E. Chávez

Study of resonant reactions with radioactive ion beams

Abstract A fast and efficient method to study (p,p) and (p,α) resonances with radioactive beams in inverse kinematics is described. It is based on the use of thick targets and large area double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSDs) to detect the recoiling light-charged particles and to determine precisely their scattering angle. The first nuclear physics experiments with the technique have been performed recently at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) at Oak Ridge with stable beams of 17 O and radioactive beams of 17 F . The high-quality resonance measurements obtained demonstrate the capabilities of the technique. Pure 17 F beams from HRIBF were produced by fully stripping the ions and separating the interfering and more abundant 17 O ions by the beam transport system. The removal of interfering isobars is one of the various common challenges to both accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and radioactive ion beam (RIB) production. Experiments done with RIBs will benefit from the use of the most efficient techniques for production, isobar separation, transport and detection.

26Al production: The Allende meteorite (Chihuahua) stellar nucleosynthesis and solar models

In 1969 a meteorite fell near the small town of Allende, state of Chihuahua in the north of Mexico. Its study yielded information that changed the current understanding of the solar model. In particular traces of 26Al were found. Abundances of that isotope had been seen in the universe and were related to regions of active heavy nucleosynthesis. Its presence on the solar system was unexpected.It is now understood that cosmic rays induce nuclear reactions on materials to produce 26Al, on Earth this is well known and it is the basis of many environmental studies, so it is not only the product of some high metalicity star collapse.Taking advantage of the recently reinforced laboratory infrastructure of the Instituto de Fisica, at UNAM in Mexico City, we proposed to measure the cross section for 26Al production via some of the most likely reactions, from the nuclear physics point of view (highest Q-values).In this paper the study of the 28Si(d,α)26 Al nuclear reaction is shown.A target is prepared by a mixtur...

Progress in the characterization of the gas jet target at IFUNAM

The windowless gas target (supersonic jet) at IFUNAM has been characterized using the Elastic Backscattering Spectrometry (EBS) technique with proton beams. Jets of Air, Nitrogen and Argon at different pressures were studied. Areal densities above 1018 atoms/cm2 have been achieved.

Study of the12C excited states above the Hoyle State.

In this work we study the low-lying excited states of12C, especially above the Hoyle state (0+, 7,654 MeV) through the use of the14N(d,α)12C reaction. The EN-Tandem at ININ delivered deuteron beams between 2.5 and 7.5 MeV. Typical beam intensities were 20-50 nA. Two different compounds were used to produce thin films: Si3N4 (150 nm) and of C5H5N5 (10 μm). Angular distributions of emitted α-particles were measured at each energy. The first results of the analysis are presented including quantum number assignments (energy, spin and parity) of the excited states populated.

Towards the measurement of the13C(d, p)14C cross section using AMS

A plan to study the total cross section for the13C(d, p)14C nuclear reaction has been developed for energies in the center-of-mass frame between 133 and 400 keV. The proposed experiment will use a deuterium beam (1-3 MeV of energy) from the Instituto de Fisica-UNAM 5.5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator and the produced14C will be afterwards measured by AMS technique in the LEMA-UNAM (HVEE 1 MV Tandetron). One of the main goals is to study the performance of the LEMA-UNAM facility in the cross section measurement in comparison with other data reported in the literature, measured by other techniques. In this work we present the current status of these studies. The relevance of the13C(d, p)14C reaction in the study of compound nucleus formation as well as in some astrophysics scenarios, and the importance of the development of the AMS technique to measure cross sections of nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest in Mixico are also discussed.

Tagged fast neutron beams En > 6 MeV

Controlled flux of neutrons are produced through the 14N(d,n)15O nuclear reaction. Deuteron beams (2-4 MeV) are delivered by the CN-Van de Graaff accelerator and directed with full intensity to our Nitrogen target at SUGAR (SUpersonic GAs jet taRget). Each neutron is electronically tagged by the detection of the associated15O. Its energy and direction are known and “beams” of fast monochromatic tagged neutrons (En> 6 MeV) are available for basic research and applied work. MONDE is a large area (158 × 63 cm2) plastic scintillating slab (5 cm thick), viewed by 16 PMTs from the sides. Fast neutrons (MeV) entering the detector will produce a recoiling proton that induces a light spark at the spot. Signals from the 16 detectors are processed to deduce the position of the spark. Time logic signals from both the 15O detector and MONDE are combined to deduce a time of flight (TOF) signal. Finally, the position information together with the TOF yields the full momentum vector of each detected neutron.

Nuclear physics experiments with a windowless supersonic gas jet target

A new windowless gas target has been developed in Mexico. It is a supersonic gas jet flow produced inside a vacuum chamber which can be coupled to a regular beam line in an accelerator laboratory as a differential pumping system brings the pressure of the gas target system down to a microTorr, or better, at the connecting stage. In this work, we present the system as it was designed and constructed as well as the first results using air, Nitrogen and Argon.