arXiv subjects

A. Gade

Publications and source records attributed to A. Gade.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Mass Measurements Demonstrate a Strong N =28 Shell Gap in Argon

We present results from recent time-of-flight nuclear mass measurements at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. We report the first mass measurements of 48Ar and 49Ar and find atomic mass excesses of -22.28(31) MeV and -17.8(1.1) MeV, respectively. These masses provide strong evidence for the closed shell nature of neutron number N=28 in argon, which is therefore the lowest even-Z element exhibiting the N=28 closed shell. The resulting trend in binding-energy differences, which probes the strength of the N=28 shell, compares favorably with shellmodel calculations in the sd-pf shell using SDPF-U and SDPF-MU Hamiltonians.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2015

Mass measurement of 56Sc reveals a small A=56 odd-even mass staggering, implying a cooler accreted neutron star crust

We present the mass excesses of 52-57Sc, obtained from recent time-of-flight nuclear mass measurements at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. The masses of 56Sc and 57Sc were determined for the first time with atomic mass excesses of -24.85(59)(+0 -54) MeV and -21.0(1.3) MeV, respectively, where the asymmetric uncertainty for 56Sc was included due to possible contamination from a long-lived isomer. The 56Sc mass indicates a small odd-even mass staggering in the A = 56 mass-chain towards the neutron drip line, significantly deviating from trends predicted by the global FRDM mass model and favoring trends predicted by the UNEDF0 and UNEDF1 density functional calculations. Together with new shell-model calculations of the electron-capture strength function of 56Sc, our results strongly reduce uncertainties in model calculations of the heating and cooling at the 56Ti electron-capture layer in the outer crust of accreting neutron stars. We found that, in contrast to previous studies, neither strong neutrino cooling nor strong heating occurs in this layer. We conclude that Urca cooling in the outer crusts of accreting neutron stars that exhibit superbursts or high temperature steady-state burning, which are predicted to be rich in A=56 nuclei, is considerably weaker than predicted. Urca cooling must instead be dominated by electron capture on the small amounts of adjacent odd-A nuclei contained in the superburst and high temperature steady-state burning ashes. This may explain the absence of strong crust Urca cooling inferred from the observed cooling light curve of the transiently accreting x-ray source MAXI J0556-332.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2015

Recent direct reaction experimental studies with radioactive tin beams

Direct reaction techniques are powerful tools to study the single-particle nature of nuclei. Performing direct reactions on short-lived nuclei requires radioactive ion beams produced either via fragmentation or the Isotope Separation OnLine (ISOL) method. Some of the most interesting regions to study with direct reactions are close to the magic numbers where changes in shell structure can be tracked. These changes can impact the final abundances of explosive nucleosynthesis. The structure of the chain of tin isotopes is strongly influenced by the Z=50 proton shell closure, as well as the neutron shell closures lying in the neutron-rich, N=82, and neutron-deficient, N=50, regions. Here we present two examples of direct reactions on exotic tin isotopes. The first uses a one-neutron transfer reaction and a low-energy reaccelerated ISOL beam to study states in 131Sn from across the N=82 shell closure. The second example utilizes a one-neutron knockout reaction on fragmentation beams of neutron-deficient 106,108Sn. In both cases, measurements of gamma rays in coincidence with charged particles proved to be invaluable.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2015

The role of the g9/2 orbital in the development of collectivity in the A = 60 region: The case of 61Co

An extensive study of the level structure of 61Co has been performed following the complex 26Mg(48Ca, 2a4npg)61Co reaction at beam energies of 275, 290 and 320 MeV using Gammasphere and the Fragment Mass Analyzer (FMA). The low-spin structure is discussed within the framework of shell-model calculations using the GXPF1A effective interaction. Two quasi-rotational bands consisting of stretched-E2 transitions have been established up to spins I = 41/2 and (43/2), and excitation energies of 17 and 20 MeV, respectively. These are interpreted as signature partners built on a neutron ν(g9/2)2 configuration coupled to a proton πp3/2 state, based on Cranked Shell Model (CSM) calculations and comparisons with observations in neighboring nuclei. In addition, four I = 1 bands were populated to high spin, with the yrast dipole band interpreted as a possible candidate for the shears mechanism, a process seldom observed thus far in this mass region.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2015

