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F. M. Nunes

Publications and source records attributed to F. M. Nunes.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2019

Single-particle shell strengths near the doubly magic nucleus $^{56}$Ni and the $^{56}$Ni(p,$γ$)$^{57}$Cu reaction rate in explosive astrophysical burning

Angle-integrated cross-section measurements of the $^{56}$Ni(d,n) and (d,p) stripping reactions have been performed to determine the single-particle strengths of low-lying excited states in the mirror nuclei pair $^{57}$Cu-$^{57}$Ni situated adjacent to the doubly magic nucleus $^{56}$Ni. The reactions were studied in inverse kinematics utilizing a beam of radioactive $^{56}$Ni ions in conjunction with the GRETINA $γ$-array. Spectroscopic factors are compared with new shell-model calculations using a full $pf$ model space with the GPFX1A Hamiltonian for the isospin-conserving strong interaction plus Coulomb and charge-dependent Hamiltonians. These results were used to set new constraints on the $^{56}$Ni(p,$γ$)$^{57}$Cu reaction rate for explosive burning conditions in x-ray bursts, where $^{56}$Ni represents a key waiting point in the astrophysical rp-process.

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arXiv2019

Deuteron-alpha scattering: separable vs nonseparable Faddeev approach

{\bf Background} Deuteron induced reactions are widely used to probe nuclear structure and astrophysical information. Those (d,p) reactions may be viewed as three-body reactions and described with Faddeev techniques. {\bf Purpose} Faddeev-AGS equations in momentum space have a long tradition of utilizing separable interactions in order to arrive at sets of coupled integral equations in one variable. However, it needs to be demonstrated that observables calculated based on separable interactions agree exactly with those based on nonseparable forces. {\bf Methods} Momentum space AGS equations are solved with separable and nonseparable forces as coupled integral equations. {\bf Results} Deuteron-alpha scattering is calculated via momentum space AGS equations using the CD-Bonn neutron-proton force and a Woods-Saxon type neutron(proton)-$^4$He force, for which the Pauli-forbidden S-wave bound state is projected out. Elastic as well as breakup observables are calculated and compared to results in which the interactions in the two-body sub-systems are represented by separable interactions derived in the Ernst-Shakin-Thaler (EST) framework. {\bf Conclusions} We find that the calculations based on the separable representation of the interactions and the original interactions give results that are in excellent agreement. Specifically, integrated cross sections and angular distributions for elastic scattering agree within $\approx$ 1\%, which is well below typical experimental errors. In addition, the five-fold differential cross sections corresponding to breakup of the deuteron agree extremely well.

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arXiv2019

Constraining the Neutron Star Compactness: Extraction of the $^{23}$Al($p,γ$) Reaction Rate for the $rp$-Process

The $^{23}$Al($p,γ$)$^{24}$Si reaction is among the most important reactions driving the energy generation in Type-I X-ray bursts. However, the present reaction-rate uncertainty limits constraints on neutron star properties that can be achieved with burst model-observation comparisons. Here, we present a novel technique for constraining this important reaction by combining the GRETINA array with the neutron detector LENDA coupled to the S800 spectrograph at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The $^{23}$Al($d,n$) reaction was used to populate the astrophysically important states in $^{24}$Si. This enables a measurement in complete kinematics for extracting all relevant inputs necessary to calculate the reaction rate. For the first time, a predicted close-lying doublet of a 2$_2^+$ and (4$_1^+$,0$_2^+$) state in $^{24}$Si was disentangled, finally resolving conflicting results from two previous measurements. Moreover, it was possible to extract spectroscopic factors using GRETINA and LENDA simultaneously. This new technique may be used to constrain other important reaction rates for various astrophysical scenarios.

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arXiv2019

Direct comparison between Bayesian and frequentist uncertainty quantification for nuclear reactions

Until recently, uncertainty quantification in low energy nuclear theory was typically performed using frequentist approaches. However in the last few years, the field has shifted toward Bayesian statistics for evaluating confidence intervals. Although there are statistical arguments to prefer the Bayesian approach, no direct comparison is available. In this work, we compare, directly and systematically, the frequentist and Bayesian approaches to quantifying uncertainties in direct nuclear reactions. Starting from identical initial assumptions, we determine confidence intervals associated with the elastic and the transfer process for both methods, which are evaluated against data via a comparison of the empirical coverage probabilities. Expectedly, the frequentist approach is not as flexible as the Bayesian approach in exploring parameter space and often ends up in a different minimum. We also show that the two methods produce significantly different correlations. In the end, the frequentist approach produces significantly narrower uncertainties on the considered observables than the Bayesian. Our study demonstrates that the uncertainties on the reaction observables considered here within the Bayesian approach represent reality more accurately than the much narrower uncertainties obtained using the standard frequentist approach.

