I. A. Egorova

Democratic Decay of 6Be Exposed by Correlations

The interaction of an E/A=70-MeV (7)Be beam with a Be target was used to populate levels in (6)Be following neutron knockout reactions. The three-body decay of the ground and first excited states into the α+p+p exit channel were detected in the High Resolution Array. Precise three-body correlations extracted from the experimental data allowed us to obtain insight into the mechanism of the three-body democratic decay. The correlation data are in good agreement with a three-cluster-model calculation and thus validate this theoretical approach over a broad energy range.

Observation of Long-Range Three-Body Coulomb Effects in the Decay of Ne 16

The interaction of an E/A=57.6-MeV ^{17}Ne beam with a Be target is used to populate levels in ^{16}Ne following neutron knockout reactions. The decay of ^{16}Ne states into the three-body ^{14}O+p+p continuum is observed in the High Resolution Array (HiRA). For the first time for a 2p emitter, correlations between the momenta of the three decay products are measured with sufficient resolution and statistics to allow for an unambiguous demonstration of their dependence on the long-range nature of the Coulomb interaction. Contrary to previous measurements, our measured limit Γ<80  keV for the intrinsic decay width of the ground state is not in contradiction to the small values (of the order of keV) predicted theoretically.

Lifetime of 26 S and a limit for its 2p decay energy

The unknown isotope (26)S, expected to decay by two-proton (2p) emission, was studied theoretically and searched experimentally. The structure of this nucleus was examined within the relativistic mean field (RMF) approach. A method for taking into account the many-body structure in the three-body decay calculations was developed. The results of the RMF calculations were used as an input for the three-cluster decay model optimized for the study of a possible 2p decay branch of this nucleus. The experimental search for (26)S was performed by fragmentation of a 50.3 A MeV (32)S beam. No events of a particles table (26)S or (25)P (a presumably proton-unstable subsystem of (26)S) were observed. Based on the obtained production systematics, an upper half-life limit of T(1/2) 640 keV for (26)S. Analogous limits for (25)P are found as T(1/2) 110 keV. In the case that the one-proton emission is the main branch of the (26)S decay, a limit Q(2p) > 230 keV would follow for this nucleus. According to these limits, it is likely that (26)S resides in the picosecond life time range

Isovector soft dipole mode in 6Be

By using the H-1(Li-6,Be-6)n charge-exchange reaction, population of continuum states in Be-6 was observed up to E-T = 16 MeV, E-T being the Be-6 energy above its three-body decay threshold. In kinematically complete measurements performed by detecting alpha + p + p coincidences, an E-T spectrum of high statistics was obtained, containing approximately similar to 5 x 10(6) events. The spectrum provides detailed correlation information about the well-known 0(+) ground state of Be-6 at E-T = 1.37 MeV and its 2(+) state at E-T = 3.05 MeV. Moreover, a broad structure extending from 4 to 16 MeV was observed. It contains negative parity states populated by Delta L = 1 angular momentum transfer without other significant contributions. This structure can be interpreted as a novel phenomenon, i.e. the isovector soft dipole mode associated with the Li-6 ground state. The population of this mode in the charge-exchange reaction is a dominant phenomenon for this reaction, being responsible for about 60% of the cross-section obtained in the measured energy range.

Sensitivity of three-body decays to the reactions mechanism and the initial structure by example of Be-6

The influence of the initial-state structure and the reaction mechanism on three-body decays is investigated using the example of the Be-6 continuum populated in neutron-knockout reactions on Be-7. The sensitivity of the Be-6 excitation spectrum and the three-body correlations to the different components of the model is demonstrated. It is shown that the spin composition of the initial state may have an overwhelming effect on the three-body continuum. The characteristics and structure of the second 0(2)(+) and 2(2)(+) states in Be-6 are predicted and the conditions for their reliable observations are formulated. The effects of interference and the alignment of three-body states on the three-body correlations are demonstrated. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.86.061602

