Professor Zsolt Podolyak

We investigated decays of 51,52,53K at the ISOLDE Decay Station at CERN in order to understand the mechanism of the β -delayed neutron-emission ( βn ) process. The experiment quantified neutron and γ -ray emission paths for each precursor. We used this information to test the hypothesis, first formulated by Bohr in 1939, that neutrons in the βn process originate from the structureless “compound nucleus.” The data are consistent with this postulate for most of the observed decay paths. The agreement, however, is surprising because the compound-nucleus stage should not be achieved in the studied β decay due to insufficient excitation energy and level densities in the neutron emitter. In the 53K βn decay, we found a preferential population of the first excited state in 52Ca that contradicted Bohr’s hypothesis. The latter was interpreted as evidence for direct neutron emission sensitive to the structure of the neutron-unbound state. We propose that the observed nonstatistical neutron emission proceeds through the coupling with nearby doorway states that have large neutron-emission probabilities. The appearance of “compound-nucleus” decay is caused by the aggregated small contributions of multiple doorway states at higher excitation energy.

We present a new readout system based on large area Silicon Photomultipliers arrays coupled with cylindrical 1.5 × 2” LaBr3(Ce) FATIMA-type crystals. This achieves the fast-timing capabilities of such crystals coupled to the usual Photomultiplier Tubes. Energy calibration was measured with 137Cs and 152Eu standard radioactive sources, while the timing performances were investigated with a 60Co radioactive source. We benchmark our results against the corresponding results obtained with the fast R9779 Photomultiplier tubes and highlight the importance of achieving similar energy and timing performances for nuclear structure experiments. The FWHM energy resolution for the 1.5 × 2” LaBr3(Ce) crystal coupled with the SiPM and PMT was found to be 3.31(2)% and 3.85(1)%, respectively, for the 661.6 keV transition of the 137Cs source. The timing resolution was measured between a conical crystal known for its fast response and a cylindrical crystal coupled to a SiPM or PMT readout. We obtain values of FWHM = 230(1) ps and 232(1) ps, respectively, between the 1173.2-1332.5 keV transitions of the 60Co source. In addition, a temperature effect compensation circuit was developed to maintain a good stability of the gain during long measurements, typical for in-beam/off-beam experiments in nuclear physics.

Low-lying states in the isotope Xe130 were populated in a Coulomb-excitation experiment performed at CERN's HIE-ISOLDE facility. The magnitudes and relative signs of seven E2 matrix elements and one M1 matrix element coupling five low-lying states in Xe130 were determined using the semiclassical coupled-channel Coulomb-excitation least-squares search code gosia. The diagonal E2 matrix elements of both the 21+ and 41+ states were extracted for the first time. The reduced transition strengths are in line with those obtained from previous measurements. Experimental results were compared with the general Bohr Hamiltonian with the microscopic input from mean-field theory utilizing universal nuclear energy density functional (UNEDF0), shell-model calculations using the GCN50:82 and SN100PN interactions, and simple phenomenological models (Davydov-Filippov and γ-soft). The extracted shape parameters indicate triaxial-prolate deformation in the ground-state band. In general, good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental values was found, while neither phenomenological model was found to provide an adequate description of Xe130.

Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in stellar binary systems, and important sources of $^{26}$Al and $^{22}$Na. While gamma rays from the decay of the former radioisotope have been observed throughout the Galaxy, $^{22}$Na remains untraceable. The half-life of $^{22}$Na (2.6 yr) would allow the observation of its 1.275 MeV gamma-ray line from a cosmic source. However, the prediction of such an observation requires good knowledge of the nuclear reactions involved in the production and destruction of this nucleus. The $^{22}$Na($p,\gamma$)$^{23}$Mg reaction remains the only source of large uncertainty about the amount of $^{22}$Na ejected. Its rate is dominated by a single resonance on the short-lived state at 7785.0(7) keV in $^{23}$Mg. In the present work, a combined analysis of particle-particle correlations and velocity-difference profiles is proposed to measure femtosecond nuclear lifetimes. The application of this novel method to the study of the $^{23}$Mg states, combining magnetic and highly-segmented tracking gamma-ray spectrometers, places strong limits on the amount of $^{22}$Na produced in novae, explains its non-observation to date in gamma rays (flux < 2.5x$10^{-4}$ ph/(cm$^2$s)), and constrains its detectability with future space-borne observatories. Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

Abstract Isomeric decays with multipolarity $$\lambda \ge 3$$ λ ≥ 3 are discussed. Parity changing E 3, M 4, E 5 decays are more widespread within the nuclide chart when compared to parity conserving M 3, E 4 and M 5 transitions, which is the consequence of the properties of the nuclear shell model. The E 3 transitions around $$^{208}$$ 208 Pb are classified depending on their origins. Systematics of M 4 and E 5 transitions are presented. These provide an excellent test to the study of shell evolution in different parts of the nuclide chart as well as the nature of the effective charges.

International audience; The reduced transition probabilities for the $4^+_1 \to 2^+_1$ and $2^+_1 \to 0^+_1$ transitions in $^{92}$Mo and $^{94}$Ru and for the $4^+_1 \to 2^+_1$ and $6^+_1 \to 4^+_1$ transitions in $^{90}$Zr have been determined in this experiment making use of a multinucleon transfer reaction. These results have been interpreted on the basis of realistic shell-model calculations in the $f_{5/2}, p_{3/2}, p_{1/2},$ and $g_{9/2}$ proton valence space. Only the combination of extensive lifetime information and large scale shell-model calculations allowed the extent of the seniority conservation in the $N=50 g_{9/2}$ orbital to be understood. The conclusion is that seniority is largely conserved in the first $\pi{g}_{9/2}$ orbital.

Understanding how the heavy chemical elements are made in the astrophysical r-process requires information on both the properties of the nuclei involved and that of the environment. The availability of experimental information on the neutron-rich N similar to 126 nuclei is discussed, with emphasis on phenomena specifically relevant to this region: the large role of first-forbidden beta decays, and that of the Delta n=0 selection rule in Gamow-Teller decays. The development of nuclear data bases by combining different theoretical approaches is suggested.

The novel technique of mean range bunching has been developed and applied at the projectile fragment separator FRS at GSI in four experiments of the FAIR phase-0 experimental program. Using a variable degrader system at the final focal plane of the FRS, the ranges of the different nuclides can be aligned, allowing to efficiently implant a large number of different nuclides simultaneously in a gas-filled stopping cell or an implantation detector. Stopping and studying a cocktail beam overcomes the present limitations of stopped-beam experiments. The conceptual idea of mean range bunching is described and illustrated using simulations. In a single setting of the FRS, 37 different nuclides were stopped in the cryogenic stopping cell and were measured in a single setting broadband mass measurement with the multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer of the FRS Ion Catcher.

An experiment was performed at GSI with the objective of measuring theβ-intensity distribution in the decay of Hg, Au and Pt isotopes around N=126 using the total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy technique. The aim is to benchmark theoretical models used to make predictions of half-life and neutron emission probabilities of exotic nuclei involved in the rapid neutron capture process, leading to the synthesis of very heavy elements. This paper presents some experimental details and the current status of the analysis.

Isomeric states in 128In and 130In have been studied with the JYFLTRAP Penning trap at the IGISOL facility. By employing state-of-the-art ion manipulation techniques, three different beta-decaying states in 128In and 130In have been separated and their masses measured. JYFLTRAP was also used to select the ions of interest for identification at a post-trap decay spectroscopy station. A new beta-decaying high-spin isomer feeding the 15− isomer in 128Sn has been discovered in 128In at 1797.6(20) keV. Shell-model calculations employing a CD-Bonn potential re-normalized with the perturbative G-matrix approach suggest this new isomer to be a 16+ spin-trap isomer. In 130In, the lowest-lying (10−) isomeric state at 58.6(82) keV was resolved for the first time using the phase-imaging ion cyclotron resonance technique. The energy difference between the 10− and 1− states in 130In, stemming from parallel/antiparallel coupling of (π0g9/2−1)⊗(ν0h11/2−1), has been found to be around 200 keV lower than predicted by the shell model. Precise information on the energies of the excited states determined in this work is crucial for producing new improved effective interactions for the nuclear shell model description of nuclei near 132Sn.

A γ-ray spectroscopic study of 212Po was performed at the Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds, using the inverse kinematics α-transfer reaction 12C(208Pb,212Po)8Be and the AGATA spectrometer. A careful analysis based on γγ coincidence relations allowed us to establish 14 new excited states in the energy range between 1.9 and 3.3 MeV. None of these states, however, can be considered as candidates for the levels with spins and parities of 1− and 2− and excitation energies below 2.1 MeV, which have been predicted by recent α-cluster model calculations. A systematic comparison of the experimentally established excitation scheme of 212Po with shell-model calculations was performed. This comparison suggests that the six states with excitation energies (spins and parities) of 1744 (4−), 1751 (8−), 1787 (6−), 1946 (4−), 1986 (8−), and 2016 (6−) keV, which previously were interpreted as α-cluster states, may in fact be of positive parity and belong to low-lying shell-model multiplets. This reinterpretation of the structure of 212Po is supported by experimental information with respect to the linear polarization of γ rays, which suggests a magnetic character of the 432-keV γ ray decaying from the state at an excitation energy of 1787 keV to the 6+1 yrast state, and exclusive reaction cross sections.

The structure of $^{208}$Po populated through the EC/$β^+$ decay of $^{208}$At is investigated using $γ$-ray spectroscopy at the ISOLDE Decay Station. The presented level scheme contains 27 new excited states and 43 new transitions, as well as a further 50 previously observed $γ$ rays which have been (re)assigned a position. The level scheme is compared to shell model calculations. Through this analysis approximately half of the $β$-decay strength of $^{208}$At is found to proceed via allowed decay and half via first-forbidden decay. The first-forbidden transitions predominantly populate core excited states at high excitation energies, which is qualitatively understood using shell model considerations. This mass region provides an excellent testing ground for the competition between allowed and first-forbidden $β$-decay calculations, important for the detailed understanding of the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements.

Isomeric states of the neutron-rich isotope 18973Ta116 were populated via fragmentation of a primary beam of 208Pb ions at 1 GeV/u impinging on a 9Be target at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany. The isotopes of interest were separated, identified and delivered to the DESPEC setup. Two isomers were deduced in 189Ta116 and their lifetimes were measured based on the γ-ray time distributions.

The structure of 208Po resulting from the EC/β+ decay of 208At was studied at CERN's ISOLDE Decay Station (IDS). The high statistics afforded by the high yield of 208At and the high efficiency HPGe clusters at the IDS allowed for greater insight into lower intensity transitions and thus significant expansion of the 208Po level scheme. Furthermore, investigation into the isomeric state yielded a new half life 377(9) ns in addition to uncovering new transitions populating the state.

Isomeric states in 128In and 130In have been studied with the JYFLTRAP Penning trap at the IGISOL facility. By employing state-of-the-art ion manipulation techniques, three different beta-decaying states in 128In and 130In have been separated and their masses measured. JYFLTRAP was also used to select the ions of interest for identification at a post-trap decay spectroscopy station. A new beta-decaying high-spin isomer feeding the 15− isomer in 128Sn has been discovered in 128In at 1797.6(20) keV. Shell-model calculations employing a CD-Bonn potential re-normalized with the perturbative G-matrix approach suggest this new isomer to be a 16+ spin-trap isomer. In 130In, the lowest-lying (10−) isomeric state at 58.6(82) keV was resolved for the first time using the phase-imaging ion cyclotron resonance technique. The energy difference between the 10− and 1− states in 130In, stemming from parallel/antiparallel coupling of (π0g9/2−1)⊗(ν0h11/2−1), has been found to be around 200 keV lower than predicted by the shell model. Precise information on the energies of the excited states determined in this work is crucial for producing new improved effective interactions for the nuclear shell model description of nuclei near 132Sn.

Data analysis of the Coulomb excitation experiment of the exotic 206Hg nucleus, recently performed at CERN's HIE-ISOLDE facility, needs to account for the contribution to target excitation due to the strongly-present beam contaminant 130Xe. In this paper, the contamination subtraction procedure is presented.

The nuclear structure of neutron-rich N≥126 nuclei have been investigated following their production via relativistic projectile fragmentation of a E/A=l GeV 238U beam on a Be target. The cocktail of secondary beam products were separated and identified using the GSI FRagment Separator (FRS). The nuclei of interest were implanted in a high-granularity active stopper detector set-up consisting of 6 double sided silicon strip detectors. The associated gamma-ray transitions were detected with the RISING array, consisting of 15 Euroball cluster Ge-detectors. Time-correlated gamma decays from individually identified nuclear species have been recorded, allowing the clean identification of isomeric decays.

The nucleus 212Po has been produced through the fragmentation of a 238U primary beam at 1 GeV/nucleon at GSI, separated with the FRagment Separator, FRS, and studied via isomer γ-decay spectroscopy with the RISING setup. Two delayed previously unknown γ rays have been observed. One has been attributed to the E3 decay of a 21− isomeric state feeding the α-emitting 45-s (18+) high-spin isomer. The other γ-ray line has been assigned to the decay of a higher-lying 23+ metastable state. These are the first observations of high-spin states above the 212Po (18+) isomer, by virtue of the selectivity obtained via ion-by-ion identification of 238U fragmentation products. Comparison with shell-model calculations points to shortfalls in the nuclear interactions involving high-j proton and neutron orbitals, to which the region around Z∼100 is sensitive.

The yrast J(pi)=8(+) states in neutron-rich Ni-70,Ni-72,Ni-74,Ni-76 nuclei are predicted to be isomeric. The present paper describes two GANIL experiments. In the first of them a search was made for the 8(+) isomeric states in Ni-72,Ni-74 nuclei via fragmentation of Ge-76 using the ion gamma-decay correlation technique. Although these states were not observed, limits for their lifetimes were determined. In the second experiment the decay spectroscopy of Co-70,Co-72 nuclei was performed using fragmentation of a Kr-86(36+) beam and the new LISE2000 spectrometer. The beta delayed gamma rays from the decay of Co-70,Co-72 to Ni-70,Ni-72 were observed using the EXOGAM germanium detectors. The half life of Co-72 was measured to be 62(3) ms and the level sequence of the lowest excited states in Ni-72 was suggested, with the 2(+) state at 1096 keV. An attempt to reproduce the level scheme in terms of shell-model calculations was undertaken. The reasons for the disappearance of the 8(+) isomer in Ni-72 are discussed.

The β-delayed neutron emission probabilities of neutron rich Hg and Tl nuclei have been measured together with β-decay half-lives for 20 isotopes of Au, Hg, Tl, Pb and Bi in the mass region N&126. These are the heaviest species where neutron emission has been observed so far. These measurements provide key information to evaluate the performance of nuclear microscopic and phenomenological models in reproducing the high-energy part of the β-decay strength distribution. This provides important constraints to global theoretical models currently used in r-process nucleosynthesis.

The level structure of 172Dy has been investigated for the first time by means of decay spectroscopy following in-flight fission of a 238U beam. A long-lived isomeric state with T1/2 = 0.71(5) s and K π = 8 − has been identified at 1278 keV, which decays to the ground-state and γ-vibrational bands through hindered electromagnetic transitions, as well as to the daughter nucleus 172Ho via allowed β decays. The robust nature of the K π = 8 − isomer and the ground-state rotational band reveals an axially-symmetric structure for this nucleus. Meanwhile, the γ-vibrational levels have been identified at unusually low excitation energy compared to the neighboring well-deformed nuclei, indicating the significance of the microscopic effect on the non-axial collectivity in this doubly mid-shell region. The underlying mechanism of enhanced γ vibration is discussed in comparison with the deformed Quasiparticle Random-Phase Approximation based on a Skyrme energy-density functional.

The half-life of the 15/2+ 1 state of the 3-valence-proton nucleus 135I has been measured to be 1.74(8) ns using the EXILL-FATIMA mixed array of Ge and LaBr3 detectors. The nuclei were produced following the cold neutron-induced fission of a 235U target at the PF1B beam line of the Institut Laue-Langevin. The extracted B(E2; 15/2+ → 11/2+) value enabled a test of seniority relations for the first time between E2 transition rates. Large-scale shell-model calculations were performed for 134Te and 135I, and reinterpreted in a single-orbit approach. The results show that the two-body component of the E2 operator can be large whereas energy shifts due to the three-body component of the effective interaction are small.

The low-lying structures of the midshell νg9/2 Ni isotopes 72Ni and 74Ni have been investigated at the RIBF facility in RIKEN within the EURICA collaboration. Previously unobserved low-lying states were accessed for the first time following β decay of the mother nuclei 72Co and 74Co. As a result, we provide a complete picture in terms of the seniority scheme up to the first (8+) levels for both nuclei. The experimental results are compared to shell-model calculations in order to define to what extent the seniority quantum number is preserved in the first neutron g9/2 shell. We find that the disappearance of the seniority isomerism in the View the MathML source states can be explained by a lowering of the seniority-four (6+) levels as predicted years ago. For 74Ni, the internal de-excitation pattern of the newly observed View the MathML source state supports a restoration of the normal seniority ordering up to spin J=4. This property, unexplained by the shell-model calculations, is in agreement with a dominance of the single-particle spherical regime near 78Ni.

The nuclear two-photon or double-gamma (2γ) decay is a second-order electromagnetic process whereby a nucleus in an excited state emits two gamma rays simultaneously. To be able to directly measure the 2γ decay rate in the low-energy regime below the electron-positron pair-creation threshold, we combined the isochronous mode of a storage ring with Schottky resonant cavities. The newly developed technique can be applied to isomers with excitation energies down to ∼ 100 keV and half-lives as short as ∼ 10 ms . The half-life for the 2γ decay of the first-excited 0⁺ state in bare ⁷²Ge ions was determined to be 23.9(6) ms, which strongly deviates from expectations.

Isomer spectroscopy of heavy neutron-rich nuclei beyond the 𝑁=126 closed shell has been performed for the first time at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory of the RIKEN Nishina Center. New millisecond isomers have been identified at low excitation energies, 985.3(19) keV in ²¹³Tl and 874(5) keV in ²¹⁵Tl. The measured half-lives of 1.34(5) ms in ²¹³Tl and 3.0(3) ms in ²¹⁵Tl suggest spins and parities 11/2− with the single proton-hole configuration 𝜋⁢ℎ11/2 as leading component. They are populated via 𝐸⁢1 transitions by the decay of higher-lying isomeric states with proposed spin and parity 17/2+, interpreted as arising from a single 𝜋⁢𝑠1/2 proton hole coupled to the 8+ seniority isomer in the 𝐴+1 Pb cores. The lowering of the 11/2− states is ascribed to an increase of the 𝜋⁢ℎ11/2 proton effective single-particle energy as the second 𝜈⁢𝑔9/2 orbital is filled by neutrons, owing to a significant reduction of the proton-neutron monopole interaction between the 𝜋⁢ℎ11/2 and 𝜈⁢𝑔9/2 orbitals. The new 𝑚⁢𝑠 isomers provide the first experimental observation of shell evolution in the almost unexplored 𝑁>126 nuclear region below doubly magic 208Pb.

A fast-timing experiment was performed at the Argonne National Laboratory in December 2015 and January 2016, measuring decay radiation of fission products from a 252Cf fission source. Details of the set-up, integration with Digital Gammasphere, and the data acquisition system are presented. The timing performance of the set-up, capable of measuring lifetimes from the nanosecond region down to tens of picoseconds, is discussed. First preliminary results from the fast-timing analysis of the fission fragment data are presented

Reduced transition strengths of the deexciting transitions from the first two excited states in 33Ar were measured in a relativistic Coulomb excitation experiment at the GSI Helmholtz center. The radioactive ion beam was produced by fragmentation of a primary 36Ar beam on a 9Be target followed by the selection of the reaction product of interest via the GSI Fragment Separator. The 33Ar beam hit a secondary 197Au target with an energy of approximately 145 MeV/nucleon. An array of high-purity germanium cluster detectors and large-volume BaF2 scintillator detectors were employed for γ -ray spectroscopy at the secondary target position. The Lund-York-Cologne Calorimeter was used to track the outgoing ions and to identify the nuclear reaction channels. For the two lowest energy excited states of 33Ar the reduced transition strengths have been determined. With these first results the Tz = −3/2 nucleus 33Ar is now, together with 21Na (Tz = −1/2), the only neutron-deficient odd-A sd shell nucleus in which experimental transition strengths are available. The experimental values are compared to results of shell-model calculations which describe simultaneously mirror-energy differences and transition-strength values of mirror pairs in the sd shell in a consistent way

An ambitious program to measure decay properties, primarily β-delayed neutron emission probabilities and half-lives, for a significant number of nuclei near or on the path of the rapid neutron capture process, has been launched at the RIKEN Nishina Center. We give here an overview of the status of the project.

