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L. Phair

Publications and source records attributed to L. Phair.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2024

Towards the Discovery of New Elements: Production of Livermorium (Z=116) with 50Ti

The $^{244}$Pu($^{50}$Ti,$xn$)$^{294-x}$Lv reaction was investigated at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 88-Inch Cyclotron facility. The experiment was aimed at the production of a superheavy element with $Z\ge 114$ by irradiating an actinide target with a beam heavier than $^{48}$Ca. Produced Lv ions were separated from the unwanted beam and nuclear reaction products using the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator and implanted into a newly commissioned focal plane detector system. Two decay chains were observed and assigned to the decay of $^{290}$Lv. The production cross section was measured to be $\sigma_{\rm prod}=0.44(^{+58}_{-28})$~pb at a center-of-target center-of-mass energy of 220(3)~MeV. This represents the first published measurement of the production of a superheavy element near the `Island-of-Stability', with a beam of $^{50}$Ti and is an essential precursor in the pursuit of searching for new elements beyond $Z=118$.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2012

An experimental measurement of the coexistence curve and critical temperature, density and pressure of bulk nuclear matter

Infinite, neutron-proton symmetric, neutral nuclear matter has a critical temperature of 17.9+-0.4 MeV, a critical density of 0.06+-0.01 nucleons per cubic fermi and a critical pressure of 0.31+-0.07 MeV per cubic fermi. These values have been obtained from our analysis of data from six different reactions studied in three different experiments: two "compound nuclear" reactions: 58Ni+12C-->70Se and 64Ni+12C-->76Se (both performed at the LBNL 88" Cyclotron) and four "multifragmentation" reactions: 1 GeV/c pi+197Au (performed by the ISiS collaboration), 1 AGeV 197Au+C, 1 AGeV 139La+12C and 1 AGeV 84Kr+12C (all performed by the EOS collaboration). The charge yields of all reactions as a function of excitation energy were fit with a version of Fisher's droplet model modified to account for the dual components of the fluid (i.e. protons and neutrons), Coulomb effects, finite size effects and angular momentum arising from the nuclear collisions.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2010

Reaction rate sensitivity of 44Ti production in massive stars and implications of a thick target yield measurement of 40Ca(alpha,gamma)44Ti

We evaluate two dominant nuclear reaction rates and their uncertainties that affect 44Ti production in explosive nucleosynthesis. Experimentally we develop thick-target yields for the 40Ca(alpha,gamma)44Ti reaction at E(alpha) = 4.13, 4.54, and 5.36 MeV using gamma-ray spectroscopy. At the highest beam energy, we also performed an activation measurement that agrees with the thick target result. From the measured yields a stellar reaction rate was developed that is smaller than current statistical-model calculations and recent experimental results, which would suggest lower 44Ti production in scenarios for the alpha-rich freeze out. Special attention has been paid to assessing realistic uncertainties of stellar rates produced from a combination of experimental and theoretical cross sections, which we use to develop a re-evaluation of the 44Ti(alpha,p)47V reaction rate. Using these we carry out a sensitivity survey of 44Ti synthesis in eight expansions representing peak temperature and density conditions drawn from a suite of recent supernova explosion models. Our results suggest that the current uncertainty in these two reaction rates could lead to as large an uncertainty in 44Ti synthesis as that produced by different treatments of stellar physics.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2006

Can a Hagedorn system have a temperature other than $T_C$ or can a thermostat have a temperature other than its own?

This is a note intended to complement our paper (nucl-th/0504010) and addressed to the attention of QGP workers interested in bag models, Hagedorn spectra, and the like. It tries to show that with a Hagedorn-like experimental spectrum the partition function can not be calculated and that a canonical description derived for the microcanonical ensemble exists only for a single, fixed temperature.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2005

The Quark-Gluon Plasma: a Perfect Thermostat and a Perfect Particle Reservoir

A system H with a Hagedorn-like mass spectrum imparts its unique temperature T_H to any other system coupled to it. An H system radiates particles in preexisting physical and chemical equilibrium. These particles form a saturated vapor at temperature T_H. This coexistence describes a first order phase transition. An H system is nearly indifferent to fragmentation into smaller H systems. A lower mass cut-off in the spectrum does not significantly alter the general picture. These properties of the Hagedorn thermostats naturally explain a single value of hadronization temperature observed in elementary particle collisions at high energies and lead to some experimental predictions.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2005

Compound nuclear decay and the liquid to vapor phase transition: a physical picture

Analyses of multifragmentation in terms of the Fisher droplet model (FDM) and the associated construction of a nuclear phase diagram bring forth the problem of the actual existence of the nuclear vapor phase and the meaning of its associated pressure. We present here a physical picture of fragment production from excited nuclei that solves this problem and establishes the relationship between the FDM and the standard compound nucleus decay rate for rare particles emitted in first-chance decay. The compound thermal emission picture is formally equivalent to a FDM-like equilibrium description and avoids the problem of the vapor while also explaining the observation of Boltzmann-like distribution of emission times. In this picture a simple Fermi gas thermometric relation is naturally justified and verified in the fragment yields and time scales. Low energy compound nucleus fragment yields scale according to the FDM and lead to an estimate of the infinite symmetric nuclear matter critical temperature between 18 and 27 MeV depending on the choice of the surface energy coefficient of nuclear matter.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2005

The complement: a solution to liquid drop finite size effects in phase transitions

The effects of the finite size of a liquid drop undergoing a phase transition are described in terms of the complement, the largest (but still mesoscopic) drop representing the liquid in equilibrium with the vapor. Vapor cluster concentrations, pressure and density from fixed mean density lattice gas (Ising) model calculations are explained in terms of the complement. Accounting for this finite size effect is key to determining the infinite nuclear matter phase diagram from experimental data.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2005

