arXiv subjects

M. Csatlós

Publications and source records attributed to M. Csatlós.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

An Update on the Hypothetical X17 Particle

Recently, when examining the differential internal pair creation coefficients of $^8$Be, $^4$He and $^{12}$C nuclei, we observed peak-like anomalies in the angular correlation of the e$^+$e$^-$ pairs. This was interpreted as the creation and immediate decay of an intermediate bosonic particle with a mass of $m_{X}c^2\approx$ 17~MeV, receiving the name X17 in subsequent publications. Our results initiated a significant number of new experiments all over the world to detect the X17 particle and determine its properties. In this paper we will give an overview of the experiments the results of which are already published, and the ones closest to being published. We will also introduce our latest results obtained for the X17 particle by investigating the e$^+$e$^-$ pair correlations in the decay of the Giant Dipole Resonance (GDR) of $^{8}$Be.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Observation of the X17 anomaly in the decay of the Giant Dipole Resonance of $^8$Be

Angular correlation spectra of $e^+e^-$ pairs produced in the $^{7}$Li($p$,$γ$)$^{8}$Be nuclear reaction were studied at a proton beam energy of $E_p$~=~4.0~MeV, which corresponds to the excitation energy of the Giant Dipole Resonance (GDR) in $^8$Be. The spectra measured show a peak like anomaly at 120$^\circ$ and a broader anomaly also above 140$^\circ$. Both anomalies could consistently be described by assuming that the same hypothetical X17 particle was created both in the ground-state transition and in the transition going to the broad ($Γ$=1.5~MeV), first excited state in $^8$Be. The invariant mass of the particle, which was derived to be $m_Xc^2 = 16.95 \pm 0.48$(stat.)~MeV, agrees well with our previously published values.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2022

New anomaly observed in $^{12}$C supports the existence and the vector character of the hypothetical X17 boson

Employing the $^{11}$B(p,$γ$)$^{12}$C nuclear reaction, the angular correlation of $e^+e^-$ pairs was investigated in the angular range of $40^\circΘ\leq 175^\circ$ for five different proton energies between E$_p$ = 1.50 - 2.50 MeV. At small angles ($Θ\leq 120^\circ$), the results can be well interpreted by the internal pair creation process of electromagnetic radiations with E1 and M1 multipolarities and by the external pair creation in the target backing. However, at angles greater than $120^\circ$, additional count excess and anomalies were observed, which could be well accounted for by the existence of the previously suggested hypotetical X17 particle. Our results show that the X17 particle was generated mainly in E1 radiation. The derived mass of the particle is $m_\mathrm{X}c^2$=17.03$\pm 0.11 (stat) \pm 0.20 (syst)$ MeV. According to the mass, and to the derived branching ratio ($B_x=3.6(3)\times10^{-6}$), this is likely the same X17 particle, which we recently suggested for describing the anomaly observed in the decay of $^8$Be and $^4$He.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2022

Observation of the X17 anomaly in the $^7$Li($p$,$e^+e^-$)$^8$Be direct proton-capture reaction

Angular correlation spectra of $e^+e^-$ pairs produced in the $^{7}$Li($p$,$γ$)$^{8}$Be nuclear reaction have been studied at the sharp $E_p$= 441 keV resonance as well as at $E_p$= 650 keV, 800 keV and 1100 keV proton beam energies. The spectra measured at the resonance can be understood through the M1 internal pair creation process, but in the case of the off-resonance regions (direct proton capture) significant anomalies were observed in the $e^+e^-$ angular correlations supporting the X17 hypothetical particle creation and decay.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2021

A new anomaly observed in $^4$He supports the existence of the hypothetical X17 particle

Energy-sum and angular correlation spectra of $e^+e^-$ pairs produced in the $^{3}$H(p,$γ$)$^{4}$He nuclear reaction have been studied at $E_p$=510, 610 and 900 keV proton energies. The main features of the spectra can be understood by taking into account the internal and external pair creations following the direct proton radiative capture by $^{3}$H. However, these processes cannot account for the observed peak around 115$^\circ$ in the angular correlation spectra. This anomalous excess of $e^+e^-$ pairs can be described by the creation and subsequent decay of a light particle during the direct capture process. The derived mass of the particle is $m_\mathrm{X}c^2$=16.94$\pm0.12 (stat) \pm 0.21 (syst)$~MeV. According to the mass and branching ratio ($B_x=5.1(13)\times10^{-6}$), this is likely the same X17 particle, which we recently suggested [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 052501 (2016)] for describing the anomaly observed in the decay of $^8$Be.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2021

Medium-spin states of the neutron-rich nucleus $^{87}$Br

Medium-spin excited states of the neutron-rich nucleus $^{87}$Br were observed and studied for the first time. They were populated in fission of $^{235}$U induced by the cold-neutron beam of the PF1B facility of the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble. The measurement of $γ$ radiation following fission has been performed using the EXILL array of Ge detectors. The observed level scheme was compared with results of large valence space shell model calculations. The medium-spin level scheme consists of three band-like structures, which can be understood as bands built on the $πf_{5/2}$, $π(p_{3/2}+f_{5/2})$ and $πg_{9/2}$ configurations. The behavior of the observed $πg_{9/2}$ band at high spins shows a considerable deviation from the shell model predictions. This deviation in this band is probably the result of an increased collectivity, which can be understood assuming that the $πg_{9/2}$ high-$\it j$ proton polarizes the core.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2015

Observation of Anomalous Internal Pair Creation in $^8$Be: A Possible Signature of a Light, Neutral Boson