Neutron single-particle strength in silicon isotopes: Constraining the driving forces of shell evolution

Shell evolution is studied in the neutron-rich silicon isotopes 36,38,40 Si using neutron single-particle strengths deduced from one-neutron knockout reactions. Configurations involving neutron excita- tions across the N = 20 and N = 28 shell gaps are quantified experimentally in these rare isotopes. Comparisons with shell model calculations show that the tensor force, understood to drive the col- lective behavior in 42 Si with N = 28, is already important in determining the structure of 40 Si with N = 26. New data relating to cross-shell excitations provide the first quantitative support for repulsive contributions to the cross-shell T = 1 interaction arising from three-nucleon forces.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2015

Spectroscopy of $^{28}$Na: shell evolution toward the drip line

Excited states in $^{28}$Na have been studied using the $β$-decay of implanted $^{28}$Ne ions at GANIL/LISE as well as the in-beam $γ$-ray spectroscopy at the NSCL/S800 facility. New states of positive (J$^π$=3,4$^+$) and negative (J$^π$=1-5$^-$) parity are proposed. The former arise from the coupling between 0d$\_{5/2}$ protons and a 0d$\_{3/2}$ neutron, while the latter are due to couplings with 1p$\_{3/2}$ or 0f$\_{7/2}$ neutrons. While the relative energies between the J$^π$=1-4$^+$ states are well reproduced with the USDA interaction in the N=17 isotones, a progressive shift in the ground state binding energy (by about 500 keV) is observed between $^{26}$F and $^{30}$Al. This points to a possible change in the proton-neutron 0d$\_{5/2}$-0d$\_{3/2}$ effective interaction when moving from stability to the drip line. The presence of J$^π$=1-4$^-$ negative parity states around 1.5 MeV as well as of a candidate for a J$^π$=5$^-$ state around 2.5 MeV give further support to the collapse of the N=20 gap and to the inversion between the 0f$\_{7/2}$ and 1p$\_{3/2}$ levels below Z=12. These features are discussed in the framework of Shell Model and EDF calculations, leading to predicted negative parity states in the low energy spectra of the $^{26}$F and $^{25}$O nuclei.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2014

Elastic breakup cross sections of well-bound nucleons

The 9Be(28Mg,27Na) one-proton removal reaction with a large proton separation energy of Sp(28Mg)=16.79 MeV is studied at intermediate beam energy. Coincidences of the bound 27Na residues with protons and other light charged particles are measured. These data are analyzed to determine the percentage contributions to the proton removal cross section from the elastic and inelastic nucleon removal mechanisms. These deduced contributions are compared with the eikonal reaction model predictions and with the previously measured data for reactions involving the re- moval of more weakly-bound protons from lighter nuclei. The role of transitions of the proton between different bound single-particle configurations upon the elastic breakup cross section is also quantified in this well-bound case. The measured and calculated elastic breakup fractions are found to be in good agreement.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2014

Systematics of intermediate-energy single-nucleon removal cross sections

There is now a large and increasing body of experimental data and theoretical analyses for reactions that remove a single nucleon from an intermediate-energy beam of neutron- or proton-rich nuclei. In each such measurement, one obtains the inclusive cross section for the population of all bound final states of the mass A-1 reaction residue. These data, from different regions of the nuclear chart, and that involve weakly- and strongly-bound nucleons, are compared with theoretical expectations. These calculations include an approximate treatment of the reaction dynamics and shell-model descriptions of the projectile initial state, the bound final states of the residues, and the single-particle strengths computed from their overlap functions. The results are discussed in the light of recent data, more exclusive tests of the eikonal dynamical description, and calculations that take input from more microscopic nuclear structure models.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2014

Inverse-kinematics proton scattering on $^{50}$Ca: Determining effective charges using complementary probes

