A. Leistenschneider

8He-6He: a comparative study of nuclear fragmentation reactions

Dissociation of 227 MeV/u He-8 in a carbon target has been studied in kinematically complete experiments. The data include the relative energy spectrum, angular distributions in the neutron knock-out channel (He-6 + n) as well as diffractive dissociation and inelastic scattering into the (He-6 + 2n) channel. The data are compared with corresponding results from the well-known halo nucleus He-6. In both cases it is found that neutron knock-out is the: dominating reaction channel. The relative energy spectrum (He-6 + n) shows a structure, which is interpreted as being due to the I-pi = 3/2(-) resonance in the He-7 ground state with about equal contribution from its I-pi = 1/2(-) spin-orbit partner. The He-7 resonance shows a spin alignment similar to that observed in He-5, but with a smaller anisotropy indicating that the structure of the He-8 ground state is more complicated than that of He-6. The data in the (He-6 + 2n) channel were used to identify resonances in the excitation energy spectrum of He-8. If the spectrum is interpreted as two overlapping resonances, the spin-parity assignment for these is found to be 2(+) and 1(-), respectively.

Invariant mass spectrum and alpha-n correlation function studied in the fragmentation of He-6 on a carbon target

Momentum distributions and invariant mass spectra from the breakup of He-6 ions with an energy of 240 MeV/u interacting with a carbon target have been studied. The data were used to extract information about the reaction mechanism which is influenced by the structure of He-6. It is found that the dominant reaction mechanism is a two-step process: knock out of one neutron followed by the decay of the He-5 resonance. The shape of the (alpha+n) two-body invariant mass spectrum is interpreted as mainly reflecting the 5He ground state which is a J(pi) = 3/2(-) resonance. However, no evidence for correlations between cu particles and neutrons is observed in the momentum widths of the distributions. It is demonstrated that a combined analysis of the two-body invariant mass spectrum and an appropriate correlation function may be used to determine the properties of the intermediate resonance

Halo excitations in fragmentation of 6He at 240 MeV/u on carbon and lead targets

Dissociation of a 240 MeV/u beam of He-6, incident on carbon and lead targets, has been studied in kinematically complete experiments to investigate low-lying excitation modes in the halo nucleus He-6. It is shown that alignment effects characterize the inelastic scattering and allow an unambiguous assignment of the spin of a narrow resonance observed in the excitation energy spectrum. The differential cross sections for the He-6 inelastic scattering on carbon and lead targets were deduced from the measured moments of the two neutrons and the a-particle. An analysis of these distributions shows that quadrupole and, possibly, monopole excitations characterize the hadronic interaction, while the dipole mode is dominating in Coulomb dissociation. Neither theoretically predicted new resonance states in He-6 nor nuclear excitation of a dipole mode were found. Direct evidence has been obtained for strong suppression of Coulornb post-acceleration in direct Coulomb breakup in a lead target.

8He-6He: a comparative study of electromagnetic fragmentation reactions

Dissociation of a 227 MeV/u 8He beam in a lead target has been studied in a kinematically complete experiment. The results are compared with similar data from the well-known halo nucleus 6He. Coulomb–nuclear interference in the inelastic channel gives evidence for a Iπ=1− resonance in 8He at Ex=4.15 MeV. The deduced B(E1) value of 0.38±0.07 e2 fm2 indicates a uniform distribution of the four neutrons around the greek small letter alpha-particle core.

Two-phonon giant resonances in 136 Xe, 208 Pb, and 238 U

The excitation of the double-phonon giant dipole resonance was observed in heavy projectile nuclei impinging on targets of high nuclear charge with energies of 500‐700 MeV/nucleon. New experimental data are presented for 136 Xe and 238 U together with further analysis of earlier data on 208 Pb. Differential cross sections ds/dE* and ds/du for electromagnetic excitations were deduced. Depending on the isotope, cross sections appear to be enhanced in comparison to those expected from a purely harmonic nuclear dipole response. The cumulative effect of excitations of two-phonon states composed of one dipole and one quadrupole phonon, of predicted anharmonicities in the double-phonon dipole response, and of damping of the dipole resonance during the collision may account for the discrepancy. In addition, decay properties of two-phonon resonances were studied and compared to that of a statistical decay.

Giant resonances in unstable oxygen isotopes

Abstract Electromagnetic and nuclear breakup of the neutron-rich Oxygen isotopes ranging from A = 17 to A = 22 is studied experimentally in reactions at energies around 600 MeV/u. The beams were produced in fragmentation reactions and separated by the GSI Fragment Separator FRS. By measuring the four-momenta of all decay products after inelastic scattering and neutron decay of the projectile, the excitation energy is determined. From the differential cross sections dσ dE ∗ for electromagnetic excitation, the E1-strength distributions can be deduced. For 18,20,22 O, low-lying dipole strength is observed, exhausting about 5% of the Thomas Reiche Kuhn sumrule for energies up to 5 MeV above the continuum threshold.

Excitation and decay of two-phonon giant dipole resonances

Abstract In heavy ion collisions at near relativistic energies, electromagnetic excitation of the double giant dipole resonance occurs with large cross sections. We summarize the presently available experimental data and discuss related theoretical efforts. Emphasis is paid to the question of anharmonicities and to the damping of the two-phonon states.

Continuum excitations in neutron-rich Oxygen isotopes

Electromagnetic and nuclear excitations of the neutron-rich Oxygen isotopes ranging from A=17 to A=22 are studied experimentally in reactions at energies around 600 MeV/u. By measuring the four-momenta of all decay products the excitation energy is determined. From the differential cross sections for electromagnetic excitation, the E1-strength distributions can be deduced. For 18,20,22O, low-lying dipole strength is observed, exhausting about 5% of the energy weighted TRK sumrule for energies up to 5 MeV above the continuum threshold.

Coulomb Breakup of Neutron‐Rich Oxygen Isotopes

The ground state structure of the near drip‐line 23O nucleus and neutron‐rich 17,21O isotopes has been investigated at GSI via exclusive measurements of one‐neutron Coulomb breakup reactions with a Pb target using secondary beams of the corresponding projectiles at 400–600 MeV/u. Differential cross sections for electromagnetic dissociation have been measured and compared with the calculated ones in a direct breakup model. The cross section dσ/dE* (excitation energy E*), further differentiated according to the observed (excited) states of the remaining nucleus, provides spectroscopic information on the ground state of these nuclei.

The dipole response of nuclei with large neutron excess

The dipole response of neutron-rich nuclei in the mass range from A = 10 to A = 22 and with mass to charge ratios of 2.5 to 2.8 has been invesitigated experimentally utilizing electromagnetic excitation in heavy-ion collisions at beam energies around 600 MeV/u.