

Decay of 59.3 min 128Sn to levels of 128Sb

The γ-ray spectra associated with the decay of 59.3 min ¹²⁸Sn have been measured with Ge(Li) detectors. In order to recognize γ-rays of ¹²⁸Sn and ^128mSb, the decay and/or growth of γ-rays emitted from a tin sample separated chemically from fission products were measured. The decay of ¹²⁸Sn is followed by the intense Sb X-rays and 32.1, 45.8, 75.1, 80.9, 115.9, 152.6, 404.4, 482.3, 557.3 and 680.2 keV γ-rays. On the basis of the measured singles and γ-γ coincidence spectra and the analysis of intensities of true sum peaks, a new decay scheme has been constructed. The 10.0 min isomer in ¹²⁸Sb decays by β-emission (96.4%) to excited levels in ¹²⁸Te and by an isomeric transition (3.6 %) to the 9.1 h ground state.     

The g-factor of the yrast 4+ state in 20Ne from transient-field precession measurements

Transient field precessions of the first excited 2⁺ and 4⁺ states in ²⁰Ne nuclei traversing polarized gadolinium have been measured. The deduced g-factor of the 4⁺ state, g = + 0.08(20), agrees with our earlier reported value of g = ? 0.10(19) measured in iron by the same technique. The significant reduction in the value of the $\text{g-}\text{factor}\text{,}\text{g}\text{?}\text{= ? 0.01(14)}$, relative to that of the 2 ⁺ state, g = + 0.54(4), is incompatible with the pure T = 0 character expected for low-lying states in this self-conjugate nucleus. In addition, the lifetime of the 4⁺ state has been measured to be τ = 95(13) fs, in agreement with a previous measurement.     

The decay of 174Tm and mixing of the Kπ = 5− two-quasiparticle states in 174Yb

The decay of 5.4 min ¹⁷⁴Tm has been investigated using Ge(Li) spectrometers in singles and coincidence measurements. A total of 43 γ-ray transitions, 26 of them not reported before, have been observed following the decay of ¹⁷⁴Tm. All transitions could be placed in a level scheme comprising 19 excited states of ¹⁷⁴Yb. The Nilsson model has been used to interpret the level structure. The mixing of two-quasineutron and two-quasiproton states is studied and the experimental mixing matrix element is compared with the results of theoretical calculations.     

Energy levels in 23Na from the 19F(α, n)22Na reaction

The 0° differential cross sections for the production of four neutron groups, populating the ground state and the four lowest excited states of the residual ²²Na nucleus were measured. For incident α-energies of up to 4.7 MeV more than sixty resonances, corresponding to levels in ²³Na were seen; most of them had not been reported previously. Angular distributions were measured at eight α-energies. The excitation curve for the ¹⁹F(α, P₁γ)²²Ne reaction was also obtained and eighteen additional levels were identified in ²³Na.     

Some insight into the structure of the nuclei 19F, 19Ne, 21Ne, 21Na, 23Na and 23Mg through the generator coordinate method and the projected Hartree-Fock method

Structures of two sets of mirror nuclei ¹⁹Ne, ²¹Na, ²³Mg and ¹⁹F, ²¹Ne, ²³Na were studied comparatively by means of the electromagnetic properties of the even-parity states, calculated with the generator coordinate method and with mixing of projected Hartree-Fock determinants. The present results are compared with those of complete diagonalization. In particular, collective features of these nuclei are investigated by comparing the various microscopic results with the predictions of the simple rotational model.