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arXiv2018

Microscopic optical potentials for calcium isotopes

We construct nucleonic microscopic optical potentials by combining the Green's function approach with the coupled-cluster method for $\rm{^{40}Ca}$ and $\rm{^{48}Ca}$. For the computation of the ground-state of $\rm{^{40}Ca}$ and $\rm{^{48}Ca}$, we use the coupled-cluster method in the singles-and-doubles approximation, while for the A = $\pm 1$ nuclei we use particle-attached/removed equation-of-motion method truncated at two-particle-one-hole and one-particle-two-hole excitations, respectively. Our calculations are based on the chiral nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interaction $\rm{NNLO_{sat}}$, which reproduces the charge radii of $^{40}$Ca and $^{48}$Ca, and the chiral nucleon-nucleon interaction $\rm{NNLO_{opt}}$. In all cases considered here, we observe that the overall form of the neutron scattering cross section is reproduced for both interactions, but the imaginary part of the potential, which reflects the loss of flux in the elastic channel, is negligible. The latter points to neglected many-body correlations that would appear beyond the coupled-cluster truncation level considered in this work. We show that, by artificially increasing the parameter $η$ in the Green's function, practical results can be further improved.

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arXiv2018

Uncertainty quantification due to optical potentials in models for (d,p) reactions

Recent work has studied the uncertainty in predictions for A(d,p)B reactions using the distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA), coming from the parameterization of the effective dA interactions [Lovell et al., Phys. Rev. C 95, 024611]. There are different levels of sophistication in theories for one-nucleon transfer reactions, including the adiabatic wave approximation (ADWA) which takes deuteron breakup into account to all orders. In this work, we quantify the uncertainties associated with the ADWA method that come from the parameterization of the NA interactions, and compare ADWA with DWBA. We use nucleon elastic-scattering data on a wide variety of targets to constrain the optical potential input to the ADWA theory. Pulling from the $χ^2$-distribution, we obtain 95% confidence plots for the elastic distributions. From the resulting parameters, we predict 95% confidence bands for the (d,p) transfer cross sections. Results obtained with the uncorrelated $χ^2$ are compared to those using the correlated $χ^2$ of Lovell et al. We also repeat the DWBA calculations for the same reactions for comparison purposes. We find that NA elastic scattering data provides a significant constraint to the interactions, and, when the uncertainties are propagated to the transfer reactions using ADWA, predictions are consistent with the transfer data. The angular distributions for ADWA differ from those predicted by DWBA, particularly at small angles. Confidence bands obtained using the uncorrelated $χ^2$-function are unrealistically narrow and become much wider when the correlated $χ^2$-function is considered. For most cases, the uncertainty bands obtained in ADWA are narrower than DWBA, when using elastic data of similar quality and range. However, given the large uncertainties predicted from the correlated $χ^2$-function, the transfer data cannot discriminate between these two methods.

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arXiv2018

Few-body universality in the deuteron-alpha system

We treat ${}^6$Li as an effective three-body ($n$-$p$-$α$) system and compute the $d$-$α$ $S-$wave scattering length and three-body separation energy of ${}^6$Li for a wide variety of nucleon-nucleon and $α$-nucleon potentials which have the same (or nearly the same) phase shifts. The Coulomb interaction in the $p$-$α$ subsystem is omitted. The results of all calculations lie on a one-parameter curve in the plane defined by the $d$-$α$ $S-$wave scattering length and the amount by which ${}^6$Li is bound with respect to the $n$-$p$-$α$ threshold. We argue that these aspects of the $n$-$p$-$α$ system can be understood using few-body universality and that ${}^6$Li can thus usefully be thought of as a two-nucleon halo nucleus.

