arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Walter Loveland.
Our all electron (DFBG) calculations show differences between relativistic and non-relativistic calculations for the structure of the isomers of Og(CO)6
Our gargantuan ab initio all-electron fully relativistic Dirac-Fock (DF), nonrelativistic (NR) Hartree-Fock(HF) and Dirac-Fock-Breit-Gaunt(DFBG) molecular SCF calculations for the superheavy octahedral Oganesson hexatenniside OgTs$_6$ predict atomization energy (Ae) of 9.47, -5.54and 9.37 eV, at the optimized Os-Ts bond distances of 3.35, 3.34 and 3.36 angstroms, respectively. There are dramatic effects of relativity for the atomization energy of OgTs$_6$ (with seven superheavy elements and 820 electrons) of ~ 15.0 eV each at both the DF and DFBG levels of theory, respectively. Our calculated energy of reaction for the titled superheavy reaction Og + 3Ts$_2$ -> OgTs$_6$ at the DF, NR and DFBG levels of theory is 6.33, 8.81, and 6.26 eV, respectively. Mulliken analysis as implemented in the DIRAC code for our DF and NR calculations (using the dyall.ev4z basis) yields the charges Og(+0.60) and Og(+0.96), respectively on the central Og atom indicating that our relativistic DF calculations predict octahedral OgTs$_6$ to be less ionic. However, due caution must be used to interpret the results of Mulliken's population analysis, which is highly basis set dependent.
Our all-electron fully relativistic Dirac-Fock (DF) and nonrelativistic (NR) Hartree-Fock (HF) SCF molecular calculations for the superheavy tetrahedral (T$_d$) oganesson tetratennesside OgT$_4$ predict atomization energy (Ae) of 7.45 and -11.21 eV, respectively. Our DF and NR calculations, however for the square planar (D$_{4h}$)OsTs$_4$ predict atomization energy (Ae) o 6.34 and -8.56 ev, respectively. There are dramatic relativistic effects for the atomization energy of T$_d$ and D$_{4h}$ OgT$_4$ of -18.65 eV and 14.90 eV, respectively. Whereas our DF calculations predict the T$_d$OgT$_4$ to be more stable than the D$_{4h}$ OgT$_4$ by ~1.10 eV, our NR calculations predict the D$_{4h}$ OgT$_4$ to be more stable than the T$_d$ OgT$_4$ by ~2.65eV. Our NR calculations predict both the T$_d$ and D$_{4h}$ OgTs$_4$ to be unbound by 11.21 and 8.56 eV, respectively. However our relativistic DF calculations predict both the T$_d$ and D$_{4h}$ OgT$_4$ to be bound by 7.45 and 6.34 eV respectively and so the relativistic treatment is mandatory for bonding and binding in the pentatomic superheavy system with 586 electrons involving the two heaviest SHE Ts and Og.
The total kinetic energy (TKE) release in fission is an important observable, constituting over 80% of the energy released in fission (E$_{f}$ $\approx$ 200 MeV). While the TKE release in the $^{239}$Pu(n,f) reaction was previously measured up to 50 MeV incident neutron energy (E$_{n}$), there were features in TKE release at the highest values of E$_{n}$ that were puzzling. There was a marked flattening of TKE release from E$_{n}$ = 30 to 50 MeV, in disagreement with the clearly decreasing TKE observed from E$_{n}$ = 0.5 to 30 MeV. To verify and clarify this trend, TKE measurements at higher values of E$_n$ were made. We present absolute measurements of TKE release in $^{239}$Pu(n,f) from E$_{n}$ = 2.4 to 100 MeV. We used silicon PIN detectors to measure the fragment energies and deduce mass-yield curves using the 2E-method. We also discuss fission asymmetry and the relationships between approximate fission fragment mass and distortion.
In previous publications, we presented evidence for the importance of spin in determining capture and evaporation residue cross sections in the synthesis of heavy nuclei. We extend the previous calculations which dealt with nuclei where ZCN is less than 110 to the region of ZCN = 111-118. We deduce a new systematics of the fusion probability for these reactions
The MICROMEGAS (MICRO-MEsh GAseous Structure) charge amplification structure has found wide use in many detection applications, especially as a gain stage for the charge readout of Time Projection Chambers (TPCs). Here we report on the behavior of a MICROMEGAS TPC when operated in a high-energy (up to 800 MeV) neutron beam. It is found that neutron-induced reactions can cause discharges in some drift gas mixtures that are stable in the absence of the neutron beam. The discharges result from recoil ions close to the MICROMEGAS that deposit high specific ionization density and have a limited diffusion time. For a binary drift gas, increasing the percentage of the molecular component (quench gas) relative to the noble component and operating at lower pressures generally improves stability.
Formally, the cross section for producing a heavy evaporation residue, σEVR, in a fusion reaction can be written as. \begin{equation} σ_{\rm EVR}(E)=\frac{πh^2}{2μE}\sum\limits_{\ell=0}^\infty (2\ell+1)T(E,\ell)P_{\rm CN}(E,\ell)W_{\rm sur}(E,\ell), \end{equation} where E is the center of mass energy, and T is the probability of the colliding nuclei to overcome the potential barrier in the entrance channel and reach the contact point. PCN is the probability that the projectile-target system will evolve from the contact point to the compound nucleus. Wsur is the probability that the compound nucleus will decay to produce an evaporation residue rather than fissioning. However, one must remember that the Wsur term effectively sets the allowed values of the spin, which in turn, restricts the values of the capture and fusion cross sections. We point out the implications of this fact for capture cross sections for heavy element formation reactions.