A multinucleon transfer reaction between a thin self-supporting Pt-198(78) target and an 850 MeV Xe-136(54) beam has been used to populate and study the structure of the N=80 isotone Ba-136(56). Making use of time-correlated gamma-ray spectroscopy, evidence for an I-pi=(10(+)) isomeric state has been found with a measured half-life of 91+/-2 ns. Prompt-delayed correlations have also enabled the tentative, measurement of the near-yrast states which lie above the isomer. Shell-model calculations suggest that the isomer has a structure which can be assigned predominantly as (nuh(11/2))(10+)(-2). The results are discussed in terms of standard and pair-truncated shell-model calculations, and compared to the even-Z N=80 isotones ranging from Sn-130(50) to Er-148(68). A qualitative explanation of the observed dramatic decrease in the B(E2:10(+)-->8(+)) value for the N=80 isotones at Ba-136 is given in terms of the increasing single-hole energy of the h(11/2) neutron configuration as the proton subshell is filled. The angular momentum transfer to the binary fragments in the reaction has also been investigated in terms of the average total gamma-ray fold versus the scattering angle of the recoils.

We propose to install a storage ring at an ISOL-type radioactive beam facility for the first time. Specifically, we intend to setup the heavy-ion, low-energy ring TSR at the HIE-ISOLDE facility in CERN, Geneva. Such a facility will provide a capability for experiments with stored secondary beams that is unique in the world. The envisaged physics programme is rich and varied, spanning from investigations of nuclear ground-state properties and reaction studies of astrophysical relevance, to investigations with highly-charged ions and pure isomeric beams. The TSR might also be employed for removal of isobaric contaminants from stored ion beams and for systematic studies within the neutrino beam programme. In addition to experiments performed using beams recirculating within the ring, cooled beams can also be extracted and exploited by external spectrometers for high-precision measurements. The existing TSR, which is presently in operation at the Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, is well-suited and can be employed for this purpose. The physics cases as well as technical details of the existing ring facility and of the beam and infrastructure requirements at HIE-ISOLDE are discussed in the present technical design report.

Twenty-one two-proton knockout (p; 3p) cross sections from neutron-rich nuclei at ~ 250 MeV/nucleon were measured. For the first time, the angular distribution of the three emitted protons were measured in coincidence with the tracker and hydrogen target MINOS, demonstrating that the (p; 3p) kinematics is consistent with two sequential proton-proton collisions within the projectile nucleus. Ratios of (p; 3p) over (p; 2p) inclusive cross sections follow the trend of other many-proton (neutron) removal reactions, further reinforcing the sequential nature of (p; 3p) in neutron-rich nuclei.

Lifetimes of low- and high-spin states in the odd-A nucleus Hf177 were measured during the EXILL&FATIMA campaign using a spectrometer equipped with eight HPGe-Clover detectors and 16 fast-timing LaBr3(Ce) detectors. For the determination of lifetimes in the pico- to nanosecond regime, the well-established generalized centroid difference method was used. Lifetimes of the 9/2−, 9/2+, 11/2−, 11/2+ states were remeasured, the lifetimes of the 13/2−, 17/2−, 13/2+, 15/2+, and 17/2+ states were determined for the first time and an upper limit for the 19/2+ state has been established. From these lifetimes absolute reduced transition probabilities were extracted and compared to particle-rotor-model calculations and quasiparticle-phonon-model calculations showing the importance of including multipole-multipole interactions in the description of odd-A nuclei in the rare earth region.

Mass-separated 187Ta114 in a high-spin isomeric state has been produced for the first time by multinucleon transfer reactions, employing an argon gas-stopping cell and laser ionization. Internal γ rays revealed a T1/2 = 7.3 ± 0.9     s isomer at 1778 ± 1     keV , which decays through a rotational band with perturbations associated with the approach to a prolate-oblate shape transition. Model calculations show less influence from triaxiality compared to heavier elements in the same mass region. The isomer-decay reduced E 2 hindrance factor fν = 27 ± 1 supports the interpretation that axial symmetry is approximately conserved.

The structure of 208 Po populated through the EC/β + decay of 208 At was investigated using γ-ray spectroscopy at the ISOLDE Decay Station. The presented level scheme contains 27 new excited states and 43 new transitions, as well as a further 50 previously-observed γ rays which have been (re)assigned a position. The level scheme was compared to shell model calculations. Through this analysis approximately half of the β decay strength of 208 At was found to proceed via allowed and half via first forbidden decay. The first forbidden transitions predominantly populate core excited states at high excitation energies, which was qualitatively understood using shell model considerations. This mass region provides an excellent testing ground for the competition between allowed and first forbidden β-decay calculations, important for the detailed understanding of the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements.

In this thesis, the radioactive beam (RIB) 25Na at 5 MeV/u with an intensity of up to 3 times 107 pps is exploited to study states in 26Na using a 0.5 mg/cm2 deuterated polyethylene (CD2) target via the highly selective (d,p gamma) transfer reaction. The reaction products are recorded by using both SHARC (the Silicon Highly-segmented Array for Reactions and Coulex) and TIGRESS (The TRIUMF-ISAC Gamma-Ray Escape-Suppressed Spectrometer). The SHARC array is installed at the ISAC-2 facility in TRIUMF (Canada) to study a variety of reactions, but single-particle transfer with a radioactive ion beam is the reaction mechanism of interest here. This experimental study was the first radioactive beam experiment making use of the TIGRESS/SHARC detector set-up in 2009. This work significantly extends an earlier analysis. The motivation of this work is to combine the information extracted from the particle and the gamma detection in 25Na(d,p gamma) 26Na reaction data to compare the experimentally observed results and the shell model predictions. A total of 24 states were studied, of which 10 had not been reported previously, and detailed new information was extracted for most of these. Properties measured and discussed include: (1) the observed gamma-ray decay branching ratios, (2) the observed spectroscopic factors (population strength) in the (d,p) reaction, (3) the observed angular momentum transfer in the (d,p) reaction, (4) a comparison between experimental and the predicted excitation energies from shell model calculations, (5) spin assignments based on the predicted reaction strengths and observed gamma-ray decay scheme, and (6) analogies with the experimentally observed gamma-decay properties of the isotone 28Al. An extra new feature of this work, for the important interpretation of similar future experiments, is a detailed study of the gamma-ray angular distributions and their dependence upon the scattered proton angles in (d,p).

We measured absolute cross sections for neutron transfer channels populated in the Rb94+Pb208 binary reaction. Cross sections have been extracted identifying directly the lead isotopes with the high efficiency MINIBALL γ-ray array coupled to a particle detector combined with a radioactive Rb94 beam delivered at Elab=6.2 MeV/nucleon by the HIE-ISOLDE facility. We observed sizable cross sections in the neutron-rich mass region, where the heavy partner acquires neutrons. A fair agreement between the measured cross sections with those from GRAZING calculations gives confidence in the cross-section predictions of more neutron-rich nuclei produced via a larger number of transferred nucleons.

The analysis of the Coulomb excitation experiment conducted on 104Sn required a strict selection of the data in order to reduce the large background present in the γ-ray energy spectra and identify the γ-ray peak corresponding to the Coulomb excitation events. As a result the B(E2; 0+→ 2+) value could be extracted, which established the downward trend towards 100Sn and therefore the robustness of the N=Z=50 core against quadrupole excitations.

Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in stellar binary systems, and important sources of 26Al and 22Na. While γ rays from the decay of the former radioisotope have been observed throughout the Galaxy, 22Na remains untraceable. Its half-life (2.6 yr) would allow the observation of its 1.275 MeV γ-ray line from a cosmic source. However, the prediction of such an observation requires good knowledge of its nucleosynthesis. The 22Na(p, γ)23Mg reaction remains the only source of large uncertainty about the amount of 22Na ejected. Its rate is dominated by a single resonance on the short-lived state at 7785.0(7) keV in 23Mg. Here, we propose a combined analysis of particle-particle correlations and velocity-difference profiles to measure femtosecond nuclear lifetimes. The application of this method to the study of the 23Mg states, places strong limits on the amount of 22Na produced in novae and constrains its detectability with future space-borne observatories.

Using the high-resolution performance of the fragment separator FRS at GSI we have discovered 60 new neutron-rich isotopes in the atomic number range of 60≥Z≥78. The new isotopes were unambiguously identified in reactions with a U238 beam impinging on a Be target at 1 GeV/nucleon. The production cross-section for the new isotopes have been measured down to the pico-barn level and compared with predictions of different model calculations. For elements above hafnium fragmentation is the dominant reaction mechanism which creates the new isotopes, whereas fission plays a dominant role for the production of the new isotopes up to thulium. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

The novel technique of mean range bunching has been developed and applied at the projectile fragment separator FRS at GSI in four experiments of the FAIR phase-0 experimental program. Using a variable degrader system at the final focal plane of the FRS, the ranges of the different nuclides can be aligned, allowing to efficiently implant a large number of different nuclides simultaneously in a gas-filled stopping cell or an implantation detector. Stopping and studying a cocktail beam overcomes the present limitations of stopped-beam experiments. The conceptual idea of mean range bunching is described and illustrated using simulations. In a single setting of the FRS, 37 different nuclides were stopped in the cryogenic stopping cell and were measured in a single setting broadband mass measurement with the multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer of the FRS Ion Catcher.

The 50 N,Z 82 region of the Segrè chart, spanning the nuclei “northwest” of doubly-magic 132Sn, is an intriguing study ground to test the suitability and predictive power of nuclear models at both low and high spins. Low-spin excited states in the nearly spherical nuclei near proton- and neutronshell closures are well described as anharmonic vibrations [1] with a gradual change to rotational structures further away from the closed shells. Further on, quasiparticle excitations play a key role and are responsible for the presence of yrast-trap isomers. These long-lived states interrupt and fragment the decay flux in spectroscopic investigations. High-j couplings involving the unique-parity h11/2 neutron-hole orbital give rise to a wealth of high-spin states with multi-quasiparticle character. In particular, detailed knowledge of isomers is crucial to ascertain the active quasiparticle configurations in the specific nucleus.

We report on the measurement of new low-lying states in the neutron-rich 81,82,83,84Zn nuclei via in-beam γ -ray spectroscopy. These include the View the MathML source41+→21+ transition in 82Zn, the View the MathML source21+→0g.s.+ and View the MathML source41+→21+ transitions in 84Zn, and low-lying states in 81,83Zn were observed for the first time. The reduced View the MathML sourceE(21+) energies and increased View the MathML sourceE(41+)/E(2+1) ratios at N=52N=52, 54 compared to those in 80Zn attest that the magicity is confined to the neutron number N=50N=50 only. The deduced level schemes are compared to three state-of-the-art shell model calculations and a good agreement is observed with all three calculations. The newly observed 2+2+ and 4+4+ levels in 84Zn suggest the onset of deformation towards heavier Zn isotopes, which has been incorporated by taking into account the upper sdg orbitals in the Ni78-II and the PFSDG-U models.

The nuclear structure of neutron-rich N > 126 nuclei has been investigated following their production via relativistic projectile fragmentation of a E/A = 1 GeV (238)U beam on a Be target. The preliminary analysis indicates the presence of previously unreported isomeric states in the N = 128 isotones (208)Hg and (209)Tl.

Deep-inelastic collisions of a 208Pb beam on a 208Pb target were performed using the ATLAS accelerator at Argonne National Laboratory. Prompt and delayed γ-rays from the reaction products were detected using the GAMMASPHERE detector array. The cross-coincidence method was used to identify transitions in 207Tl, by gating on γ-rays from its better-characterised reaction partner 209Bi. A number of new transitions were found in 207Tl.

We report on the preliminary results from a study of the decay of the I-pi = 8(+) T-1/2 = 2 mu s isomer in Pd-96 performed as part of the Stopped-Beam RISING campaign within the Rare Isotope Investigation at GSI (RISING). The Pd-96 ions were produced following the projectile fragmentation of a 750 MeV per nucleon Ag-107 primary beam. The reaction products were separated and identified by the in-flight method using the GSI Fragment Separator. The residues of interest were stopped in a perspex stopper surrounded by an array of 15, seven-element germanium Cluster detectors. One of the goals of the current work is to investigate the population of high-spin states produced projectile fragmentation reactions using isomeric ratio measurements to infer information on the angular momentum population distribution. In this short contribution the method and results of determining the isomeric ratio for the I-pi = 8(+) microsecond isomer in Pd-96 nucleus are presented.

A first performance test of the Coulomb excitation multipolarimetry (Coulex-multipolarimetry) method is presented. It is based on a 85Br π(p3/2) → π(p1/2) spin-flip experiment performed as part of the PreSPEC-AGATA campaign at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung (GSI). Via determination of background levels around the expected 85Br excitations as well as measured 197Au excitations, an upper limit for the M1 transition strength of the 1/2⁻₁ → 3/2⁻g.s. transition in 85Br and a lower beam time limit for upcoming experimental campaigns utilizing Coulex-multipolarimetry have been inferred. The impact of the use of AGATA in its anticipated 1π configuration on these estimates is deduced via Geant4 simulations.

Yrast and near-yrast levels up to an I=17ℏ spin value and a 6-MeV excitation energy have been delineated in the “two-neutron” 210Pb nucleus following deep-inelastic reactions involving 208Pb targets and a number of heavy-ion beams at energies ∼25% above the Coulomb barrier. The level scheme was established on the basis of multifold prompt and delayed coincidence relationships measured with the Gammasphere array. In addition to the previously known states, many new levels were identified. For most of the strongly populated states, spin-parity assignments are proposed on the basis of angular distributions. The reinvestigation of the ν(g9/2)2, 8+ isomeric decay results in the firm identification of the low-energy E2 transitions involved in the 8+→6+→4+ cascade, and in a revised 6+ level half-life of 92(10) ns, nearly a factor of 2 longer than previously measured. Among the newly identified states figure spin I=4–10ℏ levels associated with the νg9/2i11/2 multiplet, as well as yrast states involving νg9/2j15/2, νi11/2j15/2, and ν(j15/2)2 neutron couplings. The highest-spin excitations are understood as 1p−1h core excitations and the yrast population is found to be fragmented to the extent that levels of spin higher than I=17ℏ could not be reached. Four E3 transitions are present in the 210Pb yrast decay; three of these involve the g9/2→j15/2 octupole component, as reflected in the 21(2) and >10 Weisskopf unit enhancements of the B(E3) rates of the first two. The fourth, 16+→13−E3 transition corresponds to the 3− core octupole excitation built on the νi11/2j15/2 state, in analogy to a similar E3 coupling to the νj15/2 level in 209Pb. Shell-model calculations performed for two-neutron states and 1p−1h 208Pb core excitations are in good agreement with the data. Evidence was found for the existence of a hitherto unknown high-spin β-decaying isomer in 210Tl. Shell-model calculations of the 210Tl levels suggest the possibility of a 11+ long-lived, β-decaying state, and the delayed yields observed in various reactions fit rather well with a 210Tl assignment.

The beta decays of 86Br and 91Rb have been studied using the total absorption spectroscopy technique. The radioactive nuclei were produced at the IGISOL facility in Jyvaskyla and further purified using the JYFLTRAP. 86Br and 91Rb are considered high priority contributors to the decay heat in reactors. In addition 91Rb was used as a normalization point in direct measurements of mean gamma energies released in the beta decay of fission products by Rudstam et al. assuming that this decay was well known from high-resolution measurements. Our results shows that both decays were suffering from the Pandemonium effect and that the results of Rudstam et al. should be renormalized.

β-decay properties of fission products are very important for applied reactor physics, for instance to estimate the decay heat released immediately after the reactor shutdown and to estimate the ν flux emitted. An accurate estimation of the decay heat and the ν emitted flux from reactors, are necessary for purposes such as reactors operation safety and non-proliferation. In order to improve the precision in the prediction for these quantities, the bias due to the Pandemonium effect affecting some important fission product data has to be corrected. New measurements of fission products β-decay, not sensitive to this effect, have been performed with a Total Absorption Spectrometer (TAS) at the JYFL facility of Jyväskylä. An overview of the TAS technique and first results from the 2009 campaign will be presented. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2014.

An experiment with the aim to obtain information on the excited states of neutron-rich nuclei with N~82 was performed at RIBF/RIKEN as part of the HiCARI campaign. The method to identify nuclei on ion-by-ion basis, including charge-state identification, is presented. The Doppler correction technique was validated using the test case of ¹³¹In, based on the prompt πp3/2 → πp1/2 transition at 988 keV. Preliminary analysis of the ¹³⁰Cd spectrum is also presented.

The 12C + 12C fusion reaction plays a critical role in the evolution of massive stars and also strongly impacts various explosive astrophysical scenarios. The presence of resonances in this reaction at energies around and below the Coulomb barrier makes it impossible to carry out a simple extrapolation down to the Gamow window—the energy regime relevant to carbon burning in massive stars. The 12C + 12C system forms a unique laboratory for challenging the contemporary picture of deep sub-barrier fusion (possible sub-barrier hindrance) and its interplay with nuclear structure (sub-barrier resonances). Here, we show that direct measurements of the 12C + 12C fusion cross section may be made into the Gamow window using an advanced particle-gamma coincidence technique. The sensitivity of this technique effectively removes ambiguities in existing measurements made with gamma ray or charged-particle detection alone. The present cross-section data span over 8 orders of magnitude and support the fusion-hindrance model at deep sub-barrier energies.

The properties of excited states in the neutron-rich nucleus 194Os have been investigated using the 192Os(18O,16O)194Os reaction with an 80 MeV beam provided by the IFIN-HH Laboratory, Bucharest. Discrete γ -ray decays from excited states have been measured using the hybrid HPGe-LaBr3(Ce) array RoSPHERE. The current work identifies a number of previously unreported low-lying nonyrast states in 194Os as well as the first measurement of the half-life of the yrast 2+ state of 302(50) ps. This is equivalent to a B(E2 : 2+ → 0+) = 45(16) W.u. and intrinsic quadrupole deformation of βeff = 0.14(1). The experimental results are compared with Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov–interacting-boson-model calculations and are consistent with a reduction in a quadrupole collectivity in Os isotopes with increasing neutron number.

The half-life of the yrast I π = 2+ state in the neutron-rich nucleus 188W has been measured using fast-timing techniques with the HPGe and LaBr3:Ce array at the National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Bucharest. The resulting value of t1/2 = 0.87(12) ns is equivalent to a reduced transition probability of B(E2; 2+ 1 → 0+ 1 ) = 85(12) W.u. for this transition. The B(E2; 2+ 1 → 0+ 1 ) is compared to neighboring tungsten isotopes and nuclei in the Hf, Os, and Pt isotopic chains. Woods-Saxon potential energy surface (PES) calculations have been performed for nuclei in the tungsten isotopic chain and predict prolate deformed minima with rapidly increasing γ softness for 184–192W and an oblate minimum for 194W.

In this letter we report on new information on the shape evolution of the very neutron-rich 92;94Se nuclei from an isomer-decay spectroscopy experiment at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. High-resolution germanium detectors were used to identify delayed -rays emitted following the decay of these nuclei. New transitions are reported extending the previously known level schemes. The isomeric levels are interpreted as originating from high-K quasi-neutron states with an oblate deformation of B ~ - 0:25, with the high-K state in 94Se being metastable and K hindered. Following this, 94Se is the lowest-mass nucleus known to date with K-forbidden decay and a substantial K hindrance. Furthermore, it is the first observation of an oblate K isomer in a deformed nucleus. From the decay patterns, an oblate deformation is suggested for the 94Se60 ground-state band, in line with the predictions of recent beyond-mean-field calculations.

Isomeric states were observed in nuclei produced in an experiment at the RIKEN Nishina Center Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory following the in-flight fission of a 345 MeV/nucleon 238 U beam. Isomers reported in nuclei spanning a predicted prolate-oblate shape change boundary, 111 Zr ( E = 283.1 keV; τ = 0.326(63) μs), 112Nb (E = 44.2 keV; τ = 0.094(26) μs), 113 Nb (E = 135.4 keV; τ = 0.846(80) μs), and 115Mo (E = 198.6 keV; τ = 63(4) μs), are compared to potential-energy surface calculations which gave a selection of low-lying configurations for each nucleus. Tentative assignments of ground and excited states were made based on energy similarities to the calculations, reduced transition probabilities of the decays, and constraints of transition multipolarities from γ-ray coincidence measurements. These assignments are suggestive of significant deformation being persistent for N > 70 in this region. In addition, isomers in 108Nb, 109Nb, 113Tc, 117Ru, 119Ru, 120Rh, and 122Rh, not spanning the prolate-oblate transition discussed, are presented.

