118396263
Comment on Mean First Passage Time for Nuclear Fission and the Emission of Light Particles
Theoretical methods, interpretations and conclusions on the fission dynamics in a recent publication of H. Hofmann and F. A. Ivanyuk on the mean first passage time are critically considered.
55265914
Transfer reactions in inverse kinematics: An experimental approach for fission investigations
Inelastic and multinucleon transfer reactions between a U-238 beam, accelerated at 6.14 MeV/u, and a C-12 target were used for the production of neutron-rich, fissioning systems from U to Cm. A Si telescope, devoted to the detection of the targetlike nuclei, provided a characterization of the fissioning systems in atomic and mass numbers, as well as in excitation energy. Cross sections and angular and excitation-energy distributions were measured for the inelastic and transfer channels. Possible excitations of the targetlike nuclei were experimentally investigated for the first time, by means of gamma-ray measurements. The decays from the first excited states of 12C, B-11, and Be-10 were observed with probabilities of 0.12-0.14, while no evidence for the population of higher-lying states was found. Moreover, the fission probabilities of U-238, Np-239 and Pu-240,Pu-241,Pu-242 and Cm-244 were determined as a function of the excitation energy.
121241106
Isotopic production cross sections of the residual nuclei in spallation reactions induced by 136Xe projectiles on proton at 500 A MeV
Around 270 medium-mass residual nuclei, formed in spallation reactions induced by 136Xe projectiles impinging on a liquid hydrogen target at 500 A MeV, have been unambiguously identified at GSI using the magnetic spectrometer FRS. The individual production cross sections and the longitudinal momentum distributions have been determined with high accuracy. These data represent an important constraint for theoretical models describing spallation reactions. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
5034444
Study of the multi-nucleon transfer reactions of 136Xe + 198Pt for producing exotic heavy nuclei
The feasibility of the multi-nucleon transfer (MNT) reaction in the 136 Xe + 198 Pt system was investigated for synthesizing neutron-rich heavy nuclei around mass number A 200 of astrophysical interest. Identification of the projectile-like fragments (PLF's) was successfully performed by using VAMOS++ spectrometer. The isotopic distributions of the PLF's produced by two-proton stripping and pickup reactions were compared with each other, demonstrating the properties of the MNT reactions observed in the present system. The two-proton pickup channels strongly populated than the two- proton stripping channels were observed. The isotopic distributions for di erent total kinetic energy loss (TKEL) ranges are also discussed. The overall enhancement of the strength of the two-proton pickup compared with the two-proton stripping appears to be related to the MNT reactions with relatively moderate energy dissipation.
120833641
Examining fine potential energy effects in high-energy fission dynamics
The potential energy surface plays a decisive role in nuclear fission. Together with inertia and viscosity, it influences the trajectory of the system, and the properties of the fission fragments result from the puzzling interplay between static and dynamical effects. A careful study on the influence of the parametrization of the potential energy landscape in heavy-ion-induced fission is performed. Dynamical calculations are done within the stochastic Langevin approach in a three-dimensional deformation space. Various prescriptions of the potential energy surface are considered, probing two different Liquid Drop models and the deformation dependence of the Wigner/congruence energy. A wide set of observables, including cross sections, particle multiplicities, and integral, as well as isotopic and isobaric, distributions of fission and evaporation products, is analyzed. Nuclei close to the Businaro-Gallone point are confirmed to be well suited for investigating the Liquid Drop parametrization, while the influence of the deformation-dependent Wigner/congruence energy is difficult to demonstrate unambiguously in fission at high excitation energies.
119392837
Fission-Fragment Mass Distribution and Particle Evaporation at low Energies
Fusion-fission dynamics is investigated with a special emphasis on fusion reactions at low energy for which shell effects and pairing correlations can play a crucial role leading in particular to multi-modal fission. To follow the dynamical evolution of an excited and rotating nucleus we solve a 2-dimensional Langevin equation taking explicitly light-particle evaporation into account. The confrontation theory-experiment is demonstrated to give interesting information on the model presented, its qualities as well as its shortcomings.