We have performed measurements of the $0_\mathrm{g.s.}^+ \rightarrow 2_1^+$ excitations in the neutron-rich isotopes $^{48,50}$Ca via inelastic proton scattering on a liquid hydrogen target, using the GRETINA $γ$-ray tracking array. A comparison of the present results with those from previous measurements of the lifetimes of the $2_1^+$ states provides us the ratio of the neutron and proton matrix elements for the $0_\mathrm{g.s.}^+ \rightarrow 2_1^+$ transitions. These results allow the determination of the ratio of the proton and neutron effective charges to be used in shell model calculations of neutron-rich isotopes in the vicinity of $^{48}$Ca.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2014

Nuclear Structure Towards N=40 60Ca: In-beam gamma-ray Spectroscopy of 58,60Ti

Excited states in the neutron-rich N=38,36 nuclei \nuc{60}{Ti} and \nuc{58}{Ti} were populated in nucleon-removal reactions from \nuc{61}{V} projectiles at 90~MeV/nucleon. The γ-ray transitions from such states in these Ti isotopes were detected with the advanced γ-ray tracking array GRETINA and were corrected event-by-event for large Doppler shifts (v/c \sim 0.4) using the γ-ray interaction points deduced from online signal decomposition. The new data indicate that a steep decrease in quadrupole collectivity occurs when moving from neutron-rich N=36,38 Fe and Cr toward the Ti and Ca isotones. In fact, \nuc{58,60}{Ti} provide some of the most neutron-rich benchmarks accessible today for calculations attempting to determine the structure of the potentially doubly-magic nucleus \nuc{60}{Ca}.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2013

Determining the 7Li(n,gamma) cross section via Coulomb dissociation of 8Li

The applicability of Coulomb dissociation reactions to determine the cross section for the inverse neutron capture reaction was explored using the reaction 8Li(gamma,n)7Li. A 69.5 MeV/nucleon 8Li beam was incident on a Pb target, and the outgoing neutron and 7Li nucleus were measured in coincidence. The deduced (n,gamma) excitation function is consistent with data for the direct capture reaction 7Li(n,gamma)8Li and with low-energy effective field theory calculations.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2013

Quadrupole collectivity in neutron-deficient Sn nuclei: \nuc{104}{Sn} and the role of proton excitations

We report on the experimental study of quadrupole collectivity in the neutron-deficient nucleus \nuc{104}{Sn} using intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation. The $B(E2; 0^+_1 \rightarrow 2^+_1)$ value for the excitation of the first $2^+$ state in \nuc{104}{Sn} has been measured to be $0.180(37)~e^2$b$^2$ relative to the well-known $B(E2)$ value of \nuc{102}{Cd}. This result disagrees by more than one sigma with a recently published measurement \cite{Gua13}. Our result indicates that the most modern many-body calculations remain unable to describe the enhanced collectivity below mid-shell in Sn approaching $N=Z=50$. We attribute the enhanced collectivity to proton particle-hole configurations beyond the necessarily limited shell-model spaces and suggest the asymmetry of the $B(E2)$-value trend around mid-shell to originate from enhanced proton excitations across $Z=50$ as $N=Z$ is approached.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2013

Mirror Energy Differences at Large Isospin Studied through Direct Two-Nucleon Knockout

The first spectroscopy of excited states in 52Ni (Tz=2) and 51Co (Tz=-3/2) has been obtained using the highly selective two-neutron knockout reaction. Mirror energy differences between isobaric analogue states in these nuclei and their mirror partners are interpreted in terms of isospin nonconserving effects. A comparison between large scale shell-model calculations and data provides the most compelling evidence to date that both electromagnetic and an additional isospin nonconserving interactions for J=2 couplings, of unknown origin, are required to obtain good agreement.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2013

Production cross sections from 82Se fragmentation as indications of shell effects in neutron-rich isotopes close to the drip-line