A systematic study of the population probabilities of nanosecond and microsecond isomers produced following the projectile fragmentation of U-238 at 750 MeV/nucleon has been undertaken at the SIS/FRS facility at GSI. Approximately 15 isomeric states in neutron-deficient nuclei around A similar to 190 were identified and the corresponding. isomeric ratios determined. The results are compared with a model based on the statistical abrasion-ablation description of relativistic fragmentation and simple assumptions concerning gamma cascades in the final nucleus (sharp cutoff). This model represents an upper limit for the population of isomeric states in relativistic projectile fragmentation. When the decay properties of the states above the isomer are taken into account, as opposed to the sharp cutoff approximation, a good agreement between the experimental and calculated angular momentum population is obtained.

The quenching of the experimental spectroscopic factor for the proton decay of 151mLu from the short-lived d3=2 isomeric state has been a long standing problem. In the present work, the proton energy value and half-life of this isomer were remeasured to be 1295(5) keV and 15.4 0.8 s, respectively, in an experiment at the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyvaskyla. The re ned experimental data can resolve the discrepancy in the spectroscopic factor with the WKB approximation. It is also found that the proton formation probability extracted from the present measurements is much larger than that from the adopted data before, indicating no signi cant hindrance for the proton decay of 151mLu.

The decay properties of 133In were studied in detail at the ISOLDE Decay Station (IDS). The implementation of the Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS) allowed separate measurements of its 9/2+ ground state (133gIn) and 1/2− isomer (133mIn). With the use of β-delayed neutron and γ spectroscopy, the decay strengths above the neutron separation energy were quantified in this neutron-rich nucleus for the first time. The allowed Gamow-Teller transition 9/2+ → 7/2+ was located at 5.93 MeV in the 133gIn decay with a logf t = 4.7(1). In addition, several neutron-unbound states were populated at lower excitation energies by the First-Forbidden decays of 133g,mIn. We assigned spins and parities to those neutron-unbound states based on the β-decay selection rules, the logf t values, and systematics.

The neutron-rich nucleus ____nucleus{200}{Pt} is investigated via in-beam ____gamma-ray spectroscopy in order to study the shape evolution in the neutron-rich platinum isotopes towards the N = 126 shell closure. The two-neutron transfer reaction ____nucleus{198}{Pt}(____nucleus{82}{Se}, ____nucleus{80}{Se})____nucleus{200}{Pt} is used to populate excited states of ____nucleus{200}{Pt}. The Advanced Gamma Ray Tracking Array (AGATA) demonstrator coupled with the PRISMA spectrometer detects ____gamma rays coincident with the ____nucleus{80}{Se} recoils, the binary partner of ____nucleus{200}{Pt}. The binary partner method is applied to extract the ____gamma-ray transitions and build the level scheme of ____nucleus{200}{Pt}. The level at 1884____,keV reported by Yates et. al [Phys. Rev. C 37, 1889] was confirmed to be at 1882.1____,keV and assigned as the (6^+_1) state. An additional ____gamma ray was found and it presumably de-excites the (8^+_1) state. The results are compared with state-of-the-art beyond mean-field calculations, performed for the even-even ____nucleus{190-204}{Pt} isotopes, revealing that ____nucleus{200}{Pt} marks the transition from the ____gamma-unstable behaviour of lighter Pt nuclei towards a more spherical one when approaching the N=126 shell closure.

Excited states in the neutron-deficient nucleus Tc-87 have been studied via the fusion-evaporation reaction 54Fe(36Ar, 2n1p) Tc-87 at 115 MeV beam energy. The AGATA gamma-ray spectrometer coupled to the DIAMANT, NEDA, and Neutron Wall detector arrays for light-particle detection was used to measure the prompt coincidence of gamma rays and light particles. Six transitions from the deexcitation of excited states belonging to a new band in Tc-87 were identified by comparing gamma-ray intensities in the spectra gated under different reaction channel selection conditions. The constructed level structure was compared with the shell model and total Routhian surface calculations. The results indicate that the new band structure in 87Tc is built on a spherical configuration, which is different from that assigned to the previously identified oblate yrast rotational band.

Lifetimes of the low-lying (11/2-) states in 63,65Co have been measured employing the recoil distance doppler shift method (RDDS) with the AGATA γ-ray array and the PRISMA mass spectrometer. These nuclei were populated via a multinucleon transfer reaction by bombarding a 238U target with a beam of 64Ni. The experimental B(E2) reduced transition probabilities for 63,65Co are well reproduced by large-scale shell-model calculations that predict a constant trend of the B(E2) values up to the N=40 67Co isotope

The magnetic dipole moments (μ) of 209Tlg (N=128) and 207Tlm (N=126) have been measured for the first time using the in-source laser resonance-ionization spectroscopy technique with the Laser Ion Source and Trap (LIST) at ISOLDE (CERN). The application of the LIST suppresses the usually overwhelming background of the isobaric francium isotopes and allows access to heavy thallium isotopes with A⩾207. The self-consistent theory of finite Fermi systems based on the energy density functional by Fayans et al. well describes the N dependence of μ for 1/2+ thallium ground states, as well as μ for the 11/2− isomeric states in europium, gold and thallium isotopes. The inclusion of particle-vibration coupling leads to a better agreement between the theory and experiment for μ(Tlg, Iπ=1/2+). It is shown that beyond mean-field contributions to μ cannot be neglected at least for thallium isotopes with Iπ=1/2+.

The conceptual design of the BRIKEN neutron detector at the radioactive ion beam factory (RIBF) of the RIKEN Nishina Center is reported. The BRIKEN setup is a complex system aimed at detecting heavy-ion implants, β particles, γ rays and β-delayed neutrons. The whole setup includes the Advanced Implantation Detection Array (AIDA), two HPGe Clover detectors and up to 166 3He-filled counters embedded in a high-density polyethylene moderator. The design is quite complex due to the large number and different types of 3He-tubes involved and the additional constraints introduced by the ancillary detectors for charged particles and γ rays. This article reports on a novel methodology developed for the conceptual design and optimisation of the 3He-counter array, aiming for the best possible performance in terms of neutron detection. The algorithm is based on a geometric representation of two selected detector parameters of merit, namely, the average neutron detection efficiency and the efficiency flatness as a function of a reduced number of geometric variables. The response of the neutron detector is obtained from a systematic Monte Carlo simulation implemented in Geant4. The robustness of the algorithm allowed us to design a versatile detection system, which operated in hybrid mode includes the full neutron counter and two clover detectors for high-precision gamma spectroscopy. In addition, the system can be reconfigured into a compact mode by removing the clover detectors and re-arranging the 3He tubes in order to maximize the neutron detection performance. Both operation modes shows a rather flat and high average efficiency. In summary, we have designed a system which shows an average efficiency for hybrid mode (3He tubes + clovers) of 68.6% and 64% for neutron energies up to 1 and 5 MeV, respectively. For compact mode (only 3He tubes), the average efficiency is 75.7% and 71% for neutron energies up to 1 and 5 MeV, respectively. The performance of the BRIKEN detection system has been also quantified by means of Monte Carlo simulations with different neutron energy distributions.

The structure of the unbound ¹⁵F nucleus is investigated using the inverse kinematics resonant scattering of a radioactive ¹⁴O beam impinging on a CH₂ target. The analysis of ¹H( ¹⁴O, p ) ¹⁴O and ¹H( ¹⁴O, 2p ) ¹³N reactions allowed the confirmation of the previously observed narrow 1/2− resonance, near the two-proton decay threshold, and the identification of two new narrow 5/2¯ and 3/2¯ resonances. The newly observed levels decay by 1p emission to the ground of ¹⁴O, and by sequential 2p emission to the ground state of ¹³N via the 1− resonance of ¹⁴O. Gamow shell model (GSM) analysis of the experimental data suggests that the wave functions of the 5/2¯ and 3/2¯ resonances may be collectivized by the continuum coupling to nearby 2p- and 1p-decay channels. The observed excitation function ¹H( ¹⁴O, p ) ¹⁴O and resonance spectrum in ¹⁵F are well reproduced in the unified framework of the GSM.

The even-even N=90 isotones with Z=60-66 are known to undergo a first order phase transition. Such a phase transition in atomic nuclei is characterized by a sudden change of the shape of the nucleus due to changes in the location of the potential minimum. In these proceedings we report a measurement of the B4/2 ratio of 148Ce, which will probe the location of the low-Z boundary of the N=90 phase transitional region. The measured B4/2 value is compared to the prediction from the X(5) symmetry within the interacting boson model at the critical point between the geometrical limits of vibrators and rigid/axial rotors. The EXILL&FATIMA campaign took place at the high-flux reactor of the Institut Laue Langevin, Grenoble, were 235U and 241Pu fission fragments were measured by a hybrid spectrometer consisting of high-resolution HPGe and fast LaBr3(Ce)-scintillator detectors. The fast LaBr3(Ce) detectors in combination with the generalized centroid difference method allowed lifetime measurements in the picosecond region. Furthermore, this kind of analysis can serve as preparation for the FATIMA experiments at FAIR.

In-flight fission of a 345 MeV per nucleon 238U primary beam on a 2 mm thick 9Be target has been used to produce and study the decays of a range of neutron-rich nuclei centred around the doubly mid-shell nucleus 170Dy at the RIBF Facility, RIKEN, Japan. The produced secondary fragments of interest were identified eventby- event using the BigRIPS separator. The fragments were implanted into the WAS3ABI position sensitive silicon active stopper which allowed pixelated correlations between implants and their subsequent β-decay. Discrete γ-ray transitions emitted following decays from either metastable states or excited states populated following beta decay were identified using the 84 coaxial high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors of the EURICA spectrometer, which was complemented by 18 additional cerium-doped lanthanum bromide (LaBr3)

The neutron-rich lead isotopes, up to Pb216, have been studied for the first time, exploiting the fragmentation of a primary uranium beam at the FRS-RISING setup at GSI. The observed isomeric states exhibit electromagnetic transition strengths which deviate from state-of-the-art shell-model calculations. It is shown that their complete description demands the introduction of effective three-body interactions and two-body transition operators in the conventional neutron valence space beyond Pb208. © 2012 American Physical Society.

A survey of parity-changing E1 transitions has been pursued in Ngreater than or similar toZ nuclei near Ni-56 using data from an EUROBALL experiment. Linear polarization measurements have been combined with angular correlations of coincident gamma rays to determine the electromagnetic character of numerous transitions. The impact of the results on shell-model parametrizations is briefly discussed.

The yrast structure of 207Pb above the 13=2+ isomeric state has been investigated in deep-inelastic collisions of 208Pb and 208Pb at ATLAS, Argonne National Laboratory. New and previously observed transitions were measured using the Gammasphere detector array. The level scheme of 207Pb is presented up to ∼ 6 MeV, built using coincidence and γ-ray intensity analyses. Spin and parity assignments of states were made, based on angular distributions and comparisons to shell model calculations.

The gamma decays from an isomeric 10(+) state at 6457 keV in the nucleus Ni-54(28)26 have been identified using the GSI fragment separator in conjunction with the RISING Ge-detector array. The state is interpreted as the isobaric analog of the 6527-keV 10(+) isomer in Fe-54(26)28.The results are discussed in terms of isospin-dependent shell-model calculations. Clear evidence is presented for a discrete l = 5 proton decay branch into the first excited 9/2(-) state of the daughter Co-53. This decay is the first of its kind observed following projectile fragmentation reactions.

The excited states of unstable ²⁰O were investigated via γ-ray spectroscopy following the ¹⁹O(d, p) ²⁰O reaction at 8 AMeV. By exploiting the Doppler shift attenuation method, the lifetimes of the 2⁺₂ and 3⁺₁ states were firmly established. From the γ-ray branching and E2/M1 mixing ratios for transitions deexciting the 2⁺₂ and 3⁺₁ states, the B(E2) and B(M1) were determined. Various chiral effective field theory Hamiltonians, describing the nuclear properties beyond ground states, along with a standard USDB interaction, were compared with the experimentally obtained data. Such a comparison for a large set of γ-ray transition probabilities with the valence space in medium similarity renormalization group ab initio calculations was performed for the first time in a nucleus far from stability. It was shown that the ab initio approaches using chiral effective field theory forces are challenged by detailed high-precision spectroscopic properties of nuclei. The reduced transition probabilities were found to be a very constraining test of the performance of the ab initio models.

The positive-parity yrast states in the 89Rb, 92Y, and 93Y nuclei were studied using gamma-ray spectroscopy with heavy-ion induced reactions. In the multinucleon transfer reactions 208Pb+90Zr (590 MeV) and 238U+82Se (505 MeV), several gamma-ray transitions were identified in these nuclei by means of coincidences between recoiling ions identified with the PRISMA spectrometer and gamma rays detected with the CLARA gamma-ray array in thin target experiments. Level schemes were subsequently determined from triple gamma coincidences recorded with the GASP array in a thick target experiment, in the reactions produced by a 470 MeV 82Se beam with a 192Os target. The observed level schemes are compared to shell-model calculations.

An open problem in Nuclear Astrophysics concerns the understanding of electron‐screening effects on nuclear reaction rates at stellar energies. In this framework, we have proposed to investigate the influence of the electron cloud on α‐decay by measuring Q‐values and α‐decay half‐lives of fully stripped, H‐like and He‐like ions. These kinds of measurements have been feasible just recently for highly‐charged radioactive nuclides by fragmentation of 238U at relativistic energies at the FRS‐ESR facility at GSI. In this way it is possible to produce, efficiently separate and store highly‐charged α‐emitters. Candidates for the proposed investigation were carefully selected and will be studied by using the Schottky Mass Spectroscopy technique. In order to establish a solid reference data set, lifetimes and Qα‐value measurements of the corresponding neutrals have been performed directly at the FRS, by implanting the separated ions into an active Silicon stopper.

Neutron-rich radioactive isotope (RI) beams in the vicinity of Zr110 were produced using the in-flight fission of a 345-MeV/nucleon U238 beam at the RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. The RI beams were separated in flight by the large-acceptance two-stage fragment separator BigRIPS. Isotopes were clearly identified in a low-background particle-identification plot, which was obtained from the measurements of time of flight, magnetic rigidity, and energy loss using beam-line detectors placed in the BigRIPS separator and the ZeroDegree spectrometer. Nine new isotopes, Br101, Kr102, Rb105,106, Sr108, Y110,111, Zr114, and Nb117, are reported for the first time, with their measured production cross sections compared with the extrapolations of lighter isotopes down to the femtobarn regime.

The neutron deficient Asimilar to90 nuclei constitute a good testing ground for shell model approaches based on spherical or deformed basis. New experimental data are presented for the Ru-90 nucleus, as obtained with the reaction Ca-40+Ni-58 at 135 MeV. The yrast band has been extended to higher spin states and a new band, tentatively assigned as a negative parity band, has been identified. The observed structures are compared with predictions of the projected shell model, which uses a deformed basis. Possibility of the occurrence of low-lying high- K states in this nucleus is discussed.

A new high-spin isomer in the neutron-rich nucleus 128Cd was populated in the projectile fission of a 238U beam at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. A half-life of T1/2=6.3(8) ms was measured for the new state which was tentatively assigned a spin/parity of (15−). The experimental results are compared to shell model calculations performed using state-of-the-art realistic effective interactions and to the neighbouring nucleus 129Cd. In the present experiment no evidence was found for the decay of a 18+ E6 spin-trap isomer, based on the complete alignment of the two-neutron and two-proton holes in the 0h11/2 and the 0g9/2 orbit, respectively, which is predicted to exist by the shell model.

In the EXILL campaign a highly efficient array of high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors was operated at the cold neutron beam facility PF1B of the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) to carry out nuclear structure studies, via measurements of γ-rays following neutron-induced capture and fission reactions. The setup consisted of a collimation system producing a pencil beam with a thermal capture equivalent flux of about 108 n s−1cm−2 at the target position and negligible neutron halo. The target was surrounded by an array of eight to ten anti-Compton shielded EXOGAM Clover detectors, four to six anti-Compton shielded large coaxial GASP detectors and two standard Clover detectors. For a part of the campaign the array was combined with 16 LaBr3:(Ce) detectors from the FATIMA collaboration. The detectors were arranged in an array of rhombicuboctahedron geometry, providing the possibility to carry out very precise angular correlation and directional-polarization correlation measurements. The triggerless acquisition system allowed a signal collection rate of up to 6 × 105 Hz. The data allowed to set multi-fold coincidences to obtain decay schemes and in combination with the FATIMA array of LaBr3:(Ce) detectors to analyze half-lives of excited levels in the pico- to microsecond range. Precise energy and efficiency calibrations of EXILL were performed using standard calibration sources of 133Ba, 60Co and 152Eu as well as data from the reactions 27Al(n,γ)28Al and 35Cl(n,γ)36Cl in the energy range from 30 keV up to 10 MeV.

The γ-ray emission from the nuclei 62,64Fe following Coulomb excitation at bombarding energy of 400-440 AMeV was measured with special focus on E1 transitions in the energy region 4-8 MeV. The unstable neutron-rich nuclei 62,64Fe were produced at the FAIR-GSI laboratories and selected with the FRS spectrometer. The γ decay was detected with AGATA. From the measured γ-ray spectra the summed E1 strength is extracted and compared to microscopic quasi-particle phonon model calculations. The trend of the E1 strength with increasing neutron number is found to be fairly well reproduced with calculations that assume a rather complex structure of the 1− states (three-phonon states) inducing a strong fragmentation of the E1 nuclear response below the neutron binding energy.

The neutron-rich 213Pb isotope was produced in the fragmentation of a primary 1 GeV A 238U beam, separated in FRS in mass and atomic number, and then implanted for isomer decay γ-ray spectroscopy with the RISING setup at GSI. A newly observed isomer and its measured decay properties indicate that states in 213Pb are characterized by the seniority quantum number that counts the nucleons not in pairs coupled to angular momentum J=0. The conservation of seniority is a consequence of a geometric phase associated with particle-hole conjugation, which becomes observable in semi-magic nuclei where nucleons half-fill the valence shell. The γ-ray spectroscopic observables in 213Pb are thus found to be driven by two mechanisms, particle-hole conjugation and seniority conservation, which are intertwined through a Berry phase.

The beta decays of 86Br and 91Rb have been studied using the total absorption spectroscopy technique. The radioactive nuclei were produced at the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility in Jyväskylä and further purified using the JYFLTRAP. 86Br and 91Rb are considered to be major contributors to the decay heat in reactors. In addition, 91Rb was used as a normalization point in direct measurements of mean gamma energies released in the beta decay of fission products by Rudstam et al. assuming that this decay was well known from high-resolution measurements. Our results show that both decays were suffering from the Pandemonium effect and that the results of Rudstam et al. should be renormalized. The relative impact of the studied decays in the prediction of the decay heat and antineutrino spectrum from reactors has been evaluated

Direct lifetime measurements via γ-γ coincidences using a fast timing detector array consisting of LaBr₃(Ce) scintillators has been applied to determine the lifetime of low-lying states in the semimagic (N=50) nucleus ⁹⁴Ru. The experiment was carried out as the first in a series of “FAIR-0” experiments with the DESPEC experimental setup at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR). Excited states in ⁹⁴Ru were populated primarily via the β-delayed proton emission of ⁹⁵Pd nuclei, produced in the projectile fragmentation of an 850 MeV/nucleon ¹²⁴Xe beam impinging on a 4 g/cm² ⁹Be target. While the deduced E2 strength for the 2⁺→0⁺ transition in the yrast cascade follows the expected behavior for conserved seniority symmetry, the intermediate 4⁺→2⁺ transition exhibits a drastic enhancement of transition strength in comparison with pure-seniority model predictions as well as standard shell model predictions in the fpg proton hole space with respect to doubly magic ¹⁰⁰Sn. The anomalous behavior is ascribed to a subtle interference between the wave function of the lowest seniority ν=2, Iπ=4⁺ state and that of a close-lying ν=4 state that exhibits partial dynamic symmetry. In addition, the observed strongly prohibitive 6⁺→4⁺ transition can be attributed to the same mechanism but with a destructive interference. It is noted that such effects may provide stringent tests of the nucleon-nucleon interactions employed in state-of-the-art theoretical model calculations.

The Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA), the new generation high-resolution γ-ray spectrometer, has seen the realization of the first phases of its construction and exploitation. A number of nuclear structure studies based on experiments utilizing the principle of γ-ray tracking were carried out in this decade. The combination of highest detection efficiency and position sensitivity allowed very selective spectroscopic studies with stable beams and the use of instable ion beams with the lowest intensities. Nuclear-structure studies commenced already at INFN-LNL (Legnaro, Italy) with a first implementation of the array consisting of five AGATA modules. A larger array of AGATA modules was used at GSI (Darmstadt, Germany) for experiments with unstable ion beams at relativistic energies. The spectrometer was then mounted in a beam line at GANIL (Caen, France). This review discusses several of the obtained results, underlying the progress made and future perspectives. The performed experiments give insights into nuclear structure issues which are connected to single particles, collective degrees of freedom, nucleon interactions and symmetries. Most of the investigated nuclei are located outside the stability line and for stable nuclei the investigations concern unexplored configurations. Altogether the obtained results represent advances which could test theory in exclusive way and motivate new theoretical developments. Opportunities for further γ-ray spectroscopy with the foreseen more advanced phase of the AGATA emerge in the discussions of the presented data.

In order to determine the Gamow‐Teller strength distribution for the N  =  Z nucleus 72Kr an experiment was performed with a Total Absorption Gamma Spectrometer. To fully accomplish this task it is crucial to determine the multipolarity of the low energy transitions as the spin‐parity of the daughter ground state has been debated. This is done by experimental determination of the conversion coefficients. Preliminary results for the multipolarity and conversion coefficients of the transition connecting the isomeric state at 101 keV with the 72Br ground state are presented.

This paper presents precision measurements of electromagnetic decay probabilities associated with electric dipole transitions in the prolate-deformed nucleus 183Re. The nucleus of interest was formed using the fusion evaporation reaction 180Hf(7Li,4n)183Re at a beam energy of 30 MeV at the tandem accelerator at the HH-IFIN Institute, Bucharest Romania. Coincident decay gamma rays from near-yrast cascades were detected using the combined HPGe-LaBr3 detector array ROSPHERE. The time differences between cascade gamma rays were measured using the LaBr3 detectors to determine the half-lives of the two lowest lying spin-parity 9/2- states at excitation energies of 496 and 617 keV to be 5.65(5) and 2.08(3) ns respectively. The deduced E1 transition rates from these two states are discussed in terms of the K-hindrance between the low-lying structures in this prolate-deformed nucleus.

A previously unreported isomer has been identified in Mo-99 at an excitation energy of E-x = 3010 keV, decaying with a half-life of T-1/2 = 8(2) ns. The nucleus of interest was produced following fusion-fission reactions between a thick Al-27 target frame and a Hf-178 beam at a laboratory energy of 1150 MeV. This isomeric state is interpreted as an energetically favored, maximally aligned configuration of nu h (11/2) circle times pi(g (9/2))(2).

The low-lying energy spectrum of the extremely neutron-deficient self-conjugate (N = Z) nuclide 88 44Ru44 has been measured using the combination of the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) spectrometer, the NEDA and Neutron Wall neutron detector arrays, and the DIAMANT charged particle detector array. Excited states in 88Ru were populated via the 54Fe(36Ar; 2n )88Ru fusion-evaporation reaction at the Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL) accelerator complex. The observed -ray cascade is assigned to 88Ru using clean prompt - -2-neutron coincidences in anti-coincidence with the detection of charged particles, conrming and extending the previously assigned sequence of low-lying excited states. It is consistent with a moderately deformed rotating system exhibiting a band crossing at a rotational frequency that is significantly higher than standard theoretical predictions with isovector pairing, as well as observations in neighboring N > Z nuclides. The direct observation of such a ____delayed" rotational alignment in a deformed N = Z nucleus is in agreement with theoretical predictions related to the presence of strong isoscalar neutron-proton pair correlations.

The emission of two coincident energetic (E≥8 MeV) gamma rays has been observed in the 187 MeV 37Cl+ 120Sn reaction by using the cluster detectors of the EUROBALL III array. Those events are attributed to the decay of the double giant dipole resonance built on highly excited states.

The -decay half-lives of 94 neutron-rich nuclei 144−151Cs, 146−154Ba, 148−156La, 150−158Ce, 153−160Pr, 156−162Nd, 159−163Pm, 160−166Sm, 161−168Eu, 165−170Gd, 166−172Tb, 169−173Dy, 172−175Ho and two isomeric states 174mEr, 172mDy were measured at Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF), providing a new experimental basis to test theoretical models. Striking, large drops of -decay half-lives are observed at neutron-number N = 97 for 58Ce, 59Pr, 60Nd, 62Sm, and N = 105 for 63Eu, 64Gd, 65Tb, 66Dy. Features in the data mirror the interplay between pairing effects and microscopic structure. r-Process network calculations performed for a range of mass models and astrophysical conditions show that the 57 half-lives measured for the first time play an important role in shaping the abundance pattern of rare-earth elements in the solar system.

The positive-parity yrast states in the Rb-89, Y-92, and Y-93 nuclei were studied using gamma-ray spectroscopy with heavy-ion induced reactions. In the multinucleon transfer reactions Pb-208+Zr-90 (590 MeV) and U-238+Se-82 (505 MeV), several gamma-ray transitions were identified in these nuclei by means of coincidences between recoiling ions identified with the PRISMA spectrometer and gamma rays detected with the CLARA gamma-ray array in thin target experiments. Level schemes were subsequently determined from triple-gamma coincidences recorded with the GASP array in a thick target experiment, in the reactions produced by a 470 MeV Se-82 beam with a Os-192 target. The observed level schemes are compared to shell-model calculations.

The (ν 5 2 [532] ⊗ 3 2 [411]) 4− state in 102Zr, populated in the β-decay of 102Y, has been measured to be isomeric with a mean lifetime of 9.5(7) ns. It decays via four transitions, two of which are ∆K = 2 (to the 3+ and 4+ members of the 2+ γ band) and one is ∆K = 4 (to the 4+ member of the ground state 0+ band). The fourth (low-energy) transition is inferred to decay to an as-yet unassigned state. Hindrances of 106 were derived for the ∆K = 2 transitions compared to Weisskopf estimates and the ∆K = 4 transition hindered by a factor of 109 . These values are consistent with the decay pattern of the analogous isomeric state in the neighbouring N = 62 nucleus 100Sr and with the broader systematics of such transitions. A comparison of the hindrances for the ∆K = 4 transitions suggests that 102Zr is hardened against the γ degree of freedom compared to 100Sr.

Lifetime measurements of low-lying excited states in the semimagic (N=50) nucleus Rh95 have been performed by means of the fast-timing technique. The experiment was carried out using γ-ray detector arrays consisting of LaBr3(Ce) scintillators and germanium detectors integrated into the DESPEC experimental setup commissioned for the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (fair) Phase-0, Darmstadt, Germany. The excited states in Rh95 were populated primarily via the β decays of Pd95 nuclei, produced in the projectile fragmentation of a 850 MeV/nucleon Xe124 beam impinging on a 4 g /cm2 Be9 target. The deduced electromagnetic E2 transition strengths for the γ-ray cascade within the multiplet structure depopulating from the isomeric Iπ=21/2+ state are found to exhibit strong deviations from predictions of standard shell model calculations which feature approximately conserved seniority symmetry. In particular, the observation of a strongly suppressed E2 strength for the 13/2+→9/2+ ground state transition cannot be explained by calculations employing standard interactions. This remarkable result may require revision of the nucleon-nucleon interactions employed in state-of-the-art theoretical model calculations, and might also point to the need for including three-body forces in the Hamiltonian.

The RISING setup at the GSI-FRS facility was used to investigate the isomer and beta decays in N∼Z∼50 Cd, Ag and Pd isotopes. A preliminary analysis of the data has revealed new results on the Tz=1, 94Pd, 96Ag and 98Cd isotopes. In 94Pd a new high-spin isomer was observed, whilst in 96Ag 3 new isomeric states were identified, including core-excited states. In 98Cd a new high-energy isomeric γ-ray transition is observed, thus enabling us to confirm the previous spin assignment for the core-excited 12+ isomer.

Isomeric ratios have been measured for high-spin states in Po84198,200,206,208, At85208,209,210,211, Rn86210,211,212,213,214, Fr87208,211,212,213,214, Ra88210,211,212,214,215, and Ac89215 following the projectile fragmentation of a 1 AGeV U beam by a Be target at GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung. The fragments were separated in the fragment separator (FRS) and identified by means of energy loss and time-of-flight techniques. They were brought to rest at the centre of the RISING gamma-ray detector array and intensities of gamma rays emitted in the decay of isomeric states with half-lives between 100 ns and 40 μs and spin values up to 55/2ℏ were used to obtain the corresponding isomeric ratios. The data are compared to theoretical isomeric ratios calculated in the framework of the abrasion-ablation model. Large experimental enhancements are obtained for high-spin isomers in comparison to expected values. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

A study of neutron-rich isotopes in the A=185 region of the nuclear chart has uncovered long-lived (>1s) isomers in several isotopes of hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, rhenium, and osmium. The region was accessed via the use of projectile fragmentation with the UNILAC-SIS accelerators at GSI. Fragmentation products of 197Au were passed through the fragment separator (FRS) and injected into the experimental storage ring (ESR), where single-ion identifications could be made. Evidence is presented for isomers in 183184 186Hf, 186187Ta,186W, 190192 194Re, and 195Os with excitation energies in the range of 0.13.0 MeV. The lightest of these nuclides have well deformed prolate shapes, while the heaviest are transitional and susceptible to shape changes. Their properties are interpreted with the help of multi-quasiparticle and potential-energy- surface calculations. ©2012 American Physical Society.

The low-lying excited states in the neutron-deficient N = Z + 1 nucleus 87 43 Tc 44 have been studied via the fusion-evaporation reaction 54 Fe(36 Ar, 2n1p) 87 Tc at Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), France. The AGATA spectrometer was used in conjution with the auxiliary NEDA, Neutron Wall, and DIAMANT detector arrays to measure coincident prompt γ-rays, neutrons , and charged particles emitted in the reactions. A level scheme of 87 Tc from the (9/2 + g.s.) state to the (33/2 + 1) state was established based on 6 mutually coincident γ-ray transitions. The constructed level structure exhibits a rotational behavior with a sharp backbending at ω ≈ 0.50 MeV. A decrease in alignment frequency and increase in alignment sharpness in the odd-mass isotonic chains around N = 43 is proposed as an effect of the enhanced isoscalar neutron-proton interactions in odd-mass nuclei when approaching the N = Z line.

In-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy using fragmentation reactions of both stable and radioactive beams has been performed in order to study the structure of excited states in neutron-rich oxygen isotopes with masses ranging from A=20 to 24. For the produced fragments, gamma-ray energies, intensities, and gamma-gamma coincidences have been measured. Based on this information new level schemes are proposed for O-21,O-22 up to the neutron separation energy. The nonobservation of any gamma-decay branch from O-23 and O-24 suggests that their excited states lie above the neutron decay thresholds. From this, as well as from the level schemes proposed for O-21 and O-22, the size of the N=14 and 16 shell gaps in oxygen isotopes is discussed in the light of shell-model calculations.

Masses of 238U projectile fragments have been measured with time-resolved Schottky Mass Spectrometry (SMS) at the FRS-ESR facility at GSI. The exotic nuclei were created in the production target at the entrance of the fragment separator FRS, spatially separated in flight and injected into the storage-cooler ring ESR at about 70% light velocity. This means the ions were mainly bare or carried only a few electrons, e.g., the population of Li-like ions was below 1% for Pt fragments. Accurate newmass values of 33 neutron-rich, stored exotic nuclei in the element range from platinum to uranium have been obtained for the first time. In total more than 150 nuclides including references with well-known masses have been covered in this large-area SMS measurement. A novel data analysis has been applied which reduces the systematic errors by taking into account the velocity profile of the cooler electrons and the residual ion-optical dispersion in this part of the storage ring. The experiment, the data analysis, and the mass values are presented. The experimental data are compared with theoretical predictions demonstrating systematic deviations of up to 1500 keV from modern mass models.

De-excitation γ rays associated with an isomeric state of 186 Ta were investigated. The isomers were produced in multinucleon transfer reactions between a 136 Xe beam and a natural W target, and were collected and separated by the KEK Isotope Separation System. Two γ transitions with energies of 161.1(2) and 186.8(1) keV associated with an isomeric decay were observed for the first time. The half-life of the isomeric state of the neutral atom 186m Ta was deduced as 17(2) s. Based on the comparison with the previous measurements of the isomeric state using the ESR storage ring at GSI Darmstadt and the coupling of angular momenta of individual particle orbitals in odd-odd nuclei, a decay scheme of 186m Ta was proposed.

The reduced transition probabilities B(E2; 0+ g.s. → 2+ 1 ) of the 46Ar and 44Ca nuclei were studied using the Coulomb excitation technique at intermediate energy at the LISE/GANIL facility. The in-flight γ rays, emitted after the Coulomb excitation of their first 2+ states, were detected in an array of 64 BaF2 crystals. The present B(E2 ↑) value for 44Ca, 475(36) e2fm4 , agrees well with the value of 495(35) e2fm4 obtained by averaging results of previous experiments. Consistent B(E2; 0+ g.s. → 2+ 1 ) values of 225(29) e2fm4 and 234(19) e2fm4 have been obtained for 46Ar from an absolute and a relative measurement, normalized to the 44Ca value. Both results agree with the ones obtained with the same experimental technique at the NSCL facility but are a factor of 2 smaller than the shell model predictions. The drop in B(E2; 0+ g.s. → 2+ 1 ) in the Ar chain at N = 28, confirmed in this experiment, shows that 46Ar is sensitive to the N = 28 shell closure.

High spin states in the neutron rich 188Os and 190Os nuclei have been populated using the 82Se + 192Os deep-inelastic reaction. The level schemes are extended up to spin I ≈21. The observed new structures are tentatively interpreted as fragments of rotational bands built on multi-quasiparticle configurations.

The β decay of 208Hg into the one-proton hole, one neutron-particle 20881Tl127 nucleus was investigated at CERN-ISOLDE. Shell-model calculations describe well the level scheme deduced, validating the proton-neutron interactions used, with implications for the whole of the N>126, Z

The structure of N19-22 nuclei was investigated by means of in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopic technique using fragmentation reactions of both stable and radioactive beams. Based on particle-gamma and particle-gamma gamma coincidence data, level schemes are constructed for the neutron-rich nitrogen nuclei. The experimental results are compared with shell model calculations. The strength of the N=14 and Z=8 shell closures and the weakening of the shell model interaction WBT are discussed.

Decay spectroscopy of the long-lived states in 186Tl has been performed at the ISOLDE Decay Station at ISOLDE, CERN. The decay from the low-spin (2

Direct lifetime measurements via γ–γ coincidences using the FATIMA fast-timing LaBr₃(Ce) array were performed for the excited states below previously reported isomers. In the N = 50 semi-magic ⁹⁶Pd nucleus, lifetimes below the I π = 8⁺ seniority isomer were addressed as a benchmark for further analysis. The results for the I π = 2⁺ and 4⁺ states confirm the published values. Increased accuracy for the lifetime value was achieved for the 4⁺ state.

We report on the measurement of lifetimes of excited states in the near-mid-shell nuclei Dy-164,Dy-166 using the gamma-ray coincidence fast-timing method. The nuclei of interest were populated using reactions between an O-18 beam and a gold-backed isotopically enriched Dy-164 target of thickness 6.3 mg/cm(2) at primary beam energies of 71, 76, and 80 MeV from the IPN-Orsay laboratory, France. Excited states were populated in Dy-164, Dy-166, and W-178,W-179 following Coulomb excitation, inelastic nuclear scattering, two-neutron transfer, and fusion-evaporation reaction channels respectively. Gamma rays from excited states were measured using the nu-Ball high-purity germanium (HPGe)-LaBr3 hybrid gamma-ray spectrometer with the excited state lifetimes extracted using the fast-timing coincidence method using HPGe-gated LaBr3-LaBr3 triple coincident events. The lifetime of the first I-pi = 2(+) excited state in Dy-166 was used to determine the transition quadrupole deformation of this neutron-rich nucleus for the first time. The experimental methodology was validated by showing consistency with previously determined excited state lifetimes in Dy-164. The half-lives of the yrast 2(+) states in Dy-164 and Dy-166 were 2.35(6) and 2.3(2) ns, respectively, corresponding to transition quadrupole moment values of Q(0) = 7.58(9) and 7.5(4) eb, respectively. The lifetime of the yrast 2(+) state in Dy-166 is consistent with a quenching of nuclear quadrupole deformation at beta approximate to 0.35 as the N = 104 mid-shell is approached.

A Geant4 simulation has been carried out in order to determine the B-detection efficiency of a rare isotope beam implantation setup, for decay spectroscopy experiments, comprising a number of Double Sided Silicon Strip Detectors (DSSSDs) and two plastic scintillation detectors placed upstream and downstream. The absolute efficiency for the emitted B-particle detection from radioactive fragments implanted in the DSSSDs using fast-timing plastic-scintillator detector, is calculated. The detection efficiency of the setup has been studied with two different distances between the Si layers and plastics. The requirement for the thickness of the Si detector layers and its implication on the B-detection effciency has been investigated for 1 mm and 300 um thickness of Si layers. The combined efficiency of DSSSD and plastic detectors were also simulated for two different thicknesses of the DSSSD.

Excited states in neutron-rich nuclei located south-east of 132Sn are investigated by shell-model calculations. A new shell-model Hamiltonian is constructed for the present study. The proton–proton and neutron–neutron interactions of the Hamiltonian are obtained through the existing CD-Bonn G matrix results, while the proton–neutron interaction across two major shells is derived from the monopole based universal interaction plus the M3Y spin–orbit force. The present Hamiltonian can reproduce well the experimental data available in this region, including one-neutron separation energies, level energies and the experimental B(E2)B(E2) values of isomers in 134,136,138Sn, 130Cd, and 128Pd. New isomers are predicted in this region, e.g. in 135Sn, 131Cd, 129Pd, 132,134In and 130Ag, in which almost no excited states are known experimentally yet. In the odd–odd 132,134In and 130Ag, the predicted very long E 2 life-times of the low-lying 5−5− states are discussed, demanding more information on the related proton–neutron interaction. The low-lying states of 132In are discussed in connection with the recently observed γ rays. The predicted 19/2−19/2− isomer in 129Pd could decay by both electromagnetic transitions and neutron emission with comparable partial life-times, making it a good candidate for neutron radioactivity, a decay mode which is yet to be discovered.

The first low-energy Coulomb-excitation measurement of the radioactive, semi-magic, two proton-hole nucleus 206Hg, was performed at CERN's recently-commissioned HIE-ISOLDE facility. Two γ rays depopulating low-lying states in 206Hg were observed. From the data, a reduced transition strength B(E2;21+→01+)=4.4(6) W.u was determined, the first such value for an N=126 nucleus south of 208Pb, which is found to be slightly lower than that predicted by shell-model calculations. In addition, a collective octupole state was identified at an excitation energy of 2705 keV, for which a reduced B(E3) transition probability of 30−13+10 W.u was extracted. These results are crucial for understanding both quadrupole and octupole collectivity in the vicinity of the heaviest doubly-magic nucleus 208Pb, and for benchmarking a number of theoretical approaches in this key region. This is of particular importance given the paucity of data on transition strengths in this region, which could be used, in principle, to test calculations relevant to the astrophysical r-process.

A RISING experiment with an aim to study exotic Cd nuclei was carried out at GSI‐FRS facility. Some preliminary results from this experiment are presented here. In particular, the β decay of 96Cd to 96Ag revealed the existence of a high spin isomer predicted a few decades ago. In this context, the structures of both these nuclei are discussed. Shell model calculations using the Gross‐Frenkel interaction are used to interpret the results.

The effective prompt response function full width at half maximum, PRF FWHM of 637 ps (obtained from the prompt gamma pairs of 477 keV and 700 keV associated with the yrast 2+ state in 206Po), and 1007 ps (obtained from the Compton gamma pairs of 189 keV and 237 keV associated with the 192Os(18O,16O)194Os 2 neutron transfer reaction) were used in fitting the time difference spectra obtained from the gamma coincident pairsof 206 keV and 374 keV in a symmetrised LaBr3(Ce) associated with the gamma transitions in 192Os, using the Half-life program. The values of half-life measured by fitting these PRF FWHM of 637 ps and 1007 ps separately show an excellent agreement of 282(16) ps and 272(21) ps, respectively, which correspond to the global half-life value of 282(4) ps for the 192Os. The mean value of 277(12) ps from these two measurements was used in calculating the B(E2; IL ->IL-2) of 4233(114) e2fm4, which is equivalent to be 81(19) W.u.