206538240
A Shorter 146Sm Half-Life Measured and Implications for 146Sm-142Nd Chronology in the Solar System
A New Lease on Half-Life Radiometric dating relies on measuring the abundance of long-lived radionuclides relative to the abundance of their radiogenic decay products—a process determined by the original radionuclide's half-life. For primordial radionuclides that decay slowly, such as 146Sm decaying to 142Nd, this method provides the timing of some of the earliest processes in solar system history. Using accelerator mass spectrometry, Kinoshita et al. (p. 1614) provide a revised estimate for the 146Sm half-life of ∼68.7 million years, which is 30% shorter than the previously accepted value. This shorter half-life suggests that reductions need to be made in the estimated ages for differentiation of Earth's mantle and the solidification of the Moon's magma ocean and for other more recent processes. Mantle differentiation of Earth, the Moon, and Mars occurred earlier and over a shorter time scale than previously estimated. The extinct p-process nuclide 146Sm serves as an astrophysical and geochemical chronometer through measurements of isotopic anomalies of its α-decay daughter 142Nd. Based on analyses of 146Sm/147Sm α-activity and atom ratios, we determined the half-life of 146Sm to be 68 ± 7 (1σ) million years, which is shorter than the currently used value of 103 ± 5 million years. This half-life value implies a higher initial 146Sm abundance in the early solar system, (146Sm/144Sm)0 = 0.0094 ± 0.0005 (2σ), than previously estimated. Terrestrial, lunar, and martian planetary silicate mantle differentiation events dated with 146Sm-142Nd converge to a shorter time span and in general to earlier times, due to the combined effect of the new 146Sm half-life and (146Sm/144Sm)0 values.
118399911
High Rate Proton Irradiation of 15mm Muon Drifttubes
Future LHC luminosity upgrades will significantly increase the amount of background hits from photons, neutrons and protons in the detectors of the ATLAS muon spectrometer. At the proposed LHC peak luminosity of 5*10^34 1/cm^2s, background hit rates of more than 10 kHz/cm^2 are expected in the innermost forward region, leading to a loss of performance of the current tracking chambers. Based on the ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube chambers, a new high rate capable drift tube detecor using tubes with a reduced diameter of 15mm was developed. To test the response to highly ionizing particles, a prototype chamber of 46 15mm drift tubes was irradiated with a 20 MeV proton beam at the tandem accelerator at the Maier-Leibnitz Laboratory, Munich. Three tubes in a planar layer were irradiated while all other tubes were used for reconstruction of cosmic muon tracks through irradiated and non-irradiated parts of the chamber. To determine the rate capability of the 15mm drift-tubes we investigated the effect of the proton hit rate on pulse height, efficiency and spatial resolution of the cosmic muon signals.
120436865
Pair and single neutron transfer with Borromean 8He
Abstract Direct observation of the survival of 199 Au residues after 2 n transfer in the He 8 + Au 197 system and the absence of the corresponding 67 Cu in the He 8 + Cu 65 system at various energies are reported. The measurements of the surprisingly large cross sections for 199 Au, coupled with the integral cross sections for the various Au residues, is used to obtain the first model-independent lower limits on the ratio of 2 n to 1 n transfer cross sections from 8 He to a heavy target. A comparison of the transfer cross sections for 6,8 He on these targets highlights the differences in the interactions of these Borromean nuclei. These measurements for the most neutron-rich nuclei on different targets highlight the need to probe the reaction mechanism with various targets and represent an experimental advance towards understanding specific features of pairing in the dynamics of dilute nuclear systems.
85503224
HEROICA: an underground facility for the fast screening of germanium detectors
HEROICA (Hades Experimental Research Of Intrinsic Crystal Appliances) is an infrastructure to characterize germanium detectors and has been designed and constructed at the HADES Underground Research Laboratory, located in Mol (Belgium). Thanks to the 223 m overburden of clay and sand, the muon flux is lowered by four orders of magnitude. This natural shield minimizes the exposure of radio-pure germanium material to cosmic radiation resulting in a significant suppression of cosmogenic activation in the germanium detectors. The project has been strongly motivated by a special production of germanium detectors for the GERDA experiment. GERDA, currently collecting data at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso of INFN, is searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge. In the near future, GERDA will increase its mass and sensitivity by adding new Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors. The production of the BEGe detectors is done at Canberra in Olen (Belgium), located about 30 km from the underground test site. Therefore, HADES is used both for storage of the crystals over night, during diode production, and for the characterization measurements. A full quality control chain has been setup and tested on the first seven prototype detectors delivered by the manufacturer at the beginning of 2012. The screening capabilities demonstrate that the installed setup fulfills a fast and complete set of measurements on the diodes and it can be seen as a general test facility for the fast screening of high purity germanium detectors. The results are of major importance for a future massive production and characterization chain of germanium diodes foreseen for a possible next generation 1-tonne double beta decay experiment with 76Ge.