E. Rapisarda

Isotopic dependence of the nuclear caloric curve

The A/Z dependence of projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies has been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at SIS. A stable beam of (124)Sn and radioactive beams of (124)La and (107)Sn at 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. Chemical freeze-out temperatures are found to be nearly invariant with respect to the A/Z of the produced spectator sources, consistent with predictions for expanded systems. Small Coulomb effects (DeltaT approximately 0.6 MeV) appear for residue production near the onset of multifragmentation.

N/Z DEPENDENCE OF PROJECTILE FRAGMENTATION

The N/Z dependence of projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies has been studied in a recent experiment at the GSI laboratory with the ALADiN forward spectrometer coupled to the LAND neutron detector. Besides a primary beam of 124Sn, also secondary beams of 124La and 107Sn delivered by the FRS fragment separator have been used in order to extend the range of isotopic compositions of the produced spectator sources. With the achieved mass resolution of ΔA/A ≈ 1.5%, lighter isotopes with atomic numbers Z ≤ 10 are individually resolved. The presently ongoing analyses of the measured isotope yields focus on isoscaling and its relation to the properties of hot fragments at freeze-out and on the derivation of chemical freeze-out temperatures which are found to be independent of the isotopic composition of the studied systems. The latter result is at variance with the predictions for limiting temperatures as obtained with finite-temperature Hartree-Fock calculations.

Mass and Isospin Effects in Multifragmentation

A systematic study of isospin effects in the breakup of projectile spectators at relativistic energies has been performed with the ALADiN spectrometer at the GSI laboratory (Darmstadt). Four different projectiles 197Au, 124La, 124Sn and 107Sn, all with an incident energy of 600 AMeV, have been used, thus allowing a study of various combinations of masses and N/Z ratios in the entrance channel. The measurement of the momentum vector and of the charge of all projectile fragments with Z>1 entering the acceptance of the ALADiN magnet has been performed with the high efficiency and resolution achieved with the TP-MUSIC IV detector. The Rise and Fall behavior of the mean multiplicity of IMFs as a function of Zbound and its dependence on the isotopic composition has been determined for the studied systems. Other observables investigated so far include mean N/Z values of the emitted light fragments and neutron multiplicities. Qualitative agreement has been obtained between the observed gross properties and the predictions of the Statistical Multifragmentation Model.

Discriminant analysis and secondary-beam charge recognition

The discriminant-analysis method has been applied to optimize the exotic-beam charge recognition in a projectile fragmentation experiment. The experiment was carried out at the GSI using the fragment separator (FRS) to produce and select the relativistic secondary beams, and the ALADIN setup to measure their fragmentation products following collisions with Sn target nuclei. The beams of neutron poor isotopes around La-124 and Sn-107 were selected to study the isospin dependence of the limiting temperature of heavy nuclei by comparing with results for stable Sn-124 projectiles. A dedicated detector to measure the projectile charge upstream of the reaction target was not used, and alternative methods had to be developed. The presented method, based on the multivariate discriminant analysis, allowed to increase the efficacy of charge recognition up to about 90%, which was about 20% more than achieved with the simple scalar methods.

Neutron recognition in the LAND detector for large neutron multiplicity

The performance of the LAND neutron detector is studied. Using an event-mixing technique based on one-neutron data obtained in the S107 experiment at the GSI laboratory, we test the efficiency of various analytic tools used to determine the multiplicity and kinematic properties of detected neutrons. A new algorithm developed recently for recognizing neutron showers from spectator decays in the ALADIN experiment S254 is described in detail. Its performance is assessed in comparison with other methods. The properties of the observed neutron events are used to estimate the detection efficiency of LAND in this experiment

Gross Properties and Isotopic Phenomena in Spectator Fragmentation

A systematic study of isotopic effects in the break-up of projectile spectators at relativistic energies has been performed with the ALADiN spectrometer at the GSI laboratory. Searching for signals of criticality in the fragment production we have applied the model-independent universal fluctuations theory already proposed to track criticality signals in multifragmentation to our data. The fluctuation of the largest fragment charge and of the asymmetry of the two and three largest fragments and their bimodal distribution have also been analysed.