The 25 Al(p, γ) reaction has long been highlighted as a possible means to bypass the production of 26 Al cosmic γ rays in classical nova explosions. However, uncertainties in the properties of key resonant states in 26 Si have hindered our ability to accurately model the influence of this reaction in such environments. We report on a detailed γ-ray spectroscopy study of 26 Si and present evidence for the existence of a new, likely ℓ = 1, resonance in the 25 Al + p system at Er = 153.9(15) keV. This state is now expected to provide the dominant contribution to the 25 Al(p, γ) stellar reaction rate over the temperature range, T ∼ 0.1 − 0.2 GK. Despite a significant increase in the rate at low temperatures, we find that the final ejected abundance of 26 Al from classical novae remains largely unaffected even if the reaction rate is artificially increased by a factor of 10. Based on new, Galactic chemical evolution calculations, we estimate that the maximum contribution of novae to the observed Galactic abundance of 26 Al is ∼0.2 M⊙. Finally, we briefly highlight the important role that Super-AGB stars may play in the production of 26 Al.

The high-spin structures of 136Ba and 137Ba are investigated after multinucleon-transfer (MNT) and fusion-evaporation reactions. 136Ba is populated in a 136Xe+238U MNT reaction employing the high-resolution Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy, and in two 9Be + 130Te fusion-evaporation reactions using the High-efficiency Observatory for -Ray Unique Spectroscopy (HORUS) at the FN tandem accelerator of the University of Cologne, Germany. Furthermore, both isotopes are populated in an elusive reaction channel in the 11B+130Te fusion-evaporation reaction utilizing the HORUS -ray array. The level scheme above the J = 10+ isomer in 136Ba is revised and extended up to an excitation energy of approx. 5.5 MeV. From the results of angular-correlation measurements, the Ex = 3707- and Ex = 4920-keV states are identified as the bandheads of positive- and negative-parity cascades. While the high-spin regimes of both 132Te and 134Xe are characterized by high-energy 12+ ! 10+ transitions, the 136Ba E2 ground-state band is interrupted by negativeparity states only a few hundred keV above the J = 10+ isomer. Furthermore, spins are established for several hitherto unassigned high-spin states in 137Ba. The new results close a gap along the highspin structure of N < 82 Ba isotopes. Experimental results are compared to large-scale shell-model calculations employing the GCN50:82, Realistic SM, PQM130 and SN100PN interactions. The calculations suggest that the bandheads of the positive-parity bands in both isotopes are predominantly of proton character.

In a nuclear reactor, the decay of fission fragments is at the origin of decay heat and antineutrino flux. These quantities are not well known while they are very important for reactor safety and for our understanding of neutrino physics. One reason for the discrepancies observed in the estimation of the decay heat and antineutrinos flux coming from reactors could be linked with the Pandemonium effect. New measurements have been performed at the JYFL facility of Jyväskylä with a Total Absorption Spectrometer (TAS) in order to circumvent this effect. An overview of the TAS technique and first results from the 2009 measurement campaign will be presented. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2013.

The gamma decay of excited states in the waiting-point nucleus Cd-130(82) has been observed for the first time. An 8(+) two-quasiparticle isomer has been populated both in the fragmentation of a Xe-136 beam as well as in projectile fission of U-238, making Cd-130 the most neutron-rich N=82 isotone for which information about excited states is available. The results, interpreted using state-of-the-art nuclear shell-model calculations, show no evidence of an N=82 shell quenching at Z=48. They allow us to follow nuclear isomerism throughout a full major neutron shell from Cd-98(50) to Cd-130(82) and reveal, in comparison with Ni-76(48) one major proton shell below, an apparently abnormal scaling of nuclear two-body interactions.

The neutron-rich isotope 136Sb has been produced following the relativistic projectile fission of 238U in an experiment performed at the Fragment Separator at GSI, Darmstadt. Delayed γ-ray spectroscopy of the fission products has been performed after isotope separation. A new isomeric state in 136Sb has been populated, and its lifetime measured as T1/2 = 565(50) ns. Realistic and empirical shell-model calculations have been performed and are compared to the experimental observables.

Relativistic energy projectile fragmentation of Pb-208 has been used to produce a range of exotic nuclei. The nuclei of interest were studied by detecting delayed gamma rays following the decay of isomeric states. Experimental information on the excited states of the neutron-rich N = 126 nucleus, Pt-204, following internal decay of two isomeric states, was obtained for the first time. In addition, decays from the previously reported isomeric I=27h and I=(49/2)h states in Tb-148 and Gd-147, respectively, have been observed. These isomeric decays represent the highest spin discrete states observed to date following a projectile fragmentation reaction, and opens further the possibility of doing 'high-spin physics' using this technique.

Background: The properties of nuclei located in the south region of 208 Pb are important for understanding the r-process nucleosynthesis. While some isomeric states and their spectroscopic properties have been investigated experimentally in neutron-rich Pb, Tl, and Hg isotopes recently, a large portion of the area still remains unreachable. Purpose: We aim to study the properties of nuclei in the south region of 208 Pb, including the binding and excitation energies and electromagnetic properties, in order to predict unknown properties of these nuclei, such as isomerism, utilizing a theoretical model which describes the experimentally known properties precisely. We also address whether the N = 126 shell closure is robust or not when the proton number decreases from 208 Pb. Methods: We performed large-scale shell-model calculations with a new Hamiltonian suggested in the present work. The model space is taken as the five proton orbits within 50 < Z 82 and the thirteen neutron orbits within 82 < N 184. And one-particle one-hole excitation is allowed across the N = 126 gap. The Hamiltonian is constructed by combining the existing Hamiltonians, KHHE (with adjustment of its proton-proton part) and KHPE, and the monopole based universal interaction. Results: The shell-model results well reproduce the experimentally observed binding energies and spectroscopic properties, such as isomerism, core excitation, and electromagnetic properties. Some possible isomeric states in neutron-rich Pb, Tl, and Hg isotopes are predicted with transition energies and half-lives. The N = 126 shell gap is predicted to be robust from Z = 82 down to 72 with minor reduction. We also examine the effective charges and the quenching of the g factors suitable for this region by comparisons between observed and calculated electromagnetic properties. Conclusions: A new Hamiltonian is constructed for nuclei in the south region of 208 Pb, mainly including Pb, Tl, Hg, Au, Pt, Ir, Os, Re, and W isotopes around N = 126, and provides them reasonable descriptions on nuclear properties including binding energies, excitation energies and electromagnetic properties through shell-model studies. The present Hamiltonian and discussions provide fruitful information for future measurements and theoretical investigations for nuclei in this region, especially those around the N = 126 shell, including the recommended effective charges and g factors, the predicted binding energies, isomeric states, and core-excited states.

Background: Previous measurements of Beta-delayed neutron emitters comprise around 230 nuclei, spanning from the 8He up to 150La. Apart from 210Tl, with a minuscule branching ratio of 0.07%, no other neutron emitter is measured yet beyond A = 150. Therefore new data are needed, particularly in the heavy mass region around N=126, in order to guide theoretical models and to understand the formation of the third r-process peak at A 195. Purpose: To measure both, Beta-decay half-lives and neutron branching ratios of several neutron-rich Au, Hg, Tl, Pb and Bi isotopes beyond N = 126. Method: Ions of interest are produced by fragmentation of a 238U beam, selected and identifed via the GSI-FRS fragment separator. A stack of segmented silicon detectors (SIMBA) is used to measure ion-implants and -decays. An array of 30 3He tubes embedded in a polyethylene matrix (BELEN) is used to detect neutrons with high efficiency and selectivity. A self-triggered digital system is employed to acquire data and to enable time-correlations. The latter are analyzed with an analytical model and results for the half-lives and neutron-branching ratios are derived using the binned Maximum-Likelihood method. Results: Twenty new Beta-decay half-lives are reported for 204

Transition probabilities from lifetimes of excited states in neutron-rich nuclei 52;54Ti, produced in a multinucleon-transfer reaction, were measured employing the recoil distance Doppler-shift (RDDS) method. The experiment was performed at the Grand Accélérateur National d’Ions Lourds (GANIL) facility by using the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) for the γ- ray detection and the Cologne plunger device for deep inelastic reactions, coupled to the large-acceptance variable mode spectrometer (VAMOS++) for an event-by-event particle identification. The aim was the investigation of the evolution of the shell structure in the vicinity of the N = 32 subshell. Level lifetimes and lifetime limits of the 2+1 to 8+1 states of the yrast bands in 52;54Ti are determined. The obtained transition probabilities are compared to shell-model calculations based on established fp shell interactions.

35 The Monte-Carlo simulated response for γ-ray detection of the FAst TIMing 36 Array (FATIMA) for exploitation within the the DEcay SPECtroscopy (DE-37 SPEC) experimental system at the FAIR Phase-0 facility at Darmstadt, Ger-38 many is presented. In this configuration, FATIMA consisted of 36 LaBr 3 (Ce) 39 detectors surrounding the AIDA, position sensitive charged-particle active stop-40 per. The decay of the I π =8 + isomer-fed decay cascade in 96 Pd, measured in 41 the first DESPEC experiment at the FAIR-0 facility was used to validate the 42 simulations. The experimental data yielded in-situ full-energy peak efficiency 43 values for FATIMA of 11.2(11)%, 6.8(7)%, 3.8(4)% and 2.1(4)% at 106, 325, 684 44 and 1415 keV respectively, consistent with the values derived from the simulated 45 response. 46

Fifty-five inclusive single nucleon removal cross sections from medium mass neutron-rich nuclei impinging on a hydrogen target at 250 MeV/nucleon were measured at the RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. Systematically higher cross sections are found for proton removal from nuclei with an even number of protons compared to odd-proton number projectiles for a given neutron separation energy. Neutron removal cross sections display no even-odd splitting contrary to nuclear cascade model predictions. Both effects are understood through simple considerations of neutron separation energies and bound state level densities originating in pairing correlations in the daughter nuclei. These conclusions are supported by comparison with semi-microscopic model predictions,highlighting the enhanced role of low-lying level densities in nucleon removal cross sections from loosely-bound nuclei.

An extended decay scheme for Xe-128 has been constructed by using data from the Sn-124(Be-9, 5n)Xe-128 reaction at a beam energy of 58 MeV. Bands have been identified as being built on several intrinsic states, including a proposed 9/2(-)[514] circle times 1/2(+)[400] two-quasineutron configuration that forms the K-pi=5(-) intrinsic state at 2228 keV, and on a previously assigned K-pi=8(-) intrinsic state at 2786 keV. A half-life of 73(3) ns has been measured for the latter. Theoretical calculations have been performed by using the configuration-constrained blocking method based on a nonaxial Woods-Saxon potential. Large gamma deformation and gamma softness are predicted for the ground state and the K-pi=5(-) intrinsic state, whereas a nearly axially symmetric shape is predicted for the K-pi=8(-) two-quasiparticle configuration. The low value of the hindrance factor for the E1 transition depopulating the K-pi=8(-) intrinsic state is discussed in the context of analogous transitions in neighbouring N=74 isotones.

Using the 168Er(10B,5n) reaction at a beam energy of 68 MeV, new data have been obtained for the population and decay of a T1/2 = 148 ns, Kπ = 21/2− three-quasiparticle isomer at 1717 keV in 173Ta. Revised decay energies and intensities have been determined, together with newly observed members of a rotational band associated with the isomer. By comparison with other isomers in the A ≈ 180 deformed region, the 173Ta isomer properties help to specify the key degrees of freedom that determine K-forbidden transition rates. In particular, when all three quasiparticles are of the same nucleon type, there is a strong dependence of the E2 reduced hindrance factor on the isomer excitation energy.

We have recently successfully demonstrated a new technique for production and study of many of the most exotic neutron-rich nuclei at moderate spins. LICORNE, a newly developed directional inverse-kinematic fast neutron source at the IPN Orsay, was coupled to the MINIBALL high resolution -ray spectrometer to study nuclei the furthest from stability using the 238U(n; f) reaction. This reaction and 232Th(n; f) are the most neutron-rich fission production mechanisms achievable and can be used to simultaneously populate hundreds of neutron-rich nuclei up to spins of 16 ~. High selectivity in the experiment was achieved via triple -ray coincidences and the use of a 400 ns period pulsed neutron beam, a technique which is unavailable to other population mechanisms such as 235U(nth; f) and 252Cf(SF). The pulsing allows time correlations to be exploited to separate delayed rays from isomeric states in the hundreds of nuclei produced, which are then used to cleanly select a particular nucleus and its exotic binary partners. In the recent experiment, several physics cases are simultaneously addressed such as shape coexistence, the evolution of shell closures far from stability, and the spectroscopy of nuclei in the r-process path near N = 82. Preliminary physics results on anomalies in the 238U(n; f) fission yields and the structure of the 138Te and 100Sr nuclei will soon be published. A future project, -ball, to couple LICORNE with a hybrid escape-suppressed spectrometer to refine further the technique and achieve a large increase in the observational limit is discussed.

The high-spin structures of the N = 81 isotones 135Xe and 137Ba are investigated after multinucleontransfer (MNT) and fusion-evaporation reactions. Both nuclei are populated in (i) 136Xe+238U and (ii) 136Xe+208Pb MNT reactions employing the high-resolution Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA, (iii), in the 136Xe+198Pt MNT reaction employing the -ray array GAMMASPHERE in combination with the gas detector array Chico, and (iv) via a 11B+130Te fusion-evaporation reaction. The high-spin level schemes of 135Xe and 137Ba are considerably extended to higher energies. The 2058-keV (19=2 ) state in 135Xe is identified as an isomer, completing the systematics for the N = 81 isotones. Its half-life is measured to be 8.6(10) ns, corresponding to a transition probability of B(E2; 19=2 ! 15=2 ) = 0:539(69) W.u. Latest shell model calculations considering 132Sn as a closed core reproduce the experimental findings and provide guidance to the interpretation of the new levels. The experimentally deduced reduced quadrupole transition probabilities of the isomeric states are compared to shell-model predictions.

The reduced transition probabilities for the 41+ → 21+ and 21+ → 01+ transitions in Mo92 and Ru94 and for the 41+ → 21+ and 61+ → 41+ transitions in Zr90 have been determined in this experiment making use of a multinucleon transfer reaction. These results have been interpreted on the basis of realistic shell-model calculations in the f5 / 2 , p3 / 2 , p1 / 2 , and g9 / 2 proton valence space. Only the combination of extensive lifetime information and large scale shell-model calculations allowed the extent of the seniority conservation in the N=50 g9 / 2 orbital to be understood. The conclusion is that seniority is largely conserved in the first πg9 / 2 orbital.

206Hg was populated in the fragmentation of an E∕A = 1 GeV 208Pb beam at GSI. It was part of a campaign to study nuclei around 208Pb via relativistic Coulomb excitation. The observation of the known isomeric states confirmed the identification of the fragmentation products. The isomeric decays were also used to prove that the correlations between beam identification detectors and the AGATA γ-ray tracking array worked properly and that the tracking efficiency was independent of the time relative to the prompt flash.

The transitional nucleus 131Xe is investigated after multinucleon transfer (MNT) in the 136Xe+208Pb and 136Xe+238U reactions employing the high-resolution Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy and as an elusive reaction product in the fusion-evaporation reaction 124Sn(11B,p3n) 131Xe employing the HORUS γ-ray array coupled to a double-sided silicon strip detector (DSSSD) at the University of Cologne, Germany. The level scheme of 131Xe is extended to 5 MeV. A pronounced backbending is observed at ~ω ≈ 0.4 MeV along the negative-parity one-quasiparticle νh11/2(α = −1/2) band. The results are compared to the high-spin systematics of the Z = 54 isotopes and the N = 77 isotones. Large-scale shell-model calculations (LSSM) employing the PQM130, SN100PN, GCN50:82, SN100-KTH and a realistic effective interaction reproduce the experimental findings and provide guidance to elucidate the structure of the high-spin states. Further calculations in 129−132Xe provide insight into the changing nuclear structure along the Xe chain towards the N = 82 shell closure. Proton occupancy in the π 0h11/2 orbital is found to be decisive for the description of the observed backbending phenomenon.

The πh11/2⊗νh11/2 yrast band in the odd-odd nucleus 140Tb has been populated by the 92Mo (54Fe, αpn) reaction at 240-MeV incident beam energy. No previous spectroscopic information was known in this nucleus. The present data fit nicely in the systematics of the N= 75 isotones of La, Pr, Pm, Eu, and Tb (Z= 57 to 65).

This is an open article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence 4.0; International audience; At the PF1B cold neutron beam line at the Institut Laue Langevin, the EXILL array consisting ofEXOGAM, GASP and ILL-Clover detectors was used to perform (n,$\gamma$) measurements at very high coincidencerates. About ten different reactions were measured in autumn 2012 using a highly collimated cold neutronbeam. In spring 2013, the EXOGAM array was combined with 16 LaBr3(Ce) scintillators in theEXILL&FATIMA campaign for the measurement of lifetimes using the generalised centroid differencemethod. We report on the properties of the set-ups and present first results from both campaigns.

Isomers in near-spherical Z = 51, antimony isotopes are reported here for the first time using fusion-fission reactions between Al-27 and a pulsed Hf-178 beam of energy, 1150 MeV. gamma rays were observed from the decay of isomeric states with half-lives, T-1/2 = 200(30) and 52(3) mu s, and angular momenta I = (25/2) and I-pi = 23(+)/2, in Sb-121,Sb-123, respectively. These states are proposed to correspond to nu(h(11/2))(2) configurations, coupled to an odd d(5/2) or g(7/2) proton. Nanosecond isomers were also identified at I-pi = 19(-)/2 [T-1/2 = 8.5(5) ns] in Sb-121 and I-pi = (15(-)/2) [T-1/2 = 37(4) ns] in Sb-123. Information on spins and parities of states in these nuclei was obtained using a combination of angular correlation and intensity-balance measurements. The configurations of states in these nuclei are discussed using a combination of spin/energy systematics and shell-model calculations for neighboring tin isotones and antimony isotopes.

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 ∼ 200     MeV / nucleon . The 2 + 1 excitation energies were found at 185(11) keV in 110 Zr , and 235(7) keV 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 Monte Carlo 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 .

The suggestion that some atomic nuclei would be able to exist in more than one stable or metastable configuration was proposed by Soddy in 1917. Subsequently, the first experimental example of such an isomeric pair was reported by Hahn in 1921, in the form of two metastable states of 234Pa, then known as UZ and UX2. Nowadays, of the 3437 nuclides listed in the most recent NUBASE evaluation, 1318 have at least one metastable excited state with a half-life of 100 ns or longer. The present work reviews historical aspects of nuclear isomers, and the dfferent physical mechanisms that lead to their formation. Selected frontiers of contemporary isomer research are discussed, with an emphasis on remote regions of the nuclear landscape. Some possibilities for the electromagnetic manipulation of isomers are included.

Background: The mercury isotopes around N = 104 are a well-known example of nuclei exhibiting shape coexistence. Mixing of configurations can be studied by measuring the monopole strength & ρ2(E0), however, currently the experimental information is scarce and lacks precision, especially for the Iπ → Iπ (I ≠ 0) transitions. Purpose: The goals of this study were to increase the precision of the known branching ratios and internal conversion coefficients, to increase the amount of available information regarding excited states in 182,184,186Hg, and to interpret the results in the framework of shape coexistence using different models. Method: The low-energy structures in 182,184,186Hg were populated in the & beta; decay of 182,184,186Tl, produced at ISOLDE, CERN and purified by laser ionization and mass separation. The & γ-ray and internal conversion electron events were detected by five germanium clover detectors and a segmented silicon detector, respectively, and correlated in time to build decay schemes. Results: In total, 193, 178, and 156 transitions, including 144, 140, and 108 observed for the first time in a & beta;-decay experiment, were assigned to 182,184,186Hg, respectively. Internal conversion coefficients were determined for 23 transitions, out of which 12 had an E0 component. Extracted branching ratios allowed the sign of the interference term in 182Hg as well as & ρ2(E0; 0+2 → 0+1 ) and B(E2; 0+2 → 2+1 ) in 184Hg to be determined. By means of electron-electron coincidences, the 0+3 state was identified in 184Hg. The experimental results were qualitatively reproduced by five theoretical approaches, the interacting boson model with configuration mixing with two different parametrizations, the general Bohr Hamiltonian, the beyond mean-field model, and the symmetry-conserving configuration-mixing model. However, a quantitative description is lacking. Conclusions: The presence of shape coexistence in neutron-deficient mercury isotopes was confirmed and evidence for the phenomenon existing at higher energies was found. The new experimental results provide important spectroscopic input for future Coulomb excitation studies.

