arXiv subjects

Y. H. Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Y. H. Zhang.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

A method to measure the transition energy $γ_{t}$ of the isochronously tuned storage ring

The Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) is a powerful technique developed in heavy-ion storage rings for measuring masses of very short-lived exotic nuclei. The IMS is based on the isochronous setting of the ring. One of the main parameters of this setting is the transition energy $γ_{t}$. %The transition energy $γ_{t}$ plays an important role in the isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS). It has been a challenge to determine the $γ_{t}$ and especially to monitor the variation of $γ_{t}$ during experiments. In this paper we introduce a method to measure the $γ_{t}$ online during IMS experiments by using the acquired experimental data. Furthermore, since the storage ring has (in our context) a relatively large momentum acceptance, the variation of the $γ_{t}$ across the ring acceptance is a source of systematic uncertainty of measured masses. With the installation of two time-of-flight (TOF) detectors, the velocity of each stored ion and its revolution time are simultaneously available for the analysis. These quantities enabled us to determine the $γ_{t}$ as a function of orbital length in the ring. The presented method is especially important for future IMS experiments planned at the new-generation storage ring facilities FAIR in Germany and HIAF in China.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2018

Isochronous mass measurements of $T_z=-1$ $fp$-shell nuclei from projectile fragmentation of $^{58}$Ni

Atomic masses of seven $T_z=-1$, $fp$-shell nuclei from $^{44}$V to $^{56}$Cu and two low-lying isomers, $^{44m}$V ($J^π=6^+$) and $^{52m}$Co ($J^π=2^+$), have been measured with relative precisions of $1-4\times 10^{-7}$ with Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) at CSRe. The masses of $^{56}$Cu, $^{52g,52m}$Co, and $^{44m}$V were measured for the first time in this experiment. The Mass Excesses ($ME^{\prime}$s) of $^{44}$V, $^{48}$Mn, $^{50}$Fe, and $^{54}$Ni are determined with an order of magnitude improved precision compared to the literature values. $^{52g,52m}$Co and $^{56}$Cu are found to be $370$~keV and $400$~keV more bound, respectively, while $^{44g,44m}$V are $\sim 300$~keV less bound than the extrapolations in the Atomic-Mass Evaluation 2012 (AME$^{\prime}$12). The masses of the four $T_z=-1/2$ nuclei $^{45}$V, $^{47}$Cr, $^{49}$Mn, and $^{51}$Fe are re-determined to be in agreement, within the experimental errors, with the recent JYFLTRAP measurements or with the previous IMS measurements in CSRe. Details of the measurements and data analysis are described, and the impact of the new $ME$ values on different aspects in nuclear structure are investigated and discussed.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2018

Performances of a prototype point-contact germanium detector immersed in liquid nitrogen for light dark matter search

The CDEX-10 experiment searches for light weakly-interacting massive particles, a form of dark matter, at the China JinPing underground laboratory, where approximately 10 kg of germanium detectors are arranged in an array and immersed in liquid nitrogen. Herein, we report on the experimental apparatus, detector characterization, and spectrum analysis of one prototype detector. Owing to the higher rise-time resolution of the CDEX-10 prototype detector as compared with CDEX-1B, we identified the origin of an observed category of extremely fast events. For data analysis of the CDEX-10 prototype, we introduced and applied an improved bulk/surface event discrimination method. The results of the new method were compared to those of the CDEX-1B spectrum. Both sets of results showed good consistency in the 0--12 keVee energy range, except for the 8.0 keV K-shell X-ray peak from the external copper.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2018

The Masses of the $T_z=-3/2$ Nuclei $^{27}$P and $^{29}$S

Isochronous mass spectrometry has been applied in the storage ring CSRe to measure the masses of the $T_z=-3/2$ nuclei $^{27}$P and $^{29}$S. The new mass excess value $ME$($^{29}$S) $=-3094(13)$~keV is 66(52)~keV larger than the result of the previous $^{32}$S($^3$He,$^{6}$He)$^{29}$S reaction measurement in 1973 and a factor of 3.8 more precise. The new result for $^{29}$S, together with those of the $T=3/2$ isobaric analog states (IAS) in $^{29}$P, $^{29}$Si, and $^{29}$Al, fit well into the quadratic form of the Isobaric Multiplet Mass Equation IMME. The mass excess of $^{27}$P has been remeasured to be $ME(^{27}$P$)=-685(42)$ keV. By analyzing the linear and quadratic coefficients of the IMME in the $T_z=-3/2$ $sd$-shell nuclei, it was found that the ratio of the Coulomb radius parameters is $R\approx0.96$ and is nearly the same for all $T=3/2$ isospin multiplets. Such a nearly constant $R$-value, apparently valid for the entire light mass region with $A>9$, can be used to set stringent constraints on the isovector and isotensor components of the isospin non-conserving forces in theoretical calculations.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2018