Production cross sections for neutron-rich nuclei from the fragmentation of a 82Se beam at 139 MeV/u were measured. The longitudinal momentum distributions of 126 neutron-rich isotopes of elements 11 <= Z <= 32 were scanned using an experimental approach of varying the target thickness. Production cross sections with beryllium and tungsten targets were determined for a large number of nuclei including several isotopes first observed in this work. These are the most neutron-rich nuclides of the elements 22 <= Z <= 25 (64Ti, 67V, 69Cr, 72Mn). One event was registered consistent with 70Cr, and another one with 75Fe. The production cross sections are correlated with Qg systematics to reveal trends in the data. The results presented here confirm our previous result from a similar measurement using a 76Ge beam, and can be explained with a shell model that predicts a subshell closure at N = 34 around Z = 20. This is demonstrated by systematic trends and calculations with the Abrasion-Ablation model that are sensitive to separation energies.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2013

First observation of $^{13}$Li ground state

The ground state of neutron-rich unbound $^{13}$Li was observed for the first time in a one-proton removal reaction from $^{14}$Be at a beam energy of 53.6 MeV/u. The $^{13}$Li ground state was reconstructed from $^{11}$Li and two neutrons giving a resonance energy of 120$^{+60}_{-80}$ keV. All events involving single and double neutron interactions in the Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) were analyzed, simulated, and fitted self-consistently. The three-body ($^{11}$Li+$n+n$) correlations within Jacobi coordinates showed strong dineutron characteristics. The decay energy spectrum of the intermediate $^{12}$Li system ($^{11}$Li+$n$) was described with an s-wave scattering length of greater than -4 fm, which is a smaller absolute value than reported in a previous measurement.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2012

Correlations in intermediate-energy two-proton removal reactions

We report final-state-exclusive measurements of the light charged fragments in coincidence with 26Ne residual nuclei following the direct two-proton removal from a neutron-rich 28Mg secondary beam. A Dalitz-plot analysis and comparisons with simulations show that a majority of the triple- coincidence events with two protons display phase-space correlations consistent with the (two-body) kinematics of a spatially-correlated pair-removal mechanism. The fraction of such correlated events, 56(12) %, is consistent with the fraction of the calculated cross section, 64 %, arising from spin S = 0 two-proton configurations in the entrance-channel (shell-model) 28Mg ground state wave function. This result promises access to an additional and more specific probe of the spin and spatial correlations of valence nucleon pairs in exotic nuclei produced as fast secondary beams.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2012

Production cross sections of neutron rich isotopes from a 82Se beam

Production cross sections for neutron-rich nuclei from the fragmentation of a 82Se beam at 139 MeV/u were measured. The longitudinal momentum distributions of 122 neutron-rich isotopes of elements $11 \le Z \le 32$ were determined by varying the target thickness. Production cross sections with beryllium and tungsten targets were determined for a large number of nuclei including several isotopes first observed in this work. These are the most neutron-rich nuclides of the elements $22 \le Z \le 25$ (64Ti, 67V, 69Cr, 72Mn). One event was registered consistent with 70Cr, and another one with 75Fe. A one-body Qg systematics is used to describe the production cross sections based on thermal evaporation from excited prefragments. The current results confirm those of our previous experiment with a 76Ge beam: enhanced production cross sections for neutron-rich fragments near Z=20.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2012

Beta-delayed proton emission in the 100Sn region

Beta-delayed proton emission from nuclides in the neighborhood of 100Sn was studied at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The nuclei were produced by fragmentation of a 120 MeV/nucleon 112Sn primary beam on a Be target. Beam purification was provided by the A1900 Fragment Separator and the Radio Frequency Fragment Separator. The fragments of interest were identified and their decay was studied with the NSCL Beta Counting System (BCS) in conjunction with the Segmented Germanium Array (SeGA). The nuclei 96Cd, 98Ing, 98Inm and 99In were identified as beta-delayed proton emitters, with branching ratios bp = 5.5(40)%, 5.5+3 -2%, 19(2)% and 0.9(4)%, respectively. The bp for 89Ru, 91,92Rh, 93Pd and 95Ag were deduced for the first time with bp = 3+1.9 -1.7%, 1.3(5)%, 1.9(1)%, 7.5(5)% and 2.5(3)%, respectively. The bp = 22(1)% for 101Sn was deduced with higher precision than previously reported. The impact of the newly measured bp values on the composition of the type-I X-ray burst ashes was studied.

nucl-ex↗