I. Matea

Experimental evidence for the particle stability of 34Ne and 37Na

The neutron drip line in a neon–magnesium region has been explored by the projectile fragmentation of a 59.8 A MeV 48Ca beam using the new fragment separator LISE 2000 at GANIL. New neutron-rich isotopes, 34Ne and 37Na, have been observed together with some evidence for the particle instability of 33Ne and 36Na.

First direct observation of two protons in the decay of 45Fe with a time-projection chamber.

The decay of the ground-state two-proton emitter 45Fe was studied with a time-projection chamber and the emission of two protons was unambiguously identified. The total decay energy and the half-life measured in this work agree with the results from previous experiments. The present result constitutes the first direct observation of the individual protons in the two-proton decay of a long-lived ground-state emitter. In parallel, we identified for the first time directly two-proton emission from 43Cr, a known beta-delayed two-proton emitter. The technique developed in the present work opens the way to a detailed study of the mechanism of ground state as well as beta-delayed two-proton radioactivity.

Two-proton radioactivity studies with 45Fe and 48Ni

In an experiment at the SISSI/LISE3 facility of GANIL, we have studied the decay of the two proton-rich nuclei 45Fe and 48Ni. We identified 30 implantations of 45Fe and observed for the second time four implantation events of 48Ni. In 17 cases, 45Fe decays by two-proton emission with a decay energy of 1.154(16) MeV and a half-life of T_1/2 = 1.6+0.5_-0.3 ms. The observation of 48Ni and of its decay allows us to deduce a half-life of T_1/2 = 2.1+2.1_-0.7 ms. One out of four decay events is completely compatible with two-proton radioactivity and may therefore indicate that 48Ni has a two-proton radioactivity branch. We discuss all information now available on two-proton radioactivity for 45Fe and 48Ni and compare it to theoretical models.

Q-value of the superallowed β decay of 62Ga

Abstract Masses of the radioactive isotopes 62Ga, 62Zn and 62Cu have been measured at the JYFLTRAP facility with a relative precision of better than 1.8 × 10 −8 . A Q EC value of ( 9181.07 ± 0.54 ) keV for the superallowed decay of 62Ga is obtained from the measured cyclotron frequency ratios of 62Ga 62Zn, 62Ga 62Ni and 62Zn 62Ni ions. The resulting F t -value supports the validity of the conserved vector current hypothesis (CVC). The mass excess values measured were ( − 51986.5 ± 1.0 ) keV for 62Ga, ( − 61167.9 ± 0.9 ) keV for 62Zn and ( − 62787.2 ± 0.9 ) keV for 62Cu.

g-factor measurements of μs isomeric states in neutron-rich nuclei around 68Ni produced in projectile-fragmentation reactions

We report the first g factor measurement on microsecond isomers of neutronrich nuclei produced in projectile-fragmentation reactions at intermediate energies. The nuclides in the vicinity of 68 Ni were produced and spin oriented following the fragmentation of a 76 Ge, 61.4 MeV u −1 beam at GANIL. The LISE spectrometer was used to select the nuclei of interest. The time-dependent perturbed angular distribution (TDPAD) method was applied in combination with th eh eavy-ion–gamma correlation technique to measure the g factors of 69m Cu (J π = 13/2 + , T1/2 = 350 ns) and 67m Ni (J π = 9/2 + , T1/2 = 13.3 µs). Specific details of the experimental technique and the comparison of the results (|g( 69m Cu) |= 0.225(25) and |g( 67m Ni) |= 0.125(6)) with theoretical calculations are discussed. These results provide another indication of the importance of proton excitations across the Z = 28 shell gap.

Magnetic moment of the fragmentation-aligned 61Fe (9/2(+)) isomer.

We report on the g factor measurement of an isomer in the neutron-rich (61)(26)Fe (E(*)=861 keV and T(1/2)=239(5) ns). The isomer was produced and spin aligned via a projectile-fragmentation reaction at intermediate energy, the time dependent perturbed angular distribution method being used for the measurement of the g factor. For the first time, due to significant improvements of the experimental technique, an appreciable residual alignment of the nuclear spin ensemble has been observed, allowing a precise determination of its g factor, including the sign: g=-0.229(2). In this way we open the possibility to study moments of very neutron-rich short-lived isomers, not accessible via other production and spin-orientation methods.

High-precision efficiency calibration of a high-purity co-axial germanium detector

Abstract A high-purity co-axial germanium detector has been calibrated in efficiency to a precision of about 0.15% over a wide energy range. High-precision scans of the detector crystal and γ-ray source measurements have been compared to Monte-Carlo simulations to adjust the dimensions of a detector model. For this purpose, standard calibration sources and short-lived online sources have been used. The resulting efficiency calibration reaches the precision needed e.g. for branching ratio measurements of super-allowed β decays for tests of the weak-interaction standard model.

Search for new resonant states in C-10 and C-11 and their impact on the cosmological lithium problem

The observed primordial 7Li abundance in metal-poor halo stars is found to be lower than its Big-Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) calculated value by a factor of approximately three. Some recent works suggested the possibility that this discrepancy originates from missing resonant reactions which would destroy the 7Be, parent of 7Li. The most promising candidate resonances which were found include a possibly missed 1- or 2- narrow state around 15 MeV in the compound nucleus 10C formed by 7Be+3He and a state close to 7.8 MeV in the compound nucleus 11C formed by 7Be+4He. In this work, we studied the high excitation energy region of 10C and the low excitation energy region in 11C via the reactions 10B(3He,t)10C and 11B(3He,t)11C, respectively, at the incident energy of 35 MeV. Our results for 10C do not support 7Be+3He as a possible solution for the 7Li problem. Concerning 11C results, the data show no new resonances in the excitation energy region of interest and this excludes 7Be+4He reaction channel as an explanation for the 7Li deficit.

Anomalies in the Charge Yields of Fission Fragments from the U(n,f)238 Reaction

Fast-neutron-induced fission of ^{238}U at an energy just above the fission threshold is studied with a novel technique which involves the coupling of a high-efficiency γ-ray spectrometer (MINIBALL) to an inverse-kinematics neutron source (LICORNE) to extract charge yields of fission fragments via γ-γ coincidence spectroscopy. Experimental data and fission models are compared and found to be in reasonable agreement for many nuclei; however, significant discrepancies of up to 600% are observed, particularly for isotopes of Sn and Mo. This indicates that these models significantly overestimate the standard 1 fission mode and suggests that spherical shell effects in the nascent fission fragments are less important for low-energy fast-neutron-induced fission than for thermal neutron-induced fission. This has consequences for understanding and modeling the fission process, for experimental nuclear structure studies of the most neutron-rich nuclei, for future energy applications (e.g., Generation IV reactors which use fast-neutron spectra), and for the reactor antineutrino anomaly.

Beta-decay branching ratios of 62Ga

Abstract.Beta-decay branching ratios of 62Ga have been measured at the IGISOL facility of the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyväskylä. 62Ga is one of the heavier Tz = 0 , 0+ → 0+ β -emitting nuclides used to determine the vector coupling constant of the weak interaction and the Vud quark-mixing matrix element. For part of the experimental studies presented here, the JYFLTRAP facility has been employed to prepare isotopically pure beams of 62Ga . The branching ratio obtained, BR = 99.893(24) %, for the super-allowed branch is in agreement with previous measurements and allows to determine the ft value and the universal Ft value for the super-allowed β -decay of 62Ga .