arXiv subjects

Yu. A. Litvinov

Publications and source records attributed to Yu. A. Litvinov.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Electron capture of Xe$^{54+}$ in collisions with H${_2}$ molecules in the energy range between 5.5 MeV/u and 30.9 MeV/u

The electron capture process was studied for Xe$^{54+}$ colliding with H$_2$ molecules at the internal gas target of the ESR storage ring at GSI, Darmstadt. Cross section values for electron capture into excited projectile states were deduced from the observed emission cross section of Lyman radiation, being emitted by the hydrogen-like ions subsequent to the capture of a target electron. The ion beam energy range was varied between 5.5 MeV/u and 30.9 MeV/u by applying the deceleration mode of the ESR. Thus, electron capture data was recorded at the intermediate and in particular the low collision energy regime, well below the beam energy necessary to produce bare xenon ions. The obtained data is found to be in reasonable qualitative agreement with theoretical approaches, while a commonly applied empirical formula significantly overestimates the experimental findings.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2020

First investigation of the response of solar cells to heavy ions above 1 AMeV

Solar cells have been used since several decades for the detection of fission fragments at about 1 AMeV. The advantages of solar cells regarding their cost (few euros) and radiation damage resistance make them an interesting candidate for heavy ion detection and an appealing alternative to silicon detectors. A first exploratory measurement of the response of solar cells to heavy ions at energies above 1 AMeV has been performed at the GANIL facility, Caen, France. Such measurements were performed with 84Kr and 129Xe beams ranging from 7 to 13 AMeV. The energy and time response of several types of solar cells were studied. The best performance was observed for cells of 10x10 mm2, with an energy and time resolution of σ(E)/E=1.4% and 3.6 ns (FWHM), respectively. Irradiations at rates from a few hundred to 106 particles per second were also performed to investigate the behavior of the cells with increasing intensity.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

First glimpse of the $N=82$ shell closure below $Z=50$ from masses of neutron-rich cadmium isotopes and isomers

We probe the $N=82$ nuclear shell closure by mass measurements of neutron-rich cadmium isotopes with the ISOLTRAP spectrometer at ISOLDE-CERN. The new mass of $^{132}$Cd offers the first value of the $N=82$, two-neutron shell gap below $Z=50$ and confirms the phenomenon of mutually enhanced magicity at $^{132}$Sn. Using the recently implemented phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance method, the ordering of the low-lying isomers in $^{129}$Cd and their energies are determined. The new experimental findings are used to test large-scale shell-model, mean-field and beyond-mean-field calculations, as well as the ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

New Test of Modulated Electron Capture Decay of Hydrogen-Like $^{142}$Pm Ions: Precision Measurement of Purely Exponential Decay

An experiment addressing electron capture (EC) decay of hydrogen-like $^{142}$Pm$^{60+}$ ions has been conducted at the experimental storage ring (ESR) at GSI. The decay appears to be purely exponential and no modulations were observed. Decay times for about 9000 individual EC decays have been measured by applying the single-ion decay spectroscopy method. Both visually and automatically analysed data can be described by a single exponential decay with decay constants of 0.0126(7) s$^{-1}$ for automatic analysis and 0.0141(7) s$^{-1}$ for manual analysis. If a modulation superimposed on the exponential decay curve is assumed, the best fit gives a modulation amplitude of merely 0.019(15), which is compatible with zero and by 4.9 standard deviations smaller than in the original observation which had an amplitude of 0.23(4).

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Masses of ground and isomeric states of $^{101}$In and configuration-dependent shell evolution in odd-$A$ indium isotopes

We report first precision mass measurements of the $1/2^-$ isomeric and $9/2^+$ ground states of $^{101}$In. The determined isomeric excitation energy continues a smooth trend of odd-$A$ indium isotopes up to the immediate vicinity of $N=50$ magic number. This trend can be confirmed by dedicated shell model calculations only if the neutron configuration mixing is considered. We find that the single particle energies are different for different states of the same isotope. The presented configuration-dependent shell evolution, type II shell evolution, in odd-$A$ nuclei is discussed for the first time. Our results will facilitate future studies of single-particle neutron states.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Masses of neutron-rich $^{\operatorname{52-54}}$Sc and $^{54,56}$Ti nuclides: The $N=32$ subshell closure in scandium

Isochronous mass spectrometry has been applied in the storage ring CSRe to measure the masses of the neutron-rich $^{\operatorname{52-54}}$Sc and $^{54,56}$Ti nuclei. The new mass excess values $ME$($^{52}$Sc) $=$ $-40525(65)$ keV, $ME$($^{53}$Sc) $=$ $-38910(80)$ keV, and $ME$($^{54}$Sc) $=$ $-34485(360)$ keV, deviate from the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012 by 2.3$σ$, 2.8$σ$, and 1.7$σ$, respectively. These large deviations significantly change the systematics of the two-neutron separation energies of scandium isotopes. The empirical shell gap extracted from our new experimental results shows a significant subshell closure at $N = 32$ in scandium, with a similar magnitude as in calcium. Moreover, we present $ab$ $initio$ calculations using the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group based on two- and three-nucleon interactions from chiral effective field theory. The theoretical results confirm the existence of a substantial $N = 32$ shell gap in Sc and Ca with a decreasing trend towards lighter isotones, thus providing a consistent picture of the evolution of the $N = 32$ magic number from the $pf$ into the $sd$ shell.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Improving the resolving power of Isochronous Mass Spectrometry by employing an in-ring mechanical slit

Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) in heavy-ion storage rings is an excellent experimental method for precision mass measurements of exotic nuclei. In the IMS, the storage ring is tuned in a special isochronous ion-optical mode. Thus, the mass-over-charge ratios of the stored ions are directly reflected by their respective revolution times in first order. However, the inevitable momentum spread of secondary ions increases the peak widths in the measured spectra and consequently limits the achieved mass precision. In order to achieve a higher mass resolving power, the ring aperture was reduced to 60 mm by applying a mechanical slit system at the dispersive straight section. The momentum acceptance was reduced as well as better isochronous conditions were achieved. The results showed a significant improvement of the mass resolving power reaching $5.2 \times 10^{5}$, though at the cost of about 40\% ion loss.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Nuclear-matter distribution in the proton-rich nuclei $^7$Be and $^8$B from intermediate energy proton elastic scattering in inverse kinematics

Absolute differential cross sections for elastic $p^7$Be and $p^8$B small-angle scattering were measured in inverse kinematics at an energy of 0.7 GeV/u at GSI Darmstadt. The hydrogen-filled ionization chamber IKAR was used as an active target to detect the recoil protons. The projectile tracking and isotope identification were performed with multi-wire proportional chambers and scintillation detectors. The measured cross sections were analysed using the Glauber multiple-scattering theory. The root-mean-square (rms) nuclear matter radii $R_{\rm m} = 2.42 (4)$ fm for $^7$Be and $R_{\rm m} = 2.58 (6)$ fm for $^8$B were obtained. The radial density distribution deduced for $^8$B exhibits a proton halo structure with the rms halo radius $R_{\rm h} = 4.24 (25)$ fm. A comparison of the deduced experimental radii is displayed with existing experimental and theoretical data.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Towards the Limits of Existence of Nuclear Structure: Observation and First spectroscopy of the Isotope $^{31}$K by measuring its three-proton Decay

The most-remote from stability isotope $^{31}$K, which is located four atomic mass units beyond the proton drip line, has been observed. It is unbound in respect to three-proton (${3p}$) emission, and its decays have been detected in flight by measuring trajectories of all decay products using micro-strip detectors