Electron-positron angular correlations were measured for the isovector magnetic dipole 17.6 MeV state ($J^π=1^+$, $T=1$) $\rightarrow$ ground state ($J^π=0^+$, $T=0$) and the isoscalar magnetic dipole 18.15 MeV ($J^π=1^+$, $T=0$) state $\rightarrow$ ground state transitions in $^{8}$Be. Significant deviation from the internal pair creation was observed at large angles in the angular correlation for the isoscalar transition with a confidence level of $> 5σ$. This observation might indicate that, in an intermediate step, a neutral isoscalar particle with a mass of 16.70$\pm0.35 $ (stat)$\pm 0.5 $ (sys) MeV$/c^2$ and $J^π= 1^+$ was created.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2015

A pair spectrometer for measuring multipolarities of energetic nuclear transitions

A multi-detector array has been designed and constructed for the simultaneous measurement of energy- and angular correlations of electron-positron pairs. Experimental results are obtained over a wide angular range for high-energy transitions in 16O, 12C and 8Be. A comparison with GEANT simulations demonstrates that angular correlations between 50 and 180 degrees of the electron-positron pairs in the energy range between 6 and 18 MeV can be determined with sufficient resolution and efficiency.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2013

Neutron-skin thickness of $^{208}$Pb, and symmetry-energy constraints from the study of the anti-analog giant dipole resonance

The $^{208}$Pb($p$,$nγ\bar p$) $^{207}$Pb reaction at a beam energy of 30 MeV has been used to excite the anti-analog of the giant dipole resonance (AGDR) and to measure its $γ$-decay to the isobaric analog state in coincidence with proton decay of IAS. The energy of the transition has also been calculated with the self-consistent relativistic random-phase approximation (RRPA), and found to be linearly correlated to the predicted value of the neutron-skin thickness ($ΔR_{pn}$). By comparing the theoretical results with the measured transition energy, the value of 0.190 $\pm$ 0.028 fm has been determined for $ΔR_{pn}$ of $^{208}$Pb, in agreement with previous experimental results. The AGDR excitation energy has also been used to calculate the symmetry energy at saturation ($J=32.7 \pm 0.6$ MeV) and the slope of the symmetry energy ($L=49.7 \pm 4.4$ MeV), resulting in more stringent constraints than most of the previous studies.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2013

A neutron spectrometer for studying giant resonances with (p, n) reactions in inverse kinematics

A neutron spectrometer, the European Low-Energy Neutron Spectrometer (ELENS), has been constructed to study exotic nuclei in inverse-kinematics experiments. The spectrometer, which consists of plastic scintillator bars, can be operated in the neutron energy range of 100 keV to 10 MeV. The neutron energy is determined using the time-of-flight technique, while the position of the neutron detection is deduced from the time-difference information from photomultipliers attached to both ends of each bar. A novel wrapping method has been developed for the plastic scintillators. The array has a larger than 25% detection efficiency for neutrons of approximately 500 keV in kinetic energy and an angular resolution of less than 1 degree. Details of the design, construction and experimental tests of the spectrometer will be presented.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

Nuclear astrophysics with radioactive ions at FAIR

The nucleosynthesis of elements beyond iron is dominated by neutron captures in the s and r processes. However, 32 stable, proton-rich isotopes cannot be formed during those processes, because they are shielded from the s-process flow and r-process beta-decay chains. These nuclei are attributed to the p and rp process. For all those processes, current research in nuclear astrophysics addresses the need for more precise reaction data involving radioactive isotopes. Depending on the particular reaction, direct or inverse kinematics, forward or time-reversed direction are investigated to determine or at least to constrain the desired reaction cross sections. The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) will offer unique, unprecedented opportunities to investigate many of the important reactions. The high yield of radioactive isotopes, even far away from the valley of stability, allows the investigation of isotopes involved in processes as exotic as the r or rp processes.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2012

Neutron-skin thickness from the study of the anti-analog giant dipole resonance

The gamma-decay of the anti-analog of the giant dipole resonance (AGDR) has been measured to the isobaric analog state excited in the p(124Sn,n) reaction at a beam energy of 600 MeV/nucleon. The energy of the transition was also calculated with state-of-the-art self-consistent random-phase approximation (RPA) and turned out to be very sensitive to the neutron-skin thickness (\DeltaR_(pn)). By comparing the theoretical results with the measured one, the \DeltaR_(pn) value for 124Sn was deduced to be 0.175 \pm 0.048 fm, which agrees well with the previous results. The energy of the AGDR measured previously for ^(208)Pb was also used to determine the \DeltaR_(pn) for ^(208)Pb. In this way a very precise \DeltaR_(pn) = 0.181 \pm 0.031 neutron-skin thickness has been obtained for 208Pb. The present method offers new possibilities for measuring the neutron-skin thicknesses of very exotic isotopes.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2005

$e^{+}e^{-}$ pairs from a nuclear transition signaling an elusive light neutral boson

Electron-positron pairs have been observed in the 10.95-MeV $0^-\to0^+$ decay in $^{16}$O. The branching ratio of the e$^+$e$^-$ pairs compared to the 3.84-MeV $0^-\to2^+$ $γ$ decay of the level is deduced to be $20(5)\times10^{-5}$. This magnetic monopole (M0) transition cannot proceed by $γ$-ray decay and is, to first order, forbidden for internal pair creation. However, the transition may also proceed by the emission of a light neutral $0^{-}$ or $1^{+}$ boson. Indeed, we do observe a sharp peak in the $e^{+}e^{-}$ angular correlation with all the characteristics belonging to the intermediate emission of such a boson with an invariant mass of 8.5(5) MeV/c$^2$. It may play a role in the current quest for light dark matter in the universe.

hep-ex↗