238U projectile fragments have been created at the entrance of the fragment separator FRS, spatially separated in flight within 0.45 μs and injected into the storage-cooler ring ESR at 7.9 Tm corresponding to about 70% light velocity. Accurate new mass values and lifetime information of the stored exotic nuclei in the element range from platinum to uranium have been obtained with single-particle Schottky spectrometry. In this experiment the new isotopes of 236Ac, 224At, 221Po, 222Po, and 213Tl were discovered. The isotopes were unambiguously identified and their masses measured. In addition, the time-correlated data have provided information on the lifetime of the new nuclides. The discovery of isotopes along with accurate mass measurement has been achieved for the first time at the FRS-ESR facility. The results will contribute to the knowledge of the decay products from the r-process nuclei and enable a crucial test of the predictive power of modern nuclear mass and half-life models.

Excited states have been studied in ____iso{159}{Sm}, ____iso{161}{Sm}, ____iso{162}{Sm} (Z~=~62), ____iso{163}{Eu} (Z~=~63), and ____iso{164}{Gd} (Z~=~64), populated by isomeric decay following 238U projectile fission at RIBF, RIKEN. The isomer half-lives range from 50 ns to 2.6 ____mus. In comparison with other published data, revised interpretations are proposed for ____iso{159}{Sm} and ____iso{163}{Eu}. The first data for excited states in ____iso{161}{Sm} are presented, where a 2.6 ____mus isomer is assigned a three-quasiparticle, K^____pi = 17/2^- structure. The interpretation is supported by multi-quasiparticle Nilsson-BCS calculations, including the blocking of pairing correlations. A consistent set of reduced E1 hindrance factors is obtained. Limited evidence is also reported for isomeric decay in 163Sm, 164Eu and 165Eu.

Picosecond lifetimes of medium spin states in Lu-165 were measured for the first time. The reaction used to populate the nucleus of interest was La-139(Si-30,4n)Lu-165 at a beam energy of 135 MeV. The beam was provided by the XTU-tandem accelerator of Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy. By using the differential decay curve method, lifetimes of 19 states in four different rotational bands were obtained. Therefrom the B(E2) values and the transitional quadrupole moments were deduced. The obtained Q(t) for the different bands are compared with total Routhian surface (TRS) calculations and particle-rotor-model calculations. The TRS calculations predict different axial symmetric shapes for the bands built on the 9/2(-)[514], 9/2(+)[404], and 1/2(-)[541] configurations, with a gamma softness for the 9/2(-)[514] configuration. This band has also been studied using the particle-rotor model, the results of which, however, are consistent with a triaxial shape with a gamma value of -15(p).

Background: The Xe isotopic chain with four valence protons above the Z=50 shell closure is an ideal laboratory for the study of the evolution of nuclear deformation. At the N=82 shell closure, ¹³⁶Xe presents all characteristics of a doubly closed shell nucleus with a spherical shape. In the very neutron-deficient isotopes close to N=50, the α-decay chain of Xe was investigated to probe the radioactive decay properties near the drip-line and the magicity of ¹⁰⁰Sn. Additionally, the Xe isotopes present higher order symmetries in the nuclear deformation such as the octupole degree of freedom near N=60 and N=90 or O(6) symmetry in stable isotopes. Purpose: The relevance of the O(6) symmetry has been investigated by measuring the spectroscopic quadrupole moment of the first excited states in 124 Xe. In the O(6) symmetry limit, the spectroscopic quadrupole moment of collective states is expected to be null. Method: A stable ¹²⁴Xe beam with energies of 4.03A MeV and 4.11A MeV was used to bombard a nat. W target at the GANIL facility. Excited states were populated via the safe Coulomb excitation reaction. The collision of the heavy ions with a large Z at low energy make this reaction sensitive to the diagonal E2 matrix element of the excited states. The recoils were detected in the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer and the γ-rays in the AGATA tracking array. The least squares fitting code GOSIA was used for the analysis to extract both E2 and M1 transitional and E2 diagonal matrix elements. Results: The rotational ground state band was populated up to the 8 + 1 state as well as the 2 + 2 and 4 + 2 states. Using high precision spectroscopic data to constrain the GOSIA fit, the spectroscopic quadrupole moments of the 2 + 1 , 4 + 1 and 6 + 1 states were determined for the first time. Conclusions: The spectroscopic quadrupole moments were found to be negative, large and constant in the ground state band underlining the prolate axially deformed ground state band of ¹²⁴Xe. The present experimental data confirm that the O(6) symmetry is substantially broken in ¹²⁴Xe.

The known Iπ = 8⁺₁ , E x ¼ 2129-keV isomer in the semimagic nucleus ¹³⁰Cd₈₂ was populated in the projectile fission of a ²³⁸U beam at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. The high counting statistics of the accumulated data allowed us to determine the excitation energy, Ex = 2001.2(7) keV, and half-life, T1/2 = 57(3) ns, of the Iπ ¼ 6⁺₁ state based on γγ coincidence information. Furthermore, the half-life of the 8⁺₁ state, T1/2 = 224(4) ns, was remeasured with high precision. The new experimental information, combined with available data for ¹³⁴Sn and large-scale shell model calculations, allowed us to extract proton and neutron effective charges for ¹³²Sn, a doubly magic nucleus far-off stability. A comparison to analogous information for ¹⁰⁰Sn provides first reliable information regarding the isospin dependence of the isoscalar and isovector effective charges in heavy nuclei.

Reduced transition probabilities have been extracted between excited, yrast states in the N = Z + 2 nucleus 94 Pd. The transitions of interest were observed following decays of the I π = 14 + , E x = 2129-keV isomeric state, which was populated following the projectile fragmentation of a 124 Xe primary beam at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung accelerator facility as part of FAIR Phase-0. Experimental information regarding the reduced E2 transition strengths for the decays of the yrast 8 + and 6 + states was determined following isomer-delayed E γ1 − E γ2 − △T 2,1 coincidence method, using the LaBr 3 (Ce)-based FATIMA fast-timing coincidence gamma-ray array, which allowed direct determination of lifetimes of states in 94 Pd using the Generalized Centroid Difference (GCD) method. The experimental value for the half-life of the yrast 8 + state of 755(106) ps results in a reduced transition probability of B(E2:8 + →6 +) = 205 +34 −25 e 2 fm 4 , which enables a precise verification of shell-model calculations for this unique system, lying directly between the N = Z line and the N = 50 neutron shell closure. The determined B(E2) value provides an insight into the purity of (g 9/2) n configurations in competition with admixtures from excitations between the (lower) N = 3p f and (higher) N = 4gds orbitals for the first time. The results indicate weak collectivity expected for near-zero quadrupole deformation and an increasing importance of the T = 0 proton-neutron interaction at N = 48.

Isochronous mass spectrometry was applied to measure isomeric yield ratios of fragmentation reaction prod- ucts. This approach is complementary to conventional g -ray spectroscopy in particular for measuring yield ratios for long-lived isomeric states. Isomeric yield ratios for the high-spin I = 19=2¯h states in the mirror nuclei 53Fe and 53Co are measured to study angular momentum population following the projectile fragmentation of 78Kr at energies of 480 A MeV on a beryllium target. The 19/2 state isomeric ratios of 53Fe produced from different projectiles in literature have also been extracted as a function of mass number difference between projectile and fragment (mass loss). The results are compared to ABRABLA07 model calculations. The isomeric ratios of 53Fe produced using different projectiles suggest that the theory underestimates not only the previously reported dependence on the spin but also the dependence on the mass loss.

The population of metastable states produced in relativistic-energy fragmentation of a U-238 beam has been measured. For states with high angular momentum, I=17h and I=21.5h, a higher population than expected has been observed, with the discrepancy increasing with angular momentum. By considering two sources for the angular momentum, related to single-particle and collective motions, a much improved description of the experimental results can be obtained. In addition, new results on the structure of Fr-208, Ra-211 and Ac-216 are reported.

In a high-energy fragmentation experiment at GSI an I=π(6+) isomer and its γ-decay are identified in 102Sn, the two-neutron neighbour of the doubly-magic 100Sn. Its half-life is measured to be T=1/2367(11) ns. The possible existence of further isomers is discussed in the framework of large-scale shell model (LSSM) calculations including up to five particle-hole excitations of the 100Sn core. From the precise B(E2; 6+→4+) strength and the recently remeasured value for B(E2; 8+→6+) in the two-proton hole neighbour 98Cd effective E2 polarization charges for protons and neutrons were inferred including LSSM corrections within the full N=4 0ħω space. The results are discussed in comparison to predicted and empirically determined effective operators.

Lifetimes of low-lying yrast states in neutron-rich 94,96,98Sr have been measured by Germanium-gated γ−γ fast timing with LaBr3(Ce) detectors using the EXILL&FATIMA spectrometer at the Institut Laue-Langevin. Sr fission products were generated using cold-neutron-induced fission of 235U and stopped almost instantaneously within the thick target. The experimental B(E2) values are compared with results of Monte Carlo shell-model calculations made without truncation on the occupation numbers of the orbits spanned by eight proton and eight neutron orbits and show good agreement. Similarly to the Zr isotopes, the abrupt shape transition in the Sr isotopes near neutron number N=60 is identified as being caused by many-proton excitations to its g9/2 orbit.

Fast-neutron-induced fission of 238U 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.

We present information on the excited states in the prolate-deformed, neutron-rich nuclei 165;167Tb100;102. The nuclei of interest were synthesised following in-flight fission of a 345 MeV per nucleon 238U primary beam on a 2 mm 9Be target at the Radioactive Ion-Beam Factory (RIBF), RIKEN, Japan. The exotic nuclei were separated and identified event-by-event using the BigRIPS separator, with discrete energy gamma-ray decays from isomeric states with half-lives in the s regime measured using the EURICA gamma-ray spectrometer. Metastable-state decays are identified in 165Tb and 167Tb and interpreted as arising from hindered E1 decay from the 7 2 [523] single quasi-proton Nilsson configuration to rotational states built on the 3 2 [411] single quasi-proton ground state. These data correspond to the first spectroscopic information in the heaviest, odd-A terbium isotopes reported to date and provide information on proton Nilsson configurations which reside close to the Fermi surface as the 170Dy doubly-midshell nucleus is approached.

decays from heavy, neutron-rich nuclei with A∼190 have been investigated following their production via the relativistic projectile fragmentation of an E/A=1 GeV 208Pb primary beam on a ∼2.5 g/cm2 9Be target. The reaction products were separated and identified using the GSI FRagment Separator (FRS) and stopped in the RISING active stopper. γ decays were observed and correlated with these secondary ions on an event-by-event basis such that γ-ray transitions following from both internal (isomeric) and β decays were recorded. A number of discrete, β-delayed γ-ray transitions associated with β decays from 194Re to excited states in 194Os have been observed, including previously reported decays from the yrast Iπ=(6+) state. Three previously unreported γ-ray transitions with energies 194, 349, and 554 keV are also identified; these transitions are associated with decays from higher spin states in 194Os. The results of these investigations are compared with theoretical predictions from Nilsson multi-quasiparticle (MQP) calculations. Based on lifetime measurements and the observed feeding pattern to states in 194Os, it is concluded that there are three β−-decaying states in 194Re.

111Ag and 113Ag were produced in induced fission reaction, where yrast and near-yrast states were populated. To interpret the new data the Interacting Boson-Fermion model was used. A good agreement with the experimental data is achieved, suggesting that the two Ag nuclei have a well developed collectivity, superimposed on ____pi g9/2-3 excitations previously observed throughout the entire isotopic chain.

Neutron-rich nuclei were populated in a relativistic fission of U. Gamma-rays with energies of 135 keV and 184 keV were associated with two isomeric states in Pd and Ru. Half-lives of 0.63(5) μs and 2.0(3) μs were deduced and the isomeric states were interpreted in terms of prolate deformed single-particle states.

The β decays from both the ground state and a long-lived isomer of ¹³³In were studied at the ISOLDE Decay Station (IDS). With a hybrid detection system sensitive to β, γ, and neutron spectroscopy, the comparative partial half-lives (log ft) have been measured for all their dominant β-decay channels for the first time, including a low-energy Gamow-Teller transition and several first-forbidden (FF) transitions. Uniquely for such a heavy neutron-rich nucleus, their β decays selectively populate only a few isolated neutron unbound states in ¹³³Sn. Precise energy and branching-ratio measurements of those resonances allow us to benchmark β-decay theories at an unprecedented level in this region of the nuclear chart. The results show good agreement with the newly developed large-scale shell model (LSSM) calculations. The experimental findings establish an archetype for the β decay of neutron-rich nuclei southeast of ¹³²Sn and will serve as a guide for future theoretical development aiming to describe accurately the key β decays in the rapid-neutron capture (r-) process.

Isomers are metastable nuclear excitations with long half-lives, ranging from nanoseconds to years. In general, an isomer’s decay is inhibited by at least one of three physical constraints: spin isomers involve a large change in the magnitude of the angular momentum, often combined with low transition energy; K isomers require a large change in the direction of the angular momentum; and shape isomers arise due to a significant change in the shape of the nucleus. The long half-lives of isomers open up a variety of experimental techniques for studying their properties, which themselves give key information about the nuclear structure. Isomers can also be valuable in providing increased sensitivity for the investigation of exotic nuclei, far from the valley of β-stability. Furthermore, by virtue of their electromagnetic decay, isomers have applications that may differ from those of nuclear ground states, including critical roles in nuclear astrophysics and, more generally, physics at the atomic/nuclear interface. All these topics are discussed in this chapter.

A new experimental investigation of the level scheme of the N=Z+1 nucleus Zr-81 is reported. An additional band assigned to the [431]1/2(+) orbital has been observed and the known [422]5/2(+) and [301]3/2(-) bands have been extended to higher spins. The behavior of these bands is compared to that of the bands in the isotonic nucleus Sr-79, for which some new experimental data are presented. Comparison is also made to the even-even N=Z and N=Z+2 neighbors. The band structures are discussed in the framework of the projected shell model.

One hundred years after "nuclear isomers" were first discovered, Philip Walker and Zsolt Podolyak pick five examples of these long-lived, excited nuclear states to show why they are so important in medical physics and beyond

The β decay of 207Hg into the single-proton-hole nucleus 207Tl has been studied through γ-ray spectroscopy at the ISOLDE Decay Station (IDS) with the aim of identifying states resulting from coupling of the πs−11/2, πd−13/2, and πh−111/2 shell model orbitals to the collective octupole vibration. Twenty-two states were observed lying between 2.6 and 4.0 MeV, eleven of which were observed for the first time, and 78 new transitions were placed. Two octupole states (s1/2-coupled) are identified and three more states (d3/2-coupled) are tentatively assigned using spin-parity inferences, while further h11/2-coupled states may also have been observed for the first time. Comparisons are made with state-of-the-art large-scale shell model calculations and previous observations made in this region, and systematic underestimation of the energy of the octupole vibrational states is noted. We suggest that in order to resolve the difference in predicted energies for collective and noncollective t=1 states (t is the number of nucleons breaking the 208Pb core), the effect of t=2 mixing may be reduced for octupole-coupled states. The inclusion of mixing with t=0,2,3 excitations is necessary to replicate all t=1 state energies accurately.

A gamma-ray spectroscopic study of Po-212 was performed at the Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds, using the inverse kinematics alpha-transfer reaction C-12(Pb-208, Po-212) Be-8 and the AGATA spectrometer. A careful analysis based on gamma gamma coincidence relations allowed us to establish 14 new excited states in the energy range between 1.9 and 3.3 MeV. None of these states, however, can be considered as candidates for the levels with spins and parities of 1(-) and 2(-) and excitation energies below 2.1 MeV, which have been predicted by recent alpha-cluster model calculations. A systematic comparison of the experimentally established excitation scheme of Po-212 with shell-model calculations was performed. This comparison suggests that the six states with excitation energies (spins and parities) of 1744 (4(-)), 1751 (8(-)), 1787 (6(-)), 1946 (4(-)), 1986 (8(-)), and 2016 (6(-)) keV, which previously were interpreted as alpha-cluster states, may in fact be of positive parity and belong to low-lying shell-model multiplets. This reinterpretation of the structure of Po-212 is supported by experimental information with respect to the linear polarization of gamma rays, which suggests a magnetic character of the 432-keV gamma ray decaying from the state at an excitation energy of 1787 keV to the 6(1)(+) yrast state, and exclusive reaction cross sections.

To test the predictive power of ab initio nuclear structure theory, the lifetime of the second 2(+) state in neutron-rich O-20, tau(2(2)(+)) = 150(-30)(+80) fs, and an estimate for the lifetime of the second 2(+) state in C-16 have been obtained for the first time. The results were achieved via a novel Monte Carlo technique that allowed us to measure nuclear state lifetimes in the tens-to-hundreds of femtoseconds range by analyzing the Doppler-shifted gamma-transition line shapes of products of low-energy transfer and deep-inelastic processes in the reaction O-18 (7.0 MeV/u) + Ta-181. The requested sensitivity could only be reached owing to the excellent performances of the Advanced gamma-Tracking Array AGATA, coupled to the PARIS scintillator array and to the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer. The experimental lifetimes agree with predictions of ab initio calculations using two- and three-nucleon interactions, obtained with the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group for O-20 and with the no-core shell model for C-16. The present measurement shows the power of electromagnetic observables, determined with high-precision gamma spectroscopy, to assess the quality of first-principles nuclear structure calculations, complementing common benchmarks based on nuclear energies. The proposed experimental approach will be essential for short lifetime measurements in unexplored regions of the nuclear chart, including r-process nuclei, when intense beams, produced by Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) techniques, become available.

We report on the first γ-ray spectroscopy of low-lying states in neutron-rich 98,100Kr isotopes obtained from 99,101Rb(p,2p) reactions at ∼ 220 MeV/nucleon. A reduction of the 2+ 1 state energies beyond N = 60 demonstrates a significant increase of deformation, shifted in neutron number compared to the sharper transition observed in strontium and zirconium isotopes. State-of-theart beyond-mean-field calculations using the Gogny D1S interaction predict level energies in good agreement with experimental results. The identification of a low-lying (0+ 2 , 2+ 2 ) state in 98Kr provides the first experimental evidence of a competing configuration at low energy in neutron-rich krypton isotopes consistent with the oblate-prolate shape coexistence picture suggested by theory

We report on the observation of a microsecond isomeric state in the single-proton-hole, three-neutron-particle nucleus ¹³⁴In. The nuclei of interest were produced by in-flight fission of a ²³⁸U beam at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. The isomer depopulates through a γ ray of energy 56.7(1) keV and with a half-life of T1/2=3.5(4)μs. Based on the comparison with shell-model calculations, we interpret the isomer as the Iπ=5− member of the π0g−19/2⊗ν1f37/2 multiplet, decaying to the Iπ=7− ground state with a reduced-transition probability of B(E2;5−→7−)=0.53(6)W.u.Observation of this isomer, and lack of evidence in the current work for a Iπ=5− isomer decay in ¹³²In, provides a benchmark of the proton-neutron interaction in the region of the nuclear chart “southeast” of ¹³²Sn, where experimental information on excited states is sparse.

Shell gap at the magic number N = 82 is important to reproduce the 2nd peak of r-process abundance. If a spin-orbit force is reduced in a very neutron-rich region, a shell quenching at N = 82 and a new shell closure at N = 70 are predicted. A shell evolution by the spin-orbit-force reduction can be searched for through the shape evolution of Zr isotopes around an expected double magic nuclei, 110Zr(Z=40,N=70). We performed β-γ and isomer spectroscopy at RIBF to observe low-lying states in 106,108Zr. The present results indicate a well deformed shape for 106,108Zr. The drastic reduction of the spin-orbit force most likely does not occur around 110Zr on an r-process path. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

The preliminary results from the RISING Stopped Beam Isomer Campaign are presented, with specific focus on results of the initial experiment to investigate isomeric decays along the N=Z line around A similar to 80-90 following the projectile fragmentation of a Ag-107 primary beam at an energy of 750 MeV per nucleon. A description of the technical aspects behind the design of the RISING array is presented, together with evidence for previously unreported isomeric decays in Tc-87,Tc-88 and the N=Z nuclei Nb-82(41) and Tc-86(43).

Models of the β-delayed neutron emission (βn) assume that neutrons are emitted statistically via an intermediate compound nucleus post β decay. Evidence to the contrary was found in an 134 In β-decay experiment carried out at ISOLDE CERN. Neutron emission probabilities from the unbound states in 134 Sn to known low-lying, single-particle states in 133 Sn were measured. The neutron energies were determined using the time-of-flight technique, and the subsequent decay of excited states in 133 Sn was studied using γ-ray detectors. Individual βn probabilities were determined by correlating the relative intensities and energies of neutrons and γ rays. The experimental data disagree with the predictions of representative statistical models which are based upon the compound nucleus postulate. Our results suggest that violation of the compound nucleus assumption may occur in β-delayed neutron emission. This impacts the neutron-emission probabilities and other properties of nuclei participating in the r-process. A model of neutron emission, which links the observed neutron emission probabilities to nuclear shell effects, is proposed.

