H. Baba

Isomeric 0+ state in 12Be

An isomeric 0+ state at E x = 2.24 MeV in 12Be was found in the projectile fragmentation of 18O at 100 A MeV on a Be target. The excitation energy and the spin assignment were deduced by the measurements of the energies and the angular correlation function of the coincident two γ-rays corresponding to the 0+ → 2+ → 0+ decay, respectively.

Structural Evolution in the Neutron-Rich Nuclei ^{106}Zr and ^{108}Zr

The low-lying states in ¹⁰⁶Zr and ¹⁰⁸Zr have been investigated by means of β-γ and isomer spectroscopy at the radioactive isotope beam factory (RIBF), respectively. A new isomer with a half-life of 620 ± 150 ns has been identified in ¹⁰⁸Zr. For the sequence of even-even Zr isotopes, the excitation energies of the first 2⁺ states reach a minimum at N = 64 and gradually increase as the neutron number increases up to N = 68, suggesting a deformed subshell closure at N = 64. The deformed ground state of ¹⁰⁸Zr indicates that a spherical subshell gap predicted at N = 70 is not large enough to change the ground state of ¹⁰⁸Zr to the spherical shape. The possibility of a tetrahedral shape isomer in ¹⁰⁸Zr is also discussed.

Extension of the N = 40 Island of Inversion towards N =50: Spectroscopy of 66Cr,70,72Fe

We report on the measurement of the first 2(+) and 4(+) states of (66)Cr and (70,72)Fe via in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy. The nuclei of interest were produced by (p,2p) reactions at incident energies of 260u2009u2009MeV/nucleon. The experiment was performed at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory, RIKEN, using the DALI 2γ-ray detector array and the novel MINOS device, a thick liquid hydrogen target combined with a vertex tracker. A low-energy plateau of 2(1)(+) and 4(1)(+) energies as a function of the neutron number was observed for N≥38 and N≥40 for even-even Cr and Fe isotopes, respectively. State-of-the-art shell model calculations with a modified Lenzi-Nowacki-Poves-Sieja (LNPS) interaction in the pfg(9/2)d(5/2) valence space reproduce the observations. Interpretation within the shell model shows an extension of the island of inversion at N=40 for more neutron-rich isotopes towards N=50.

Are There Signatures of Harmonic Oscillator Shells Far from Stability? First Spectroscopy of Zr 110

The first measurement of the low-lying states of the neutron-rich ^{110}Zr and ^{112}Mo was performed via in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy after one proton removal on hydrogen at ∼200u2009u2009MeV/nucleon. The 2_{1}^{+} excitation energies were found at 185(11)xa0keV in ^{110}Zr, and 235(7)xa0keV in ^{112}Mo, while the R_{42}=E(4_{1}^{+})/E(2_{1}^{+}) ratios are 3.1(2), close to the rigid rotor value, and 2.7(1), respectively. These results are compared to modern energy density functional based configuration mixing models using Gogny and Skyrme effective interactions. We conclude that first levels of ^{110}Zr exhibit a rotational behavior, in agreement with previous observations of lighter zirconium isotopes as well as with the most advanced Montexa0Carlo shell model predictions. The data, therefore, do not support a harmonic oscillator shell stabilization scenario at Z=40 and N=70. The present data also invalidate predictions for a tetrahedral ground state symmetry in ^{110}Zr.

Inelastic scattering of 72,74Ni off a proton target

Inelastic scattering of 72,74Ni off a proton target was performed at RIBF, RIKEN, Japan. The isotopes were produced by the fission of 238U on a thick Beryllium target and were then selected and identified on an event-by-event basis using the BigRIPS separator. Selected isotopes were focused onto the liquid hydrogen target of the MINOS device and gamma rays from the reactions were measured with the DALI2 array. The energy of the ions in the middle of the target was 213 MeV/u. Outgoing particles were identified using the ZeroDegree spectrometer. Here, we report on the current status of the data analysis and preliminary results for the proton inelastic scattering cross sections for both isotopes.