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arXiv2018

Constraining Transfer Cross Sections Using Bayes' Theorem

Being able to rigorously quantify the uncertainties in reaction models is crucial to moving this field forward. Even though Bayesian methods are becoming increasingly popular in nuclear theory, they are yet to be implemented and applied in reaction theory problems. The purpose of this work is to investigate, using Bayesian methods, the uncertainties in the optical potentials generated from fits to elastic scattering data and the subsequent uncertainties in the transfer predictions. We also study the differences in two reaction models where the parameters are constrained in a similar manner, as well as the impact of reducing the experimental error bars on the data used to constrain the parameters. We use Bayes' Theorem combined with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo to determine posterior distributions for the parameters of the optical model, constrained by neutron-, proton-, and/or deuteron-target elastic scattering. These potentials are then used to predict transfer cross sections within the adiabatic wave approximation or the distorted-wave Born approximation. We study a number of reactions involving deuteron projectiles with energies in the range of $10-25$ MeV/u on targets with mass $A=48-208$. The case of $^{48}$Ca(d,p)$^{49}$Ca transfer to the ground state is described in detail. A comparative study of the effect of the size of experimental errors is also performed. Five transfer reactions are studied, and their results compiled in order to systematically identify trends. Uncertainties in transfer cross sections can vary significantly (25-100\%) depending on the reaction. While these uncertainties are reduced when smaller experimental error bars are used to constrain the potentials, this reduction is not trivially related to the error reduction. We also find smaller uncertainties when using the adiabatic formulation than when using distorted-wave Born approximation.

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arXiv2017

Energy dependence of non-local potentials

Recently a variety of studies have shown the importance of including non-locality in the description of reactions. The goal of this work is to revisit the phenomenological approach to determining non-local optical potentials from elastic scattering. We perform a $χ^2$ analysis of neutron elastic scattering data off $^{40}$Ca, $^{90}$Zr and $^{208}$Pb at energies $E \approx 5-40$ MeV, assuming a Perey and Buck or Tian, Pang, and Ma non-local form for the optical potential. We introduce energy and asymmetry dependencies in the imaginary part of the potential and refit the data to obtain a global parameterization. Independently of the starting point in the minimization procedure, an energy dependence in the imaginary depth is required for a good description of the data across the included energy range. We present two parameterizations, both of which represent an improvement over the original potentials for the fitted nuclei as well as for other nuclei not included in our fit. Our results show that, even when including the standard Gaussian non-locality in optical potentials, a significant energy dependence is required to describe elastic-scattering data.

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arXiv2017

$^6$Li in a Three-Body Model with Realistic Forces: Separable vs. Non-separable Approach

{\bf Background:} Deuteron induced reactions are widely used to probe nuclear structure and astrophysical information. Those (d,p) reactions may be viewed as three-body reactions and described with Faddeev techniques. {\bf Purpose:} Faddeev equations in momentum space have a long tradition of utilizing separable interactions in order to arrive at sets of coupled integral equations in one variable. However, it needs to be demonstrated that their solution based on separable interactions agrees exactly with solutions based on non-separable forces. {\bf Results:} The ground state of $^6$Li is calculated via momentum space Faddeev equations using the CD-Bonn neutron-proton force and a Woods-Saxon type neutron(proton)-$^4$He force. For the latter the Pauli-forbidden $S$-wave bound state is projected out. This result is compared to a calculation in which the interactions in the two-body subsystems are represented by separable interactions derived in the Ernst-Shakin-Thaler framework. {\bf Conclusions:} We find that calculations based on the separable representation of the interactions and the original interactions give results that agree to four significant figures for the binding energy, provided an off-shell extension of the EST representation is employed in both subsystems. The momentum distributions computed in both approaches also fully agree with each other.