The multinucleon transfer (MNT) reaction approach was successfully employed for the first time to measure the isomeric ratios (IRs) of 211Po isomer (25/2+) and its ground state (9/2+) at the IGISOL facility using a 945 MeV 136Xe beam impinged on 209Bi and natPb targets. The dominant production of isomers compared to the corresponding ground states was consistently revealed in the α-decay spectra. Deduced IR of 211Po populated through the 136Xe+natPb reaction was found to have an enhancement of ≈1.8-times than that observed for the 136Xe+209Bi. State-of-the-art Langevin-type model calculations have been utilized to estimate the spin distribution of an MNT residue. The computations qualitatively corroborate with the considerable increase in the IRs of 211Po produced from 136Xe+natPb compared to 136Xe+209Bi. Theoretical investigations indicate a weak dependence of target spin on the IRs. The enhancement of the 211Po isomer in the 136Xe+natPb over 136Xe+209Bi can be attributed to the different proton (p)-transfer production routes. Estimations demonstrate an increment in the angular momentum transfer, favorable for isomer production, with increasing projectile energy. Comparative analysis reveals the two entrance channel parameters, projectile mass and p-transfer channels, strongly influencing the population of the high-spin isomer of 211Po (25/2+). This letter reports the first experimental and theoretical study on the IRs of nuclei formed from two different p-transfer channels via two independent MNT reactions.

The transitional nuclei ¹³⁴Ba and ¹³³Ba are investigated after multinucleon transfer employing the high-resolution Advanced GAmma Tracking Array coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy, and after fusion-evaporation reaction at the FN tandem accelerator of the University of Cologne, Germany. The Jπ=19/2⁺ state at 1942 keV in ¹³³Ba is identified as an isomer with a half-life of 66.6(20)ns corresponding to a B(E1) value of 7.7(4)×10⁻⁶e²fm² for the Jπ=19/2⁺ to Jπ=19/2⁻ transition. The level scheme of ¹³⁴Ba above the Jπ=10⁺ isomer is extended to approximately 6 MeV. A pronounced backbending is observed at ℏω=0.38 MeV along the positive-parity yrast band. The results are compared to the high-spin systematics of the Z=56 isotopes. Large-scale shell-model calculations employing the GCN50:82, SN100PN, SNV, PQM130, Realistic SM, and EPQQM interactions reproduce the experimental findings and elucidate the structure of the high-spin states. The shell-model calculations employing the GCN50:82 and PQM130 interactions reproduce alignment properties and provide detailed insight into the microscopic origin of this phenomenon in transitional ¹³⁴Ba.

The HISPEC-DESPEC collaboration aims at investigating the struc-ture of exotic nuclei formed in fragmentation reactions with decay spectroscopymeasurements, as part of the FAIR Phase-0 campaign at GSI. This paper reportson first results of an experiment performed in spring 2021, with a focus on beta-decaystudies in the Po-Fr nuclei in the 220 < A

Neutron-rich nuclei beyond N = 126 in the lead region were populated by fragmenting a 238U beam at 1 GeV A on a Be target and then separated by the Fragment Separator (FRS) at GSI. Their isomeric decays were observed, enabling study of the shell structure of neutron-rich nuclei around the Z=82 shell closure. Some preliminary results are reported in this paper.

At the PF1B cold neutron beam line at the Institut Laue Langevin the EXILL array consisting of EXOGAM, GASP and LOHENGRIN detectors was used to perform (n,γ) measurements under very high coincidence rates. About ten different reactions were then measured in autumn 2012. In spring 2013 the EXOGAM array was combined with 16 LaBr3(Ce) scintillators in the FATIMA@EXILL campaign for the measurement of lifetimes using the generalised centroid difference method. We report on the properties of both set-ups and present first results on Pt isotopes from both campaigns.

-ray transitions between low-spin states of the neutron-rich 84;86;88Ge were measured by means of in-flight -ray spectroscopy at 270 MeV/u. Excited 6+ 1 , 4+ 1;2 and 2+ 1;2 states of 84;86Ge and 4+ 1 and 2+ 1;2 states of 88Ge were observed. Furthermore a candidate for a 3+ 1 state of 86Ge was identified. This state plays a key role in the discussion of ground-state triaxiality of 86Ge, along with other features of its low-energy level scheme. A new region of triaxially deformed nuclei is proposed in the Ge isotopic chain.

The shape transition in the neutron-rich Os isotopes is studied by investigating the neutron-rich 196Os nucleus through in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy using a two-proton transfer reaction from a 198Pt target to a 82Se beam. The beam-like recoils were detected and identified with the large-acceptance magnetic spectrometer PRISMA, and the coincident γ rays were measured with the advanced gamma tracking array (AGATA) demonstrator. The de-excitation of the low-lying levels of the yrast-band of 196Os were identified for the first time. The results are compared with state-of-the-art beyond-mean-field calculations, performed for the even-even 188-198Os isotopes. The new results suggest a smooth transition in the Os isotopes from a more axial rotational behavior towards predominately vibrational nuclei through triaxial configurations. An almost perfect γ-unstable/triaxial rotor yrast band is predicted for 196Os which is in agreement with the experimentally measured excited states

This paper reports NMR measurements of the magnetic dipole moments of two high-K isomers, the 37/2-, 51.4 m, 2740 keV state in Hf177 and the 8-, 5.5 h, 1142 keV state in Hf180 by the method of on-line nuclear orientation. Also included are results on the angular distributions of γ transitions in the decay of the Hf177 isotope. These yield high precision E2/M1 multipole mixing ratios for transitions in bands built on the 23/2+, 1.1 s, isomer at 1315 keV and on the 9/2+, 0.663 ns, isomer at 321 keV. The new results are discussed in the light of the recently reported finding of systematic dependence of the behavior of the gR parameter upon the quasiproton and quasineutron make up of high-K isomeric states in this region. © 2014 American Physical Society.

The reduced transition probabilities B(E2; 0(g.s.)(+) -> 2(1)(+), 2(2)(+)) in (70) Zn and the full B(E2; 0(g.s.)(+) -> 2(+)) strength up to S-n = 7.79 MeV in Ni-68 have been determined at the LISE/GANIL facility using the Coulomb-excitation technique at intermediate beam energy on a Pb-208 target. The gamma rays emitted in-flight were detected with an array of 46BaF(2) crystals. The angles of the deflected nuclei were determined in order to disentangle and extract the Coulomb and nuclear contributions to the excitation of the 2(+) states. The measured B(E2; 0(g.s.)(+) -> 2(1)(+)) of 1432(124) e(2) fm(4) for Zn-70 falls in the lower part of the published values which clustered either around 1600 or above 2000 e(2) fm(4), while the B(E2; 0(g.s.)(+) -> 2(1)(+)) of 53(7) e(2) fm(4) agrees very well with the two published values. The relatively low B(E2; 0(g.s.)(+) -> 2(1)(+)) of 301(38) e(2) fm(4) for Ni-68 agrees with previous studies and confirms a local magicity at Z = 28, N = 40. Combining the results of the low-energy spectra of Ni-68 and Zn-70 and their shell-model interpretations, it is interesting to notice that four different shapes (spherical, oblate, prolate, and triaxial) are present. Finally, a summed E2 strength of only about 150 e(2) fm(4) has been found experimentally at high excitation energy, likely due to proton excitations across the Z = 28 gap. The experimental distribution of this high-energy E2 excitation agrees with shell-model calculations, but its strength is about two times weaker.

We investigated the effects of first-forbidden transitions in β decays on the production of the r -process A∼195 peak. The theoretical calculated β-decay rates with β-delayed neutron emission were examined using several astrophysical conditions. As the FF decay is dominant in N∼126 neutron-rich nuclei, their inclusion shortens β-decay lifetimes and shifts the abundance peak towards higher masses. Additionally, the inclusion of the β -delayed neutron emission results in a wider abundance peak, and smoothens the mass distribution by removing the odd–even mass staggering. The effects are commonly seen in the results of all adopted astrophysical models. Nevertheless there are quantitative differences, indicating that remaining uncertainty in the determination of half-lives for N=126 nuclei is still significant in order to determine the production of the r-process peak.

Neutron-rich isotopes around lead, beyond N= 126, have been studied exploiting the fragmentation of an uranium primary beam at the FRS-RISING setup at GSI. For the first time β-decay half-lives of Bi and Tl isotopes have been derived. The half-lives have been extracted using a numerical simulation developed for experiments in high-background conditions. Comparison with state of the art models used in r-process calculations is given, showing a systematic underestimation of the experimental values, at variance from close-lying nuclei. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

One of the major problems in nuclear astrophysics concerns the estimation of electron screening effects on nuclear reaction rates. We have proposed investigating the electron screening effects of nuclear systems which decay via α-particles, using fragmented beams at relativistic energies produced at the present GSI FRS-ESR facility. By looking at the modification of the half-lives and Q -value of highly charged emitters, we expect to estimate the electron screening energies. © 2012 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Neutron-rich 160,161,162Sm isotopes have been populated at the RIBF, RIKEN via β first time. β-coincident γ rays were observed in all three isotopes including γ rays from the isomeric decay of 160Sm and 162Sm. The isomers in 160Sm and 162Sm have previously been observed but have been populated via β decay for the first time. The isomeric state in 162Sm is assigned a configuration based on the decay pattern. The level schemes of 160Sm and 162Sm are presented. The ground states in the parent nuclei 160Pm and 162Pm are both assigned a configuration based on the population of states in the daughter nuclei. Blocked BCS calculations were performed to further investigate the spin-parities of the ground states in 160Pm, 161Pm, and 162Pm, and the isomeric state in 162Sm

The population of Zr following the β decay of Y produced in the projectile fission of U at the GSI facility in Darmstadt, Germany has been studied. Y is known to decay into Zr via two states, one of high spin and the other low spin. These states preferentially populate different levels in the Zr daughter. In this paper the intensities of transitions in Zr observed are compared with those from the decay of the low-spin level studied at the TRISTAN facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory and of the high-spin level studied at the JOSEF separator at the Kernforschungsanlage Jülich. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

The energies of the excited states in very neutron-rich Si-42 and P-41,P-43 have been measured using in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy from the fragmentation of secondary beams of S-42,S-44 at 39A MeV. The low 2(+) energy of Si-42, 770(19) keV, together with the level schemes of P-41,P-43, provides evidence for the disappearance of the Z=14 and N=28 spherical shell closures, which is ascribed mainly to the action of proton-neutron tensor forces. New shell model calculations indicate that Si-42 is best described as a well-deformed oblate rotor.

A γ-ray spectrometer with fast-timing capabilities, constructed of LaBr3(Ce:5%) detectors, is under development for use at the future Facility for Anti-proton and Ion Research (FAIR). The physics aims of this device are to measure the half-lives of excited states in the region of ∼50 ps to several ns, in exotic nuclei. Monte-Carlo simulations using the GEANT4 software package have determined the final design of this fast-timing array by calculating the full-energy peak efficiencies of several different detector geometries. The results of the simulated efficiencies for each configuration were used to calculate the timing precision. Consequently, an array of thirty six, ø3.8×5.1 cm cylindrical crystals was found to be the optimum configuration. The detectors were purchased and subsequently characterised, with each detector found to have intrinsic energy and timing resolutions of ∼ 2.8 % (FWHM) and ∼ 210 ps (FWHM) for the 1173 and 1332 keV decays from 60Co. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2013.

The change of the shell structure in atomic nuclei, so-called “nuclear shell evolution”, occurs due to changes of major configurations through particle-hole excitations inside one nucleus, as well as due to variation of the number of constituent protons or neutrons. We have investigated how the shell evolution affects Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions that dominate the β decay in the region below 132Sn using the newly obtained experimental data on a long-lived isomer in 127Ag. The T1/2=67.5(9) ms isomer has been identified with a spin and parity of (27/2+) at an excitation energy of 1942−20+14 keV, and found to decay via an internal transition of an E3 character, which competes with the dominant β-decay branches towards the high-spin states in 127Cd. The underlying mechanism of a strong GT transition from the 127Ag isomer is discussed in terms of configuration-dependent optimization of the effective single-particle energies in the framework of a shell-model approach.

Ever-lasting interest in the structure of 100Sn and neighbouring nuclei is still well justified by the fact that it is the heaviest doubly-magic nucleus with N=Z. State-of-the-art experimental techniques involving stable and radioactive beam facilities have enabled access to these exotic nuclei. In particular, the analysis of experimental data obtained in two DESPEC experiments at GSI Darmstadt extends the information on the shell structure and its evolution towards N = Z = 50, and allows the study of seniority conservation and proton-neutron interaction in the g9/2 orbit. Several theoretical approaches for shell-model investigations are discussed and their predictive power assessed. The calculated systematics of the reduced transition probabilities for high- to medium-spin states in N∼Z isotopes with active g9/2 orbit is presented for the first time.

The reduced transition probability B(E2: 3/2→7/2 ) has been measured in S using Coulomb excitation at intermediate energy. The nucleus of interest was produced by fragmentation of a Ca beam at GANIL. The reaction products were separated in the LISE spectrometer. After Coulomb-excitation of S in a Pb target, the γ rays emitted inflight were detected by 64 BaF detectors of the Chteau de Cristal array. The preliminary value deduced for the reduced transition probability B(E2: 3/2 →7/2 ) is in agreement with the predictions of the shell model calculations and supports a prolate-spherical shape coexistence in the S nucleus.

The DEcay SPECtroscopy (DESPEC) setup for nuclear structure investigations was developed and commissioned at GSI, Germany in preparation for a full campaign of experiments at the FRS and Super-FRS. In this paper, we report on the first employment of the setup in the hybrid configuration with the AIDA implanter coupled to the FATIMA LaBr3(Ce) fast-timing array, and high-purity germanium detectors. Initial results are shown from the first experiments carried out with the setup. An overview of the setup and function is discussed, including technical advancements along the path.

We report the results of an experiment in which we studied the near-yrast states in selenium isotopes approaching N=50 following their population in multinucleon transfer reactions between a Se-82 beam and a Os-192 target. The level schemes for Se-80,Se-82 derived from the current work are compared with restricted-basis shell-model calculations and pair-truncated shell-model calculations. These provide a good description of the yrast sequences in these nuclei using a basis space limited to excitations in the nu(p3/2, p1/2, p1/2) and pi(f5/2, p3/2, p1/2) orbitals.

We report on gamma-ray spectroscopy of low-lying excited states in the neutron-rich Kr-94,Kr-95,Kr-96 isotopes measured as part of the "Shell Evolution And Search for Two-plus energies At RIBF" (SEASTAR) campaign at the RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. Excited yrast and non-yrast states were observed, and half-lives extracted via GEANT4 simulations. In Kr-94,Kr-96 candidates for the 3-1 state were identified. For Kr-95, the prompt SEASTAR data were combined with delayed spectroscopic data measured with the EURICA array to observe transitions on top of the known (7/2)(+) isomer at a level energy of 195.5(3) keV. The comparison of the new experimental results with five-dimensional collective Hamiltonian (5DCH) and mapped interacting boson model (IBM) calculations, both using the Gogny D1M interaction, could suggest oblate-prolate shape coexistence already in Kr-96.

The single closed-neutron-shell, one proton-hole nucleus 207Tl was populated in deep-inelastic collisions of a 208Pb beam with a 208Pb target. The yrast and near-yrast level scheme has been established up to high excitation energy, comprising an octupole phonon state and a large number of core excited states. Based on shell-model calculations, all observed single core excitations were established to arise from the breaking of the N=126 neutron core. While the shell-model calculations correctly predict the ordering of these states, their energies are compressed at high spins. It is concluded that this compression is an intrinsic feature of shell-model calculations using two-body matrix elements developed for the description of two-body states, and that multiple core excitations need to be considered in order to accurately calculate the energy spacings of the predominantly three-quasiparticle states.

A multinucleon transfer reaction between a thin self-supporting 78198Pt target and an 850 MeV 54136X6 beam has been used to populate and study the structure of the N=80 isotone 56136Ba. Making use of time-correlated γ-ray spectroscopy, evidence for an Iπ=(10+) isomeric state has been found with a measured half-life of 91±2 ns. Prompt-delayed correlations have also enabled the tentative measurement of the near-yrast states which lie above the isomer. Shell-model calculations suggest that the isomer has a structure which can be assigned predominantly as (vh 11/2)10+-2. The results are discussed in terms of standard and pair-truncated shell-model calculations, and compared to the even-Z N=80 isotones ranging from 50130Sn to 68148Er. A qualitative explanation of the observed dramatic decrease in the B(E2:10+→8+) value for the N=80 isotones at 136Ba is given in terms of the increasing single-hole energy of the h11/2 neutron configuration as the proton subshell is filled. The angular momentum transfer to the binary fragments in the reaction has also been investigated in terms of the average total γ-ray fold versus the scattering angle of the recoils.

To study the β-decay properties of some well known delayed neutron emitters an experiment was performed in 2009 at the IGISOL facility (University of Jyväskylä in Finland) using Total Absorption -ray Spectroscopy (TAGS) technique. The aim of these measurements is to obtain the full β-strength distribution below the neutron separation energy (Sn) and the γ/neutron competition above. This information is a key parameter in nuclear technology applications as well as in nuclear astrophysics and nuclear structure. Preliminary results of the analysis show a significant γ-branching ratio above Sn. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2014.

The STELLA (STELlar LAboratory) experimental station for the measurement of deep sub-barrier light heavy-ion fusion cross sections has been installed at the Andromède accelerator at the Institut de Physique Nucléaire, Orsay (France). The setup is designed for the direct experimental determination of heavy-ion fusion cross sections as low as tens of picobarn. The detection concept is based on the coincident measurement of emitted gamma rays with the UK FATIMA (FAst TIMing Array) and evaporated charged particles using a silicon detector array. Key developments relevant to reaching the extreme sub-barrier fusion region are a rotating target mechanism to sustain beam intensities above 10μA, an ultra-high vacuum of 10−8 mbar to prevent carbon built-up and gamma charged-particle timing in the order of nanoseconds sufficient to separate proton and alpha particles.

Recent experimental data on the low-lying states in W-190 show a change in the E(4(1)(+))/E(2(1)(+)) behavior compared to less neutron-rich neigbors. Self-consistent axially-deformed Hartree-Fock calculations, using a separable monopole interaction, of nuclei in the vicinity of W-190 are performed to systematically examine the evolution of ground state quadrupole deformations. It is found that the neutron number N=116 causes a coexistence of oblate and prolate shapes, with a weak dependence on proton number, thereby hindering the development of these isotones as well-deformed rotors.

Neutron-rich nuclei in the lead region, beyond N=126, have been studied at the FRS-RISING setup at GSI, exploiting the fragmentation of a primary uranium beam. Two isomeric states have been identified in Hg: the 8 isomer expected from the seniority scheme in the νg shell and a second one at low spin and low excitation energy. The decay strength of the 8 isomer confirms the need of effective three-body forces in the case of neutron-rich lead isotopes. The other unexpected low-lying isomer has been tentatively assigned as a 3 state, although this is in contrast with theoretical expectations. © 2013 Elsevier B.V..

The nuclei below lead but with more than 126 neutrons are crucial to an understanding of the astrophysical r-process in producing nuclei heavier than A ~ 190. Despite their importance, the structure and properties of these nuclei remain experimentally untested as they are difficult to produce in nuclear reactions with stable beams. In a first exploration of the shell structure of this region, neutron excitations in 207Hg have been probed using the neutron-adding (d,p) reaction in inverse kinematics. The radioactive beam of 206Hg was delivered to the new ISOLDE Solenoidal Spectrometer at an energy above the Coulomb barrier. The spectroscopy of 207Hg marks a first step in improving our understanding of the relevant structural properties of nuclei involved in a key part of the path of the r-process.

Contemporary key nuclear physics questions are introduced. The role of radiation detection in the study of exotic nuclei is illustrated with examples related to NuSTAR at the FAIR facility. The discussed detection systems include: Si-tracker for light charged particle detection, the AGATA gamma-ray tracking detector, diamond detectors for heavy ion measurements, the AIDA implantation and decay detector, and the LaBr3(Ce) fast-timing array. Due to technology transfer, applications related to radiation physics are expected to benefit from these developments.

Heavy neutron-rich nuclei were populated via relativistic energy fragmentation of a E/A=1 GeV 208Pb beam. The nuclei of interest were selected and identified by a fragment separator and then implanted in a passive plastic stopper. Delayed rays following internal isomeric decays were detected by the RISING array. Experimental information was obtained on a number of nuclei with Z=73-80 (Ta-Hg), providing new information both on the prolate-oblate transitional region as well as on the N=126 closed shell nuclei.