CNO cycle: ”Soft E1” mode of the 17Ne excitation in the 17Ne+γ → 15O+2p reaction

The O-15(2p, gamma) Ne-17 reaction is studied using the time-reversed reaction of the Ne-17 E1 Coulomb dissociation on lead target in the context of nuclear astrophysics. Looking for the relation between the data on the Coulomb excitation and the astrophysical 2p-capture rate, one faces problem to extract the Coulomb E1 strength function from the measured Coulex cross section. We use a number of phenomenological approaches to estimate influence of such processes as Coulomb-nuclear interference, populations of states with different J(pi), etc. We calculate the Ne-17+ 2p astrophysical capture rate and compare the results with different calculations.

Experimental study of the 15O(2p, γ)17Ne cross section by Coulomb Dissociation for the rp process

The time-reversed reaction O-15(2p, gamma) Ne-17 has been studied by the Coulomb dissociation technique. Secondary 17Ne ion beams at 500 AMeV have been produced by fragmentation reactions of Ne-20 in a beryllium production target and dissociated on a secondary Pb target. The incoming beam and the reaction products have been identified with the kinematically complete LAND-(RB)-B-3 experimental setup at GSI. The excitation energy prior to decay has been reconstructed by using the invariant-mass method. The preliminary differential and integral Coulomb Dissociation cross sections (sigma(Coul)) have been calculated, which provide a photoabsorption (sigma(photo)) and a radiative capture cross section (sigma(cap)). Additionally, important information about the nuclear structure of the Ne-17 nucleus will be obtained. The analysis is in progress.

Experimental study of the O-15(2p, gamma) Ne-17 cross section by Coulomb Dissociation for the rp process

The time-reversed reaction O-15(2p, gamma) Ne-17 has been studied by the Coulomb dissociation technique. Secondary 17Ne ion beams at 500 AMeV have been produced by fragmentation reactions of Ne-20 in a beryllium production target and dissociated on a secondary Pb target. The incoming beam and the reaction products have been identified with the kinematically complete LAND-(RB)-B-3 experimental setup at GSI. The excitation energy prior to decay has been reconstructed by using the invariant-mass method. The preliminary differential and integral Coulomb Dissociation cross sections (sigma(Coul)) have been calculated, which provide a photoabsorption (sigma(photo)) and a radiative capture cross section (sigma(cap)). Additionally, important information about the nuclear structure of the Ne-17 nucleus will be obtained. The analysis is in progress.

STUDY OF 8,9,10He STRUCTURE IN THE EXPERIMENTS WITH A TRITIUM TARGET

S.I. SIDORCHUK, A.A. BEZBAKH, V. CHUDOBA, I.A. EGOROVA, A.S. FOMICHEV, M.S. GOLOVKOV, A.V. GORSHKOV, V.A. GORSHKOV, L.V. GRIGORENKO, G.KAMINSKI, S.A. KRUPKO, YU.L. PARFENOVA, P.G. SHAROV, R.S. SLEPNEV, S.V. STEPANTSOV, G.M. TER-AKOPIAN, R. WOLSKI Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, JINR, Dubna, Russia; Institute of Physics, Silesian University in Opava, Czech Republic; Bogolyubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, JINR, Dubna, Russia; GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany; Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Krakow, Poland; Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

Coulomb breakup of 17 Ne from the view point of nuclear astrophysics

By the Coulomb breakup of 17Ne, the time-reversed reaction 15O(2p,γ)17Ne has been studied. This reaction might play an important role in the rp process, as a break-out reaction of the hot CNO cycle. The secondary 17Ne ion beam with an energy of 500 MeV/nucleon has been dissociated in a Pb target. The reaction products have been detected with the LAND-R3B experimental setup at GSI. The preliminary differential and integral Coulomb dissociation cross section sCoul has been determined, which then will be converted into a photo-absorption cross section sphot o, and a two-proton radiative capture cross section σcap. Additionally, information about the structure of the 17Ne, a potential two-proton halo nucleus, will be received. The analysis is in progress.