Limits on light WIMPs with a 1 kg-scale germanium detector at 160 eVee physics threshold at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory

We report results of a search for light weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter from the CDEX-1 experiment at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL). Constraints on WIMP-nucleon spin-independent (SI) and spin-dependent (SD) couplings are derived with a physics threshold of 160 eVee, from an exposure of 737.1 kg-days. The SI and SD limits extend the lower reach of light WIMPs to 2 GeV and improve over our earlier bounds at WIMP mass less than 6 GeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

Limits on Light Weakly Interacting Massive Particles from the First 102.8 kg ${\times}$ day Data of the CDEX-10 Experiment

We report the first results of a light weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) search from the CDEX-10 experiment with a 10 kg germanium detector array immersed in liquid nitrogen at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory with a physics data size of 102.8 kg day. At an analysis threshold of 160 eVee, improved limits of 8 $\times 10^{-42}$ and 3 $\times 10^{-36}$ cm$^{2}$ at a 90\% confidence level on spin-independent and spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon cross sections, respectively, at a WIMP mass ($m_χ$) of 5 GeV/${c}^2$ are achieved. The lower reach of $m_χ$ is extended to 2 GeV/${c}^2$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

First application of combined isochronous and Schottky mass spectrometry: Half-lives of fully ionized 49Cr24+ and 53Fe26+ atoms

Lifetime measurements of b -decaying highly charged ions have been performed in the storage ring CSRe by applying the isochronous Schottky mass spectrometry. The fully ionized 49Cr and 53Fe ions were produced in projectile fragmentation of 58Ni primary beam and were stored in the CSRe tuned into the isochronous ion-optical mode. The new resonant Schottky detector was applied to monitor the intensities of stored uncooled 49Cr24+ and 53Fe26+ ions. The extracted half-lives T1/2(49Cr24+) = 44.0(27) min and T1/2(53Fe26+) = 8.47(19) min are in excellent agreement with the literature half-life values corrected for the disabled electron capture branchings. This is an important proof-of-principle step towards realizing the simultaneous mass and lifetime measurements on exotic nuclei at the future storage ring facilities.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2018

Mass Measurements of Neutron-Deficient Y, Zr, and Nb Isotopes and Their Impact on $rp$ and $νp$ Nucleosynthesis Processes

Using isochronous mass spectrometry at the experimental storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou, the masses of $^{82}$Zr and $^{84}$Nb were measured for the first time with an uncertainty of $\sim 10$ keV, and the masses of $^{79}$Y, $^{81}$Zr, and $^{83}$Nb were re-determined with a higher precision. %The latter differ significantly from their literature values. The latter are significantly less bound than their literature values. Our new and accurate masses remove the irregularities of the mass surface in this region of the nuclear chart. Our results do not support the predicted island of pronounced low $α$ separation energies for neutron-deficient Mo and Tc isotopes, making the formation of Zr-Nb cycle in the $rp$-process unlikely. The new proton separation energy of $^{83}$Nb was determined to be 490(400)~keV smaller than that in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012. This partly removes the overproduction of the $p$-nucleus $^{84}$Sr relative to the neutron-deficient molybdenum isotopes in the previous $νp$-process simulations.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2018

Field Driven Quantum Criticality in the Spinel Magnet ZnCr$_2$Se$_4$

We report detailed dc and ac magnetic susceptibilities, specific heat, and thermal conductivity measurements on the frustrated magnet ZnCr$_2$Se$_4$. At low temperatures, with increasing magnetic field, this spinel material goes through a series of spin state transitions from the helix spin state to the spiral spin state and then to the fully polarized state. Our results indicate a direct quantum phase transition from the spiral spin state to the fully polarized state. As the system approaches the quantum criticality, we find strong quantum fluctuations of the spins with the behaviors such as an unconventional $T^2$-dependent specific heat and temperature independent mean free path for the thermal transport. We complete the full phase diagram of ZnCr$_2$Se$_4$ under the external magnetic field and propose the possibility of frustrated quantum criticality with extended densities of critical modes to account for the unusual low-energy excitations in the vicinity of the criticality. Our results reveal that ZnCr$_2$Se$_4$ is a rare example of 3D magnet exhibiting a field-driven quantum criticality with unconventional properties.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Generalized isobaric multiplet mass equation and its application to the Nolen-Schiffer anomaly