Isotopic dependence of the caloric curve

Isotopic effects in projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies have been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at SIS. Stable and radioactive Sn and La beams with an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. Chemical freeze-out temperatures are found to be nearly invariant with respect to the A/Z ratio of the produced spectator sources, consistent with predictions for expanded systems. Consequences for the proposed interpretation of chemical breakup temperatures as representing the limiting temperatures predicted by microscopic models are discussed.

Structure of low-lying states inSm140studied by Coulomb excitation

The electromagnetic structure of 140 Sm was studied in a low-energy Coulomb excitation experiment with a radioactive ion beam from the REX-ISOLDE facility at CERN. The 2 + and 4 + states of the ground-state band and a second 2 + state were populated by multistep excitation. The analysis of the differential Coulomb excitation cross sections yielded reduced transition probabilities between all observed states and the spectroscopic quadrupole moment for the 2 + 1 state. The experimental results are compared to large-scale shell model calculations and beyond-mean-field calculations based on the Gogny D1S interaction with a five-dimensional collective Hamiltonian formalism. Simpler geometric and algebraic models are also employed to interpret the experimental data. The results indicate that 140 Sm shows considerable γ softness, but in contrast to earlier speculation no signs of shape coexistence at low excitation energy. This work sheds more light on the onset of deformation and collectivity in this mass region.

The structure of low-lying states in

The electromagnetic structure of 140 Sm was studied in a low-energy Coulomb excitation experiment with a radioactive ion beam from the REX-ISOLDE facility at CERN. The 2 + and 4 + states of the ground-state band and a second 2 + state were populated by multistep excitation. The analysis of the differential Coulomb excitation cross sections yielded reduced transition probabilities between all observed states and the spectroscopic quadrupole moment for the 2 + 1 state. The experimental results are compared to large-scale shell model calculations and beyond-mean-field calculations based on the Gogny D1S interaction with a five-dimensional collective Hamiltonian formalism. Simpler geometric and algebraic models are also employed to interpret the experimental data. The results indicate that 140 Sm shows considerable γ softness, but in contrast to earlier speculation no signs of shape coexistence at low excitation energy. This work sheds more light on the onset of deformation and collectivity in this mass region.

{}^{140}

α-decay spectroscopy of Tl has been performed at the CERN isotope separator on-line (ISOLDE) facility. New fine-structure α decays have been observed for both isotopes. α-decay branching ratios of 0.089(19)%, 0.047(6)% and 1.22(30)% have been deduced for the (10−), (7+) and (2−) states respectively in 184Tl and a lower limit of 0.49% for the α-decay branching ratio of 182Tl. A new half-life of 9.5(2) s for the (2−) state in 184Tl and 1.9(1) s for the low-spin state in 182Tl has been deduced. Using α–γ coincidence analysis, multiple γ rays were observed de-exciting levels in Au fed by Tl α decays. The γ transitions connecting these low-lying states in Au are essential to sort the data and possibly identify bands from in-beam studies in these isotopes. Owing to the complex fine-structure α decays and limited knowledge about the structure of the daughter nuclei, only partial level schemes could be constructed for both gold isotopes in the present work. Reduced α-decay widths have been calculated and are compared with values obtained in neighboring odd-A and even-A thallium isotopes. Except for the allowed α decay of the 184Tl (10−) state, the other fine-structure α decays observed in this study are hindered. This points to strong structural changes between parent thallium and daughter gold isotopes.α-decay spectroscopy of 182,184 Tl has been performed at the CERN isotope separator on-line (ISOLDE) facility. New fine-structure α decays have been observed for both isotopes. α-decay branching ratios of 0.089(19)%, 0.047 (6)% and 1.22(30)% have been deduced for the (10 − ), (7 + ) and (2 − ) states respectively in 184 Tl and a lower limit of 0.49% for the α-decay branching ratio of 182 Tl. A new half-life of 9.5(2) s for the (2 − ) state in 184 Tl and 1.9(1) s for the low-spin state in 182 Tl has been deduced. Using α–γ coincidence analysis, multiple γ rays were observed de-exciting levels in 178,180 Au fed by 182,184 Tl α decays. The γ transitions connecting these low-lying states in 178,180 Au are essential to sort the data and possibly identify bands from inbeam studies in these isotopes. Owing to the complex fine-structure α decays and limited knowledge about the structure of the daughter nuclei, only partial