G. Chubarian

Enhanced production of neutron-rich rare isotopes in peripheral collisions at Fermi energies.

A large enhancement in the production of neutron-rich projectile residues is observed in the reactions of a 25 MeV/nucleon 86Kr beam with the neutron-rich 124Sn and 64Ni targets relative to the predictions of the EPAX parametrization of high-energy fragmentation, as well as relative to the reaction with the less neutron-rich 112Sn target. A hybrid model based on a deep-inelastic transfer (DIT) code followed by a statistical deexcitation code accounts for part of the observed large cross sections. The DIT simulation indicates that the production of neutron-rich nuclides in these reactions is associated with peripheral nucleon exchange in which the neutron skins of the neutron-rich 124Sn and 64Ni target nuclei may play an important role. From a practical viewpoint, such reactions offer a novel synthetic avenue to access extremely neutron-rich rare isotopes towards the neutron-drip line.

Fission modes in the reaction 208Pb(18O,f)

Results of fission fragment mass-energy distributions of the compound 226Th nucleus formed in the subbarrier fusion reaction 18O+H208Pb at an energy of 18O ions Elab=78 MeV are reported. The reaction has been studied twice using two different accelerators, and both sets of experimental data agree quite well. Performed analysis of the experimental data with the use of a new multicomponent method has shown that alongside the well-known modes, i.e., the symmetric (S) and two asymmetric modes standard-one and standard-two, a high-energy mode standard-three has manifested itself. The last named mode appears due to the influence of the close-to-sphere neutron shell with N≈50 in the light fission fragment group. Theoretical calculations of the prescission shapes of the fissioning nuclei 224,226Th confirm this conclusion.

Cold and hot binary and ternary fission yields in the spontaneous fission of 252Cf

The spontaneous fission (SF) of 252Cf has been studied via γ-γ-γ coincidence and light charged particle—γ-γ coincidence with Gammasphere. The yields of correlated Mo-Ba pairs in binary fission with 0–10 neutron emission have been remeasured with an uncompressed cube. The previous hot fission mode with 8–10 neutron emission seen in the Mo-Ba split is found to be smaller than earlier results but still present. New 0n binary SF yields are reported. By gating on the light charged particles detected in ΔE-E detectors and γ-γ coincidence with Gammasphere, the relative yields of correlated pairs in alpha ternary fission with zero to 6n emission are observed for the first time. The peak occurs around the α2n channel. A number of correlated pairs are identified in ternary fission with 10Be as the light charged particle. We observed only cold, 0n10Be and little, if any, hot, xn10Be channels.

Investigation of the 208Pb(18O, f) fission reaction: Mass-energy distributions of fission fragments and their correlation with the gamma-ray multiplicity

The mass-energy distributions of fragments originating from the fission of the compound nucleus 226Th and their correlations with the multiplicity of gamma rays emitted from these fragments are measured and analyzed in 18O + 208Pb interaction induced by projectile oxygen ions of energy in the range Elab = 78–198.5 MeV. Manifestations of an asymmetric fission mode, which is damped exponentially with increasing Elab, are demonstrated. Theoretical calculations of fission valleys reveal that only two independent valleys, symmetric and asymmetric, exist in the vicinity of the scission point. The dependence of the multiplicity of gamma rays emitted from both fission fragments on their mass, Mγ(M), has a complicated structure and is highly sensitive to shell effects in both primary and final fragments. A two-component analysis of the dependence Mγ(M) shows that the asymmetric mode survives in fission only at low partial-wave orbital angular momenta of compound nuclei. It is found that, for all Elab, the gamma-ray multiplicity Mγ as a function of the total kinetic energy (TKE) of fragments, Mγ(TKE), decreases linearly with increasing TKE. An analysis of the energy balance in the fission process at the laboratory energy of Elab = 78 MeV revealed the region of cold fission of fragments whose total kinetic energy is TKE ∼Qmax.

Probing fission time scales with neutrons and GDR gamma rays

The time scales for nuclear fission have been explored using both pre-and postfission neutrons and GDR gamma rays. Four systems were investigated: 133-MeV 16O + 176Yb and 208Pb and 104-MeV 4He + 188Os and 209Bi. Fission fragments were measured in coincidence with PPACs. The neutrons were detected using eight detectors from the DEMON array, while gamma rays were measured using the US BaF2 array. The pre-and postfission gamma rays were determined using moving source fits parallel and perpendicular to the fission fragment emission directions. The time scales for fission for the neutrons were determined using the neutron clock technique. The gamma-ray data were fitted using a statistical model calculation based on the code CASCADE. The results of the fits from both data types were used to extract nuclear friction coefficients, γ, and fission time scales. The γ values ranged from 7 to 20, while the fission times were (31–105)×10−21 s.