Hagedorn Thermostat: A Novel View of Hadronic Thermodynamics

A microcanonical treatment of Hagedorn systems, i.e. finite mass hadronic resonances with an exponential mass spectrum controlled by the Hagedorn temperature $T_H$, is performed. We show that, in the absence of any restrictions, a Hagedorn system is a perfect thermostat, i.e. it imparts its temperature $T_H$ to any other system in thermal contact with it. We study the thermodynamic effects of the lower mass cut-off in the Hagedorn mass spectrum. We show that in the presence of a single Hagedorn resonance the temperature of any number of $N_B$ Boltzmann particles differs only slightly from $T_H$ up to the kinematically allowed limit $N_B^{kin}$. For $N_B > N_B^{kin}$ however, the low mass cut-off leads to a decrease of the temperature as $N_B$ grows. The properties of Hagedorn thermostats naturally explain a single value of hadronization temperature observed in elementary particle collisions at high energies and lead to some experimental predictions.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2005

The Hagedorn thermostat

A system H with a Hagedorn-like mass spectrum imparts its unique temperature TH to any other system coupled to it. An H system radiates particles in preexisting physical and chemical equilibrium. These particles form a saturated vapor at temperature TH. This coexistence describes a first order phase transition. An H system is nearly indifferent to fragmentation into smaller H systems. A lower mass cut-off in the spectrum does not significantly alter the general picture

nucl-th↗
arXiv2004

Surface Partition of Large Fragments

The surface partition of large fragments is derived analytically within a simple statistical model by the Laplace-Fourier transformation method. In the limit of small amplitude deformations, a suggested Hills and Dales Model reproduces the leading term of the famous Fisher result for the surface entropy with an accuracy of a few percent. The surface partition of finite fragments is discussed as well.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2004

Uniqueness of Fisher plots and their inferred (nuclear) liquid-vapor phase diagrams

A detailed study of the lattice gas (Ising) model shows that the correct definition of cluster concentration in the vapor at coexistence with the liquid leads to Fisher plots that are unique, independent of fixed particle number density $ρ_{\text{fixed}}$, and completely reliable for the characterization of the liquid-vapor phase diagram of any van der Waals systems including nuclear matter.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2003

The resistible effects of Coulomb interaction on nucleus-vapor phase coexistence

We explore the effects of Coulomb interaction upon the nuclear liquid vapor phase transition. Because large nuclei (A>60) are metastable objects, phases, phase coexistence, and phase transitions cannot be defined with any generality and the analogy to liquid vapor is ill-posed for these heavy systems. However, it is possible to account for the Coulomb interaction in the decay rates and obtain the coexistence phase diagram for the corresponding uncharged system.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2003

Precise Barriers and Shell Effects: a New Inroad to Fission Saddle Point Spectroscopy

Fission excitation functions have been measured for a chain of neighboring compound nuclei, from 207Po to 212Po. We present a new analysis which provides a determination of the fission barriers and ground state shell effects with nearly spectroscopic accuracy. The improved accuracy achieved in this analysis may lead to a future detailed exploration of the saddle mass surface and its spectroscopy. The sensitivity of the fission probabilities on shell effects extends to excitation energies of 150 MeV and negates recent claims for the disappearance of shell corrections due to collective effects.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2002

Liquid-vapor phase transition in nuclei or compound nucleus decay?

Recent analyses of multifragmentation in terms of Fisher's model and the related construction of a phase diagram brings forth the problem of the true existence of the vapor phase and the meaning of its associated pressure. Our analysis shows that a thermal emission picture is equivalent to a Fisher-like equilibrium description which avoids the problem of the vapor and explains the recently observed Boltzmann-like distribution of the emission times. In this picture a simple Fermi gas thermometric relation is naturally justified. Low energy compound nucleus emission of intermediate mass fragments is shown to scale according to Fisher's formula and can be simultaneously fit with the much higher energy ISiS multifragmentation data.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2002

Negative heat capacities and first order phase transitions in nuclei

Anomalous negative heat capacities have been claimed as indicators of first order phase transitions in finite systems in general, and fornuclear systems in particular. A thermodynamic approach allowing for all Q value terms is used to evaluate heat capacities in finitevan der Waals fluids and finite lattice systems in the coexistence region. Fictitious large effects and negative heat capacities are observed in lattice systems when periodic boundary conditions are introduced. Small anomalous effects are predicted for small drops and for finite lattice systems. A straightforward application of the analysis to nuclei shows that negative heat capacities cannot be observed for A>60.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2002

Cnstructing the phase diagram of finite neutral nuclear matter

The fragment yields from the multifragmentation of gold, lanthanum and krypton nuclei obtained by the EOS Collaboration are examined in terms of Fisher's droplet formalism modifed to account for Coulomb energy. The critical exponents sigma and tau and the surface energy coefficient c0 are obtained. Estimates are made of the pressure-temperature and temperature-density coexistence curves of finite neutral nuclear matter as well as the location of the critical point.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2001

The liquid to vapor phase transition in excited nuclei

For many years it has been speculated that excited nuclei would undergo a liquid to vapor phase transition. For even longer, it has been known that clusterization in a vapor carries direct information on the liquid- vapor equilibrium according to Fisher's droplet model. Now the thermal component of the 8 GeV/c pion + 197Au multifragmentation data of the ISiS Collaboration is shown to follow the scaling predicted by Fisher's model, thus providing the strongest evidence yet of the liquid to vapor phase transition.

nucl-ex↗