We report on g-factor measurements of the 19/2+ T1/2=4.5(3) μs isomer in 127Sn and the 10+ T1/2=2.69(23) μs isomer in 128Sn. These isomers were produced and spin-aligned in relativistic heavy-ion fragmentation at GSI and were selected and separated by the GSI fragment separator (FRS). The γ-rays of the isomeric decay were detected by the RISING γ-ray spectrometer. The method of time-differential perturbed angular distributions was utilized. The measured g-factors, g(19/2+; 127Sn)=− 0.17(2) and g(10+; 128Sn)=− 0.20(4), are compared with shell model calculations. The measured g-factors confirm the predominantly νh11/2− 2 and ν(s1/2− 1h11/2−2) character of the 10+ and 19/2− isomers in 128Sn and 127Sn, respectively. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the method for similar measurements in exotic neutron-rich nuclei.

Preliminary results of the data analysis of the beta decay of 94Rb using a novel - segmented- total absorption spectrometer are shown in this contribution. This result is part of a systematic study of important contributors to the decay heat problem in nuclear reactors. In this particular case the goal is to determine the beta intensity distribution below the neutron separation energy and the gamma/beta competition above. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

We report on the first measurement of the half-lives of and four-quasiparticle states in the even-even nucleus 178W. The sub-nanosecond half-lives were measured by applying the centroid shift method to data taken with LaBr3(Ce) scintillator detectors of the NuBall array at the ALTO facility in Orsay, France. The half-lives of these states only became experimentally accessible by the combination of several experimental techniques - scintillator fast timing, isomer spectroscopy with a pulsed beam, and the event-by-event calorimetry information provided by the NuBall array. The measured half-lives are and for the and states, respectively. The decay transitions include weakly hindered E1 and E2 branches directly to the ground-state band, bypassing the two-quasiparticle states. This is the first such observation for an E1 transition. The interpretation of the small hindrance hinges on mixing between the ground-state band and the t-band.

This contribution summarizes an experiment performed at GSI (Germany) in the neutron-rich region beyond N=126. The aim of this measurement is to provide the nuclear physics input of relevance for r-process model calculations, aiming at a better understanding of the third r-process abundance peak. Many exotic nuclei were measured around 211Hg and 215Tl. Final ion identification diagrams are given in this contribution. For most of them, we expect to derive halflives and and β-delayed neutron emission probabilities. The detectors used in this experiment were the Silicon IMplantation and Beta Absorber (SIMBA) detector, based on an array of highly segmented silicon detectors, and the BEta deLayEd Neutron (BELEN) detector, which consisted of 30 3He counters embedded in a polyethylene matrix. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Neutron-rich 88,90,92,94Se isotopes were studied via in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy after production from nucleon removal at intermediate energies at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. γ-γ coincidence analysis allowed to establish level schemes for the first time in these nuclei, including the 2+ 1 → 0 + gs, 4+ 1 → 2 + 1 transitions and their energy ratio R4/2. Low-lying 2+ 2 levels and their branching to the 2+ 1 and 0+ gs states were observed. The experimental results are in good agreement with self-consistent beyond-mean-field calculations based on the Gogny D1S interaction, suggesting ground state shape transition from oblate to prolate then back to oblate between N = 52 − 60 and indicating shape coexistence.

The spins and parities of low-lying states in 72 Br populated in the beta decay of 72 Kr have been 14 studied via conversion electron spectroscopy. The measurements were carried out at ISOLDE using 15 a mini-orange spectrometer with Si(Li) and HPGe detectors for electrons and γ-rays detection. 16 Results of the conversion coefficients corresponding to transitions de-exciting 12 levels in 72 Br are 17 reported. The multipolarities of the transitions are deduced and the spins and parities of the levels 18 involved are discussed. From the multipolarities of the most intense transitions to the ground state, 19 the spin and parity of the 72 Br ground state have been definitely established as 1 +. The spin of 20 the 101.2-keV isomeric state is determined to be 3 −. The level scheme is compared with mean-field 21 and shell-model calculations and oblate deformation for the 72 Br ground state is deduced. No E0 22 transitions have been found in 72 Br. E0 transitions in the neighbouring isobaric nuclei, 72 Se and 23 72 Ge, have also been studied. 24

The structure of C-17-20(6) nuclei was investigated by means of the in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy technique using fragmentation reactions of radioactive beams. Based on particle-gamma and particle-gamma gamma coincidence data, level schemes are constructed for the neutron-rich C17-20 nuclei. The systematics of the first excited 2(+) states in the carbon isotopes is extended for the first time to A = 20 showing that in contrast to the case of the oxygen isotopes, the N = 14 subshell closure disappears. Experimental results are compared with shell-model calculations. Agreement between them is found only if a reduced neutron-neutron effective interaction is used. Implications of this reduced interaction in some properties of weakly bound neutron-rich Carbon are discussed.

The neutron-rich dysprosium isotopes ¹⁶⁸Dy₁₀₂ and ¹⁶⁹Dy₁₀₃ have been investigated using the EURICA γ-ray spectrometer, following production via in-flight fission of a high-intensity uranium beam in conjunction with isotope separation through the BigRIPS separator at RIBF in RIKEN Nishina Center. For ¹⁶⁸Dy, a previously unreported isomer with a half-life of 0.57(7) μs has been identified at an excitation energy of 1378 keV, and its presence affirmed independently using γ-γ-γ coincidence data taken with Gammasphere via two-proton transfer from an enriched ¹⁷⁰Er target performed at Argonne National Laboratory. This isomer is assigned Jπ = Kπ = (4⁻) based on the measured transition strengths, decay patterns, and the energy systematics for two-quasiparticle states in N = 102 isotones. The underlying mechanism of two-quasiparticle excitations in the doubly midshell region is discussed in comparison with the deformed QRPA and multi-quasiparticle calculations. In ¹⁶⁹Dy, the B(E2) value for the transition de-exciting the previously unreported Kπ = (1/2⁻) isomeric state at 166 keV to the Kπ = (5/2⁻) ground state is approximately two orders of magnitude larger than the E2 strength for the corresponding isomeric-decay transition in the N = 103 isotone ¹⁷³Yb, suggesting the presence of a significant γ-vibrational admixture with a dominant neutron one-quasiparticle component in the isomeric state.

Beta-decay spectroscopy of the 187 Ta ground state was performed at KISS. β-delayed γ-rays corresponding to the previously reported in-beam transitions were observed. The β-decay half-life of the 187 Ta ground state was determined to be 283(10) s by analyzing a time spectrum of β-γ coincidence events. The β-decay branching ratio and log(f t) values were evaluated for the first time. Based on the newly evaluated log(f t) values of > 6.0 and a decay scheme, spin-parity values of I π = 7/2 + originating from the odd-proton orbit π7/2[404] were assigned with high confidence, which is consistent with the systematics of neighboring odd-A nuclides.

The β-decay half-lives of 38 neutron-rich isotopes from 36Kr to 43Tc have been measured; the half-lives of 100Kr, 103–105Sr, 106–108Y, 108–110Zr, 111,112Nb, 112–115Mo, and 116,117Tc are reported here. The results when compared with previous standard models indicate an overestimation in the predicted half-lives by a factor of 2 or more in the A≈110 region. A revised model based on the second generation gross theory of β decay better predicts the measured half-lives and suggests a more rapid flow of the rapid neutron-capture process (r-matter flow) through this region than previously predicted.

The Rare-RI Ring (R3) is a recently commissioned cyclotron-like storage ring mass spectrometer dedicated to mass measurements of exotic nuclei far from stability at Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF) in RIKEN. The first application of mass measurement using the R3 mass spectrometer at RIBF is reported. Rare isotopes produced at RIBF, 127Sn, 126In, 125Cd, 124Ag, 123Pd, were injected in R3. Masses of 126In, 125Cd, and 123Pd were measured whereby the mass uncertainty of 123Pd was improved. This is the first reported measurement with a new storage ring mass spectrometery technique realized at a heavy-ion cyclotron and employing individual injection of the pre-identified rare nuclei. The latter is essential for the future mass measurements of the rarest isotopes produced at RIBF. The impact of the new 123Pd result on the solar r-process abundances in a neutron star merger event is investigated by performing reaction network calculations of 20 trajectories with varying electron fraction Ye. It is found that the neutron capture cross section on 123Pd increases by a factor of 2.2 and β-delayed neutron emission probability, P1n, of 123Rh increases by 14\%. The neutron capture cross section on 122Pd decreases by a factor of 2.6 leading to pileup of material at A=122, thus reproducing the trend of the solar r-process abundances. The trend of the two-neutron separation energies (S2n) was investigated for the Pd isotopic chain. The new mass measurement with improved uncertainty excludes large changes of the S2n value at N=77. Such large increase of the S2n values before N=82 was proposed as an alternative to the quenching of the N=82 shell gap to reproduce r-process abundances in the mass region of A=112-124.

Understanding the β-decay properties of fission products is very important for nuclear reactor monitoring & safety. Indeed, the β-decay of fission products is a source of power during nuclear reactor operation and after, this activity is the main contributor to the decay-heat representing ∼7-8% of a reactor nominal power. β-decay is also at the origin of the antineutrinos coming from nuclear reactor. The study of antineutrinos is mandatory for nuclear safeguard policies based on antineutrino detection. But there are still some discrepancies in the calculation of the decay-heat and antineutrino spectra. One reason of the distortions observed seems to be linked to the Pandemonium effect. In order to improve the accuracy in the prediction of these quantities, new measurements of fission products β-decay properties, not sensitive to this effect, have been performed with a Total Absorption spectrometer (TAS). An overview of the TAS technique and first results from the latest experiment will be presented. © 2013 IEEE.

New physics opportunities are opening up by the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array, AGATA,as it evolves to the full 4 instrument. AGATA is a high-resolution -ray spectrometer, solely built from highly segmented high-purity Ge detectors, capable of measuring rays from a few tens of keV to beyond 10 MeV, with unprecedented effciency, excellent position resolution for individual -ray interactions, and very high count-rate capability. As a travelling detector AGATA will be employed at all major current and near-future European research facilities delivering stable and radioactive ion beams.

The components, working principle and characteristics of FATIMA (FAst TIMing Array), a fast-timing detector system for DESPEC at FAIR, are described. The core system includes 36 LaBr3(Ce) scintillator detectors, a mounting frame for the DESPEC station and a VME-based fast-timing data acquisition system. The current electronic timing circuit is based on V812 constant fraction discriminators and V1290 time-to-digital converters. Gamma-ray energies are measured using V1751 digitisers. Characteristics of the core FATIMA system including efficiency, energy, and coincidence resolving time, as well as limitations, are discussed on the basis of test measurements performed in the S4 cave at GSI, Germany. The coincidence γ-γ time resolution for the prompt 60Co cascade is determined to be ~320 ps full width at half maximum. The total full energy peak efficiency at 1 MeV for the 36 detector array in the DESPEC setup is 2.9%. The energy-dependent prompt response centroid curve with the current CFD/TDC combination is shown to be smooth; the centroid shift method can be applied for the measurement of half-lives below 200 ps. An overview of applications of the FATIMA detectors as an ancilliary system in combination with other detector arrays during recent years is given. Data on the operation of the detectors in the presence of magnetic fields are presented.

We report on a gamma-ray coincidence analysis using a mixed array of hyperpure germanium and cerium-doped lanthanum tri-bromide (LaBr(3):Ce) scintillation detectors to study nuclear electromagnetic transition rates in the pico-to-nanosecond time regime in (33,34)P and (33)S following fusion-evaporation reactions between an (18)O beam and an isotopically enriched (18)O implanted tantalum target. Energies from decay gamma-rays associated with the reaction residues were measured in event-by-event coincidence mode, with the measured time difference information between the pairs of gamma-rays in each event also recorded using the ultra-fast coincidence timing technique. The experiment used the good full-energy peak resolution of the LaBr(3):Ce detectors coupled with their excellent timing responses in order to determine the excited state lifetime associated with the lowest lying, cross-shell, I(π)=4(-) "intruder" state previously reported in the N=19 isotone (34)P. The extracted lifetime is consistent with a mainly single-particle M2 multipolarity associated with a f(7/2)→d(5/2) single particle transition.

We investigate the decay of 87,88Br and 94Rb using total absorption γ -ray spectroscopy. These important fission products are β-delayed neutron emitters. Our data show considerable βγ intensity, so far unobserved in high-resolution γ -ray spectroscopy, from states at high excitation energy. We also find significant differences with the β intensity that can be deduced from existing measurements of the β spectrum. We evaluate the impact of the present data on reactor decay heat using summation calculations. Although the effect is relatively small it helps to reduce the discrepancy between calculations and integral measurements of the photon component for 235U fission at cooling times in the range 1–100 s. We also use summation calculations to evaluate the impact of present data on reactor antineutrino spectra. We find a significant effect at antineutrino energies in the range of 5 to 9 MeV. In addition, we observe an unexpected strong probability for γ emission from neutron unbound states populated in the daughter nucleus. The γ branching is compared to Hauser-Feshbach calculations, which allow one to explain the large value for bromine isotopes as due to nuclear structure. However the branching for 94Rb, although much smaller, hints of the need to increase the radiative width γ by one order of magnitude. This increase in γ would lead to a similar increase in the calculated (n,γ ) cross section for this very neutron-rich nucleus with a potential impact on r process abundance calculations.

The Fe54 nucleus was populated from a Fe56 beam impinging on a Be target with an energy of E/A=500  MeV. The internal decay via γ-ray emission of the 10+ metastable state was observed. As the structure of this isomeric state has to involve at least four unpaired nucleons, it cannot be populated in a simple two-neutron removal reaction from the Fe56 ground state. The isomeric state was produced in the low-momentum (-energy) tail of the parallel momentum (energy) distribution of Fe54, suggesting that it was populated via the decay of the Δ0 resonance into a proton. This process allows the population of four-nucleon states, such as the observed isomer. Therefore, it is concluded that the observation of this 10+ metastable state in Fe54 is a consequence of the quark structure of the nucleons.

Background: Neutron-rich nuclei with mass number between 100 and 110 attract much attention, since several kinds of shapes, such as spherical, prolate, oblate, and triaxial shapes, are predicted. In particular, for neutron-rich Mo isotopes, different models predict different magnitudes and rigidity of triaxial deformation. Previous interpretations of experimental results based solely on low-lying 2+2 states are insufficient to distinguish between the rigid triaxial shape, γ vibration, or γ -soft rotor. Purpose: The shape evolution of 106Mo, 108Mo, and 110Mo is investigated through their 2+1-state lifetimes, decay-branching ratios of the 2+2 state, and energies of the low-lying collective excited states with Kπ = 0+, 2+, and 4+. Method: β -delayed γ -ray spectroscopy was employed for neutron-rich Nb and Zr isotopes produced at the RIKEN RI Beam Factory to populate excited states in 106Mo , 108Mo , and 110Mo . The EUroball-RIKEN Cluster Array was used for high-resolution γ -ray detection and lifetimes of the 2+1 states were determined using the UK fast-timing array of LaBr3(Ce) detectors. Results: New γ -ray transitions and levels are reported, including newly assigned 0+2 states in 108,110Mo . Quadrupole deformations were obtained for 106,108,110Mo from their 2+1 energies and lifetimes. The β -delayed neutron-emission probabilities of 108 Nb and 110 Nb were determined by examining the γ rays of their respective daughter decays. Conclusions: The even-odd energy staggering in the 2+2 band was compared with typical patterns of the γ -vibrational band, rigid triaxial rotor, and γ -soft rotor. The very small even-odd staggering of 106 Mo, 108Mo, and 110Mo favors a γ -vibrational band assignment. The kinematic moment of inertia for the 2+2 band showed a trend similar to the ground-state band, which is as expected for the γ -vibrational band. Beyond-mean-field calculations employing the constrained Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov and local quasiparticle-random-phase approximation method using the SLy 5 + T interaction reproduced the ground and 2+2 bands in 106Mo and 108Mo . The collective wave functions are consistent with the interpretation of the 2+2 band as the γ -vibrational band of the prolate shape. However, the staggering pattern observed in 110Mo differs from the one suggested in the calculations which predict a γ -soft rotor. There was no experimental indication of the oblate shape or the γ -soft rotor predicted in these Mo isotopes.

The study of β-delayed neutron emission plays a major role in different fields such as nuclear technology, nuclear astrophysics and nuclear structure. However the quality of the existing experimental data nowadays is not sufficient for the various technical and scientific applications and new high precision measurements are necessary to improve the data bases. One key aspect to the success of these high precission measurements is the use of a very pure ion beam that ensures that only the ion of interest is produced. The combination of the IGISOL mass separator with the JYFLTRAP Penning trap is an excellent tool for this type of measurement because of the ability to deliver isobarically and even isomerically clean beams. Another key feature of the installation is the non-chemical selectivity of the IGISOL ion source which allows measurements in the important region of refractory elements. This paper summarises the β-delayed neutron emission studies that have been carried out at the IGISOL facility with two different neutron detectors based on He counters in a polyethylene moderator: the Mainz neutron detector and the BEta deLayEd Neutron detector. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

One of the most successful descriptions of the structure of atomic nuclei is the spherical shell model. It, however, becomes impractical when moving away from closed-shell nuclei. Instead, it is the interplay between the macroscopic shape degrees of freedom and the microscopic nature of the underlying single-particle structure in a deformed basis that determines the nuclear structure. Being the heaviest nucleus precisely in the middle of, known, closed proton and neutron shells, 170Dy has become a central calibration point for tests of collective models of nuclear physics. However, besides one candidate transition from a previous experiment in Legnaro, Italy, no experimental information is available for this nucleus. Using the EURICA setup at RIKEN, which couples the worlds highest intensity in-flight fission facility with a high-efficiency HPGe array, an experiment in November 2014 produced 170Dy nuclei by in-flight fission of a 238U beam. The results from this experiment provide a wealth of information on this elusive nucleus, including the evolution of quadrupole collectivity, rigidity and higher order deformations, as well as the long sought for isomeric K = 6+ state, predicted to be exceptionally pure at mid-shell. These results provide us with a rich level scheme for discussing both single-particle and collective structures at mid-shell.

A detailed study of the structure of the doubly mid-shell nucleus View the MathML source has been carried out, following isomeric and β decay. We have measured the yrast band up to the spin-parity Jπ=6+ state, the K=2γ -vibration band up to the 5+ state, a low-lying negative-parity band based on a 2− state that could be a candidate for the lowest energy octupole vibration state within this nucleus, and a candidate for the Kπ=6+ two quasi-particle isomer. This state was determined to have an excitation energy of 1643.91(23) keV and a half life of 0.99(4) μs, with a reduced hindrance for its decay to the ground-state band an order of magnitude lower than predicted by NpNn systematics. This is interpreted as being due to γ -vibrational mixing from a near degeneracy of the isomer and the 6+ state of the γ band. Furthermore, the parent nucleus 170Tb has been determined to have a half-life of View the MathML source s with a possible spin-parity of 2−.

The electromagnetic decay properties of high-spin states in Mn-52 have been studied through various experiments with the GASP and EUROBALL arrays plus the ISIS light charged-particle detector and the Neutron Wall. From gamma-gamma particles coincidence measurements, spins, and parities of these states and branching ratios of their decay gamma rays have been determined. Using the Doppler-shift attenuation method the mean life of some states have been established. These results are compared with large-scale shell-model calculations in the full fp shell.

Isomeric states in isotopes in the vicinity of doubly-magic 208Pb were populated following reactions of a relativistic 208Pb primary beam impinging on a 9Be fragmentation target. Secondary beams of 198;200;202;206Pb and 206Hg were isotopically separated and implanted in a passive stopper positioned in the focal plane of the GSI Fragment Separator. Delayed γ rays were detected with the Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA). Decay schemes were re-evaluated and interpreted with shell-model calculations. The momentum-dependent population of isomeric states in the two-nucleon hole nuclei 206Pb/206Hg was found to differ from the population of multi neutron-hole isomeric states in 198;200;202Pb.

Evidence has been obtained for the existence of the long predicted 16 spin-gap isomer in Cd. The decay of the isomer was identified and studied following the use of an 850 MeV/u beam of Xe impinging on a Be target and the fragment recoil separator at the GSI Laboratory. Gamma decays from the fragments were detected using the RISING gamma ray array, in its stopped beam configuration, plus a silicon active stopper. The data obtained have been compared with shell model predictions, which indicate that the isoscalar neutron-proton interaction plays a key role in the formation of the isomer. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.