Nuclear structure beyond the neutron drip line. The lowest energy states in 9He via their T=5/2 isobaric analogs in 9Li

The level structure of the very neutron rich and unbound 9He nucleus has been the subject of significant experimental and theoretical study. Many recent works have claimed that the two lowest energy 9He states exist with spins Jπ=1/2+and Jπ=1/2-and widths on the order of 100–200 keV. These find-ings cannot be reconciled with our contemporary understanding of nuclear structure. Our present work is the first high-resolution study with low statistical uncertainty of the relevant excitation energy range in the 8He+n system, performed via a search for the T =5/2 isobaric analog states in 9Li populated through 8He+p elastic scattering. Moreover, the present data show no indication of any narrow structures. Instead, we find evidence for a broad Jπ=1/2+state in 9He located approximately 3 MeV above the neutron decay threshold.

Observation of fission modes in heavy ion induced reactions

The fission of the systems 220,224,226Th was investigated by measuring the mass-energy distributions of the fission fragments. The corresponding excitation energies at the saddle point, Esp*, ranged from 16 to 40 MeV. As Esp* decreases, an asymmetric mass component becomes visible on the predominately symmetric mass distribution. The contribution of the asymmetric mode is characterized by the total yield ratio Ys/Ya, which decreases rapidly for the heavier isotopes of thorium. This behavior of Ys/Ya is in qualitative agreement with theoretical calculations. For all isotopes studied, the subtracted asymmetric fission component, Ya=Y1−Ys, exhibits a complex structure, actually showing two components, Ya=Ya1+Ya0, which have average masses Ma1=132 and Ma0=140.

Investigation of the reaction 208Pb(18O, f): Fragment spins and phenomenological analysis of the angular anisotropy of fission fragments

The average multiplicity of gamma rays emitted by fragments originating from the fission of 226Th nuclei formed via a complete fusion of 18O and 208Pb nuclei at laboratory energies of 18O projectile ions in the range Elab = 78–198.5 MeV is measured and analyzed. The total spins of fission fragments are found and used in an empirical analysis of the energy dependence of the anisotropy of these fragments under the assumption that their angular distributions are formed in the vicinity of the scission point. The average temperature of compound nuclei at the scission point and their average angular momenta in the entrance channel are found for this analysis. Also, the moments of inertia are calculated for this purpose for the chain of fissile thorium nuclei at the scission point. All of these parameters are determined at the scission point by means of three-dimensional dynamical calculations based on Langevin equations. A strong alignment of fragment spins is assumed in analyzing the anisotropy in question. In that case, the energy dependence of the anisotropy of fission fragments is faithfully reproduced at energies in excess of the Coulomb barrier (Ec.m. − EB ≥ 30 MeV). It is assumed that, as the excitation energy and the angular momentum of a fissile nucleus are increased, the region where the angular distributions of fragments are formed is gradually shifted from the region of nuclear deformations in the vicinity of the saddle point to the region of nuclear deformations in the vicinity of the scission point, the total angular momentum of the nucleus undergoing fission being split into the orbital component, which is responsible for the anisotropy of fragments, and the spin component. This conclusion can be qualitatively explained on the basis of linear-response theory.

Angular momentum effects in multimodal fission of 226Th

The γ-rays from the multimodal fission of the 226Th formed in 18O+208Pb was investigated at the near- and sub-barrier energies. The corresponding excitation energies at the saddle point, Esp*, ranged from 23 to 26 MeV. The average γ-ray multiplicities and relative γ-ray energies as a function of the mass of the fission fragments exhibits a complex structure and strong variations. Such strong variations have never been previously observed in heavy ion-induced fusion-fission reactions. Obtained results may be explained with the influence of shell effects on the properties of the fission fragments. Present work is the one in series of investigation of the multimodal fission phenomena in At-Th region.

A secondary beam separator: A combination of the COMBAS fragment separator with the ion catcher

The development of an experimental facility based on the high-luminosity COMBAS fragment separator and a fast ion catcher is discussed. The main characteristics of the COMBAS fragment separator and the ion catcher determining the advantages of the proposed combination are presented. The developed facility is expected to allow production of secondary radioactive beams with a quality higher than the quality of beams obtained using the in-flight separation technique. It is planned that the facility will be used in a tandem with a post-accelerator for producing single-isotope and monochromatic high-intensity secondary radioactive beams in a wide range of mass numbers A and atomic numbers Z. A list of perspective scientific problems requiring high-intensity and high-quality secondary beams of exotic nuclei is proposed.