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arXiv2017

Toward a complete theory for predicting inclusive deuteron breakup away from stability

We present an account of the current status of the theoretical treatment of inclusive $(d,p)$ reactions in the breakup-fusion formalism, pointing to some applications and making the connection with current experimental capabilities. Three independent implementations of the reaction formalism have been recently developed, making use of different numerical strategies. The codes also originally relied on two different but equivalent representations, namely the prior (Udagawa-Tamura, UT) and the post (Ichimura-Austern-Vincent, IAV) representations. The different implementations have been benchmarked, and then applied to the Ca isotopic chain. The neutron-Ca propagator is described in the Dispersive Optical Model (DOM) framework, and the interplay between elastic breakup (EB) and non-elastic breakup (NEB) is studied for three Ca isotopes at two different bombarding energies. The accuracy of the description of different reaction observables is assessed by comparing with experimental data of $(d,p)$ on $^{40,48}$Ca. We discuss the predictions of the model for the extreme case of an isotope ($^{60}$Ca) currently unavailable experimentally, though possibly available in future facilities (nominally within production reach at FRIB). We explore the use of $(d,p)$ reactions as surrogates for $(n,γ)$ processes, by using the formalism to describe the compound nucleus formation in a $(d,pγ)$ reaction as a function of excitation energy, spin, and parity. The subsequent decay is then computed within a Hauser-Feshbach formalism. Comparisons between the $(d,pγ)$ and $(n,γ)$ induced gamma decay spectra are discussed to inform efforts to infer neutron captures from $(d,pγ)$ reactions. Finally, we identify areas of opportunity for future developments, and discuss a possible path toward a predictive reaction theory.

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arXiv2017

Low-lying level structure of $^{56}$Cu and its implications on the rp process

The low-lying energy levels of proton-rich $^{56}$Cu have been extracted using in-beam $γ$-ray spectroscopy with the state-of-the-art $γ$-ray tracking array GRETINA in conjunction with the S800 spectrograph at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. Excited states in $^{56}$Cu serve as resonances in the $^{55}$Ni(p,$γ$)$^{56}$Cu reaction, which is a part of the rp-process in type I x-ray bursts. To resolve existing ambiguities in the reaction Q-value, a more localized IMME mass fit is used resulting in $Q=639\pm82$~keV. We derive the first experimentally-constrained thermonuclear reaction rate for $^{55}$Ni(p,$γ$)$^{56}$Cu. We find that, with this new rate, the rp-process may bypass the $^{56}$Ni waiting point via the $^{55}$Ni(p,$γ$) reaction for typical x-ray burst conditions with a branching of up to $\sim$40$\%$. We also identify additional nuclear physics uncertainties that need to be addressed before drawing final conclusions about the rp-process reaction flow in the $^{56}$Ni region.

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arXiv2017

Uncertainty Quantification for Optical Model Parameters

Although uncertainty quantification has been making its way into nuclear theory, these methods have yet to be explored in the context of reaction theory. For example, it is well known that different parameterizations of the optical potential can result in different cross sections, but these differences have not been systematically studied and quantified. The purpose of this work is to investigate the uncertainties in nuclear reactions that result from fitting a given model to elastic-scattering data, as well as to study how these uncertainties propagate to the inelastic and transfer channels. We use statistical methods to determine a best fit and create corresponding 95\% confidence bands. A simple model of the process is fit to elastic-scattering data and used to predict either inelastic or transfer cross sections. In this initial work, we assume that our model is correct, and the only uncertainties come from the variation of the fit parameters. We study a number of reactions involving neutron and deuteron projectiles with energies in the range of 5-25 MeV/u, on targets with mass $A$=12-208. We investigate the correlations between the parameters in the fit. The case of deuterons on $^{12}$C is discussed in detail: the elastic-scattering fit and the prediction of $^{12}$C(d,p)$^{13}$C transfer angular distributions, using both uncorrelated and correlated $χ^2$ minimization functions. The general features for all cases are compiled in a systematic manner to identify trends. Our work shows that, in many cases, the correlated $χ^2$ functions (in comparison to the uncorrelated $χ^2$ functions) provide a more natural parameterization of the process. These correlated functions do, however, produce broader confidence bands. Further optimization may require improvement in the models themselves and/or more information included in the fit.

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arXiv2016

Three-body model for the two-neutron decay of $^{16}$Be

While diproton decay was first theorized in 1960 and first measured in 2002, it was first observed only in 2012. The measurement of $^{14}$Be in coincidence with two neutrons suggests that $^{16}$Be does decay through the simultaneous emission of two strongly correlated neutrons. In this work, we construct a full three-body model of $^{16}$Be (as $^{14}$Be + n + n) in order to investigate its configuration in the continuum and in particular the structure of its ground state. In order to describe the three-body system, effective n-$^{14}$Be potentials were constructed, constrained by the experimental information on $^{15}$Be. The hyperspherical R-matrix method was used to solve the three-body scattering problem, and the resonance energy of $^{16}$Be was extracted from a phase shift analysis. In order to reproduce the experimental resonance energy of $^{16}$Be within this three-body model, a three-body interaction was needed. For extracting the width of the ground state of $^{16}$Be, we use the full width at half maximum of the derivative of the three-body phase shifts and the width of the three-body elastic scattering cross section. Our results confirm a dineutron structure for $^{16}$Be, dependent on the internal structure of the subsystem $^{15}$Be.

