arXiv subjects

C. Dickerson

Publications and source records attributed to C. Dickerson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

Study of $\boldsymbol{(α,p)}$ and $\boldsymbol{(α,n)}$ reactions with a Multi-Sampling Ionization Chamber

A large number of $(α,p)$ and $(α,n)$ reactions are known to play a fundamental role in nuclear astrophysics. This work presents a novel technique to study these reactions with the active target system MUSIC whose segmented anode allows the investigation of a large energy range of the excitation function with a single beam energy. In order to verify the method, we performed a direct measurements of the previously measured reactions $^{17}$O$(α,n)^{20}$Ne, $^{23}$Na$(α,p)^{26}$Mg, and $^{23}$Na$(α,n)^{26}$Al. These reactions were investigated in inverse kinematics using $^{4}$He gas in the detector to study the excitation function in the range of about 2 to 6 MeV in the center of mass. We found good agreement between the cross sections of the $^{17}$O$(α,n)^{20}$Ne reaction measured in this work and previous measurements. Furthermore we have successfully performed a simultaneous measurement of the $^{23}$Na$(α,p)^{26}$Mg and $^{23}$Na$(α,n)^{26}$Al reactions.

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arXiv2016

Study of the astrophysically important $\boldsymbol{^{23}\mathrm{Na}(α,p)^{26}\mathrm{Mg}}$ and $\boldsymbol{^{23}\mathrm{Na}(α,n)^{26}\mathrm{Al}}$ reactions

The $^{23}$Na$(α,p)^{26}$Mg and $^{23}$Na$(α,n)^{26}$Al reactions are important for our understanding of the $^{26}$Al abundance in massive stars. The aim of this work is to report on a direct and simultaneous measurement of these astrophysically important reactions using an active target system. The reactions were investigated in inverse kinematics using $^{4}$He as the active target gas in the detector. We measured the excitation functions in the energy range of about 2 to 6 MeV in the center of mass. We have found that the cross sections of the $^{23}$Na$(α,p)^{26}$Mg and the $^{23}$Na$(α,n)^{26}$Al reactions are in good agreement with previous experiments, and with statistical model calculations.

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arXiv2016

Direct Evidence of Octupole Deformation in Neutron-Rich $^{144}$Ba

The neutron-rich nucleus $^{144}$Ba ($t_{1/2}$=11.5 s) is expected to exhibit some of the strongest octupole correlations among nuclei with mass numbers $A$ less than 200. Until now, indirect evidence for such strong correlations has been inferred from observations such as enhanced $E1$ transitions and interleaving positive- and negative-parity levels in the ground-state band. In this experiment, the octupole strength was measured directly by sub-barrier, multi-step Coulomb excitation of a post-accelerated 650-MeV $^{144}$Ba beam on a 1.0-mg/cm$^2$ $^{208}$Pb target. The measured value of the matrix element, $\langle 3_1^- \| \mathcal{M}(E3) \| 0_1^+ \rangle=0.65(^{+17}_{-23})$ $e$b$^{3/2}$, corresponds to a reduced $B(E3)$ transition probability of 48($^{+25}_{-34}$) W.u. This result represents an unambiguous determination of the octupole collectivity, is larger than any available theoretical prediction, and is consistent with octupole deformation.

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