The Wigner Isobaric Multiplet Mass Equation (IMME) is the most fundamental prediction in nuclear physics with the concept of isospin. However, it was deduced based on the Wigner-Eckart theorem with the assumption that all charge-violating interactions can be written as tensors of rank two. In the present work, the charge-symmetry breaking (CSB) and charge-independent breaking (CIB) components of the nucleon-nucleon force, which contribute to the effective interaction in nuclear medium, are established in the framework of Brueckner theory with AV18 and AV14 bare interactions. Because such charge-violating components can no longer be expressed as an irreducible tensor due to density dependence, its matrix element cannot be analytically reduced by the Wigner-Eckart theorem. With an alternative approach, we derive a generalized IMME (GIMME) that modifies the coefficients of the original IMME. As the first application of GIMME, we study the long-standing question for the origin of the Nolen-Schiffer anomaly found in the Coulomb displacement energy of mirror nuclei. We find that the naturally-emerged CSB term in GIMME is largely responsible for explaining the Nolen-Schiffer anomaly.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2018

Observation of $^{6}$He+$t$ cluster states in $^{9}$Li

$^{6}$He+$t$ cluster states of exited $^{9}$Li have been measured by 32.7 MeV/nucleon $^{9}$Li beams bombarding on $^{208}$Pb target. Two resonant states are clearly observed with the excitation energies at 9.8 MeV and 12.6 MeV and spin-parity of 3/2$^{-}$ and 7/2$^{-}$ respectively. These two states are considered to be members of K$^π$=1/2$^{-}$ band. The spin-parity of them are identified by the method of angular correlation analysis and verified by the continuum discretized coupled channels (CDCC) calculation, which agrees with the prediction of the generator coordinate method (GCM). A monopole matrix element about 4 fm$^{2}$ for the 3/2$^{-}$ state is extracted from the distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) calculation. These results strongly support the feature of clustering structure of two neutron-rich clusters in the neutron-rich nucleus $^{9}$Li for the first time.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2016

First integrals of the axisymmetric shape equation of lipid membranes

The shape equation of lipid membranes [Zhong-can and Helfrich(1987) PRL 59 2486] is a fourth-order partial differential equation. Under the axisymmetric condition, this equation was transformed into a second-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) by Zheng and Liu [Zheng and Liu(1993) PRE 48 2856]. Here we try to further reduce this second-order ODE to a first-order ODE by seeking for first integrals according to the Noether theorem. We indeed find a first integral when the second-order ODE is invariant under conformation transformations. We obtain the mechanical interpretation of the first integral by using the membrane stress tensor.

math-ph↗

arXiv2016

Identification of the Lowest $T=2$, $J^{π=}0^+$ Isobaric Analog State in $^{52}$Co and Its Impact on the Understanding of $β$-Decay Properties of $^{52}$Ni

Masses of $^{52g,52m}$Co were measured for the first time with an accuracy of $\sim 10$ keV, an unprecedented precision reached for short-lived nuclei in the isochronous mass spectrometry. Combining our results with the previous $β$-$γ$ measurements of $^{52}$Ni, the $T=2$, $J^π=0^+$ isobaric analog state (IAS) in $^{52}$Co was newly assigned, questioning the conventional identification of IASs from the $β$-delayed proton emissions. Using our energy of the IAS in $^{52}$Co, the masses of the $T=2$ multiplet fit well into the Isobaric Multiplet Mass Equation. We find that the IAS in $^{52}$Co decays predominantly via $γ$ transitions while the proton emission is negligibly small. According to our large-scale shell model calculations, this phenomenon has been interpreted to be due to very low isospin mixing in the IAS.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2016

The decay characteristic of $^{22}$Si and its ground-state mass significantly affected by three-nucleon forces

The decay of the proton-rich nucleus $^{22}$Si was studied by a silicon array coupled with germanium clover detectors. Nine charged-particle groups are observed and most of them are recognized as $β$-delayed proton emission. A charged-particle group at 5600 keV is identified experimentally as $β$-delayed two-proton emission from the isobaric analog state of $^{22}$Al. Another charged-particle emission without any $β$ particle at the low energy less than 300 keV is observed. The half-life of $^{22}$Si is determined as 27.5 (18) ms. The experimental results of $β$-decay of $^{22}$Si are compared and in nice agreement with shell-model calculations. The mass excess of the ground state of $^{22}$Si deduced from the experimental data shows that three-nucleon (3N) forces with repulsive contributions have significant effects on nuclei near the proton drip line.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2016

Constraints on Axion couplings from the CDEX-1 experiment at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory