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arXiv2016

Role of core excitation in (d,p) transfer reactions

[Background:] Recent work found that core excitation can be important in extracting structure information from (d,p) reactions. [Purpose:] Our objective is to systematically explore the role of core excitation in (d,p) reactions, and understand the origin of the dynamical effects. [Method:] Based on the particle-rotor model of $n+^{10}$Be, we generate a number of models with a range of separation energies ($S_n=0.1-5.0$ MeV), while maintaining a significant core excited component. We then apply the latest extension of the momentum-space based Faddeev method, including dynamical core excitation in the reaction mechanism to all orders, to the $^{10}$Be(d,p)$^{11}$Be like reactions, and study the excitation effects for beam energies from $E_d=15-90$ MeV. [Results:] We study the resulting angular distributions and the differences between the spectroscopic factor that would be extracted from the cross sections, when including dynamical core excitation in the reaction, to that of the original structure model. We also explore how different partial waves affect the final cross section. [Conclusions:] Our results show a strong beam energy dependence of the extracted spectroscopic factors that become smaller for intermediate beam energies. This dependence increases for loosely bound systems.

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arXiv2016

Transfer reaction code with nonlocal interactions

We present a suite of codes (NLAT for nonlocal adiabatic transfer) to calculate the transfer cross section for single-nucleon transfer reactions, $(d,N)$ or $(N,d)$, including nonlocal nucleon-target interactions, within the adiabatic distorted wave approximation. For this purpose, we implement an iterative method for solving the second order nonlocal differential equation, for both scattering and bound states. The final observables that can be obtained with NLAT are differential angular distributions for the cross sections of $A(d,N)B$ or $B(N,d)A$. Details on the implementation of the T-matrix to obtain the final cross sections within the adiabatic distorted wave approximation method are also provided. This code is suitable to be applied for deuteron induced reactions in the range of $E_d=10-70$ MeV, and provides cross sections with $4\%$ accuracy.

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arXiv2016

Examining the effect of nonlocality in $(d,n)$ transfer reactions

Background: In the last year we have been exploring the effect of the explicit inclusion of nonlocality in (d,p) reactions. Purpose: The goal of this work is to extend previous studies to (d,n) reactions, which, although similar to (d,p), have specific properties that merit inspection. Method: We apply our methods (both the distorted wave Born approximation and the adiabatic wave approximation) to $(d,n)$ reactions on $^{16}$O, $^{40}$Ca, $^{48}$Ca, $^{126}$Sn, $^{132}$Sn, and $^{208}$Pb at $20$ and $50$ MeV. Results: We look separately at the modifications introduced by nonlocality in the final bound and scattering states, as well as the consequences reflected on the differential angular distributions. The cross sections obtained when using nonlocality explicitly are significantly different than those using the local approximation, just as in (d,p). Due to the particular role of Coulomb in the bound state, often we found the effects of nonlocality to be larger in (d,n) than in (d,p). Conclusions: Our results confirm the importance of including nonlocality explicitly in deuteron induced reactions.

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arXiv2016

Two neutron decay of 16Be

Recently, the first example of two-neutron decay from the ground state of an unbound nucleus, $^{16}$Be, was seen. Three-body methods are ideal for exactly treating the degrees of freedom important for these decays. Using a basis expansion over hyperspherical harmonics and the hyperspherical R-matrix method, we construct a realistic model of $^{16}$Be in order to investigate its decay mode and the role of the two-neutron interaction. The neutron-$^{14}$Be interaction is constrained using shell model predictions. We obtain a ground state for $^{16}$Be that is over-bound by approximately 1 MeV with a width of approximately 0.23 MeV. This suggests, that for such systems, the three-body force needs to be repulsive.

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