V. S. Salamatin

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.

Beta-decay studies of far from stability nuclei near N = 28

Abstract Beta-decay half-lives and β-delayed neutron-emission probabilities of the very neutron-rich nuclei 43 P, 42,44,45 S and 44–46 Cl, 47 Ar, which lie at or close to the N=28 magic shell, have been recently measured through β or β-n time correlation measurement. The results are compared to recent model predictions and indicate a rapid weakening of the N=28 shell effect below 48 Ca. The nuclear structure effects reflected in the decay properties of the exotic S and Cl isotopes may be the clue for the astrophysical understanding of the unusual 48 Ca 46 Ca abundance ratio measured in the solar system.

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.

MASHA separator on the heavy ion beam for determining masses and nuclear physical properties of isotopes of heavy and superheavy elements

The MASHA mass spectrometer designed for identifying superheavy elements by their masses is described. The separation efficiency has been measured in the autonomous mode using four calibrated leakages of noble gases. The total separation efficiency of the mass spectrometer with a hot catcher and an ion source based on the electron cyclotron resonance has been determined using the 40Ar beam. Test experiments have been carried out, in which α-active Hg isotopes produced in complete fusion reaction 40Ar + 144Sm → 184 − xnHg + xn, have been detected in the focal plane of the mass spectrometer. The separation time and efficiency have been determined for short-lived Hg isotopes.

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.

A new beam diagnostic system for the MASHA setup

A new beam diagnostic system based on the PXI standard was developed, tested, and used in the MASHA setup experiment. The beam energy and beam current measurements were carried out using several methods. The online time-of-flight energy measurements were carried out using three pick-up detectors. We used two electronic systems to measure the time between the pick-ups. The first system was based on fast Agilent digitizers (2-channel, 4-GHz sampling rate), and the second one was based on a constant fraction discriminator (CFD) connected to a time-to-digital converter (TDC, 5-ps resolution). A new graphical interface to monitor the electronic devices and to perform the online calculations of energy was developed using MFC C++. The second system based on microchannel plate (time-of-flight) and silicon detectors for the determination of beam energy and the type of accelerated particles was also used. The beam current measurements were carried out with two different sensors. The first sensor is a rotating Faraday cup placed in front of the target, and the second one is an emission detector installed at the rear of the target. This system is now used in experiments for the synthesis of superheavy elements at the U400M cyclotron of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (FLNR).

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.

Data acquisition system for the socal plane detector of the mass separator MASHA

The results of the development and the general information about the data acquisition system which was recently created at the MASHA setup (Flerov laboratory of nuclear reactions at Joint institute for nuclear research) are presented. The main difference from the previous system is that we use a new modern platform, National Instruments PXI with XIA multichannel high-speed digitizers (250 MHz 12 bit 16 channels). At this moment system has 448 spectrometric channels. The software and its features for the data acquisition and analysis are also described. The new DAQ system expands precision measuring capabilities of alpha decays and spontaneous fission at the focal plane position-sensitive silicon strip detector which, in turn, increases the capabilities of the setup in such a field as low-yield registration of elements.