We report the results of searches for solar axions and galactic dark matter axions or axion-like particles with CDEX-1 experiment at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory, using 335.6 kg-days of data from a p-type point-contact germanium detector. The data are compatible with the background model and no excess signals are observed. Limits of solar axions on the model independent coupling $g_{Ae}<2.5\times10^{-11}$ from Compton, bremsstrahlung, atomic-recombination and deexcitation channel and $g^{\text{eff}}_{AN}\times g_{Ae}<6.1\times10^{-17}$ from $^{57}$Fe M1 transition at 90 % confidence level are derived. Within the framework of the DFSZ and KSVZ models, our results exclude the axion mass heavier than 0.9 eV/c$^{2}$ and 173 eV/c$^{2}$, respectively. The derived constraints for dark matter axions below 1 keV improves over the previous results.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Isomerism in the "south-east" of $^{132}$Sn and a predicted neutron-decaying isomer in $^{129}$Pd

Excited states in neutron-rich nuclei located south-east of $^{132}$Sn are investigated by shell-model calculations. A new shell-model Hamiltonian is constructed for the present study. The proton-proton and neutron-neutron interactions of the Hamiltonian are obtained through the existing CD-Bonn $G$ matrix results, while the proton-neutron interaction across two major shells is derived from the monopole based universal interaction plus the M3Y spin-orbit force. The present Hamiltonian can reproduce well the experimental data available in this region, including one-neutron separation energies, level energies and the experimental $B(E2)$ values of isomers in $^{134,136,138}$Sn, $^{130}$Cd, and $^{128}$Pd. New isomers are predicted in this region, $e.g.$ in $^{135}$Sn, $^{131}$Cd, $^{129}$Pd, $^{132,134}$In and $^{130}$Ag, in which almost no excited states are known experimentally yet. In the odd-odd $^{132,134}$In and $^{130}$Ag, the predicted very long $E2$ life-times of the low-lying $5^{-}$ states are discussed, demanding more information on the related proton-neutron interaction. The low-lying states of $^{132}$In are discussed in connection with the recently observed $γ$ rays. The predicted $19/2^{-}$ isomer in $^{129}$Pd could decay by both electromagnetic transitions and neutron emission with comparable partial life-times, making it a good candidate for neutron radioactivity, a decay mode which is yet to be discovered.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2016

An improvement of isochronous mass spectrometry: Velocity measurements using two time-of-flight detectors

Isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) in storage rings is a powerful tool for mass measurements of exotic nuclei with very short half-lives down to several tens of microseconds, using a multicomponent secondary beam separated in-flight without cooling. However, the inevitable momentum spread of secondary ions limits the precision of nuclear masses determined by using IMS. Therefore, the momentum measurement in addition to the revolution period of stored ions is crucial to reduce the influence of the momentum spread on the standard deviation of the revolution period, which would lead to a much improved mass resolving power of IMS. One of the proposals to upgrade IMS is that the velocity of secondary ions could be directly measured by using two time-of-flight (double TOF) detectors installed in a straight section of a storage ring. In this paper, we outline the principle of IMS with double TOF detectors and the method to correct the momentum spread of stored ions.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

Reaction rates of $^{64}$Ge($p,γ$)$^{65}$As and $^{65}$As($p,γ$)$^{66}$Se and the extent of nucleosynthesis in type I X-ray bursts

The extent of nucleosynthesis in models of type I X-ray bursts and the associated impact on the energy released in these explosive events are sensitive to nuclear masses and reaction rates around the $^{64}$Ge waiting point. Using the well known mass of $^{64}$Ge, the recently measured $^{65}$As mass, and large-scale shell model calculations, we have determined new thermonuclear rates of the $^{64}$Ge($p$,$γ$)$^{65}$As and $^{65}$As($p$,$γ$)$^{66}$Se reactions with reliable uncertainties. The new reaction rates differ significantly from previously published rates. Using the new data we analyze the impact of the new rates and the remaining nuclear physics uncertainties on the $^{64}$Ge waiting point in a number of representative one-zone X-ray burst models. We find that in contrast to previous work, when all relevant uncertainties are considered, a strong $^{64}$Ge $rp$-process waiting point cannot be ruled out. The nuclear physics uncertainties strongly affect X-ray burst model predictions of the synthesis of $^{64}$Zn, the synthesis of nuclei beyond $A=64$, energy generation, and burst light curve. We also identify key nuclear uncertainties that need to be addressed to determine the role of the $^{64}$Ge waiting point in X-ray bursts. These include the remaining uncertainty in the $^{65}$As mass, the uncertainty of the $^{66}$Se mass, and the remaining uncertainty in the $^{65}$As($p$,$γ$)$^{66}$Se reaction rate, which mainly originates from uncertain resonance energies.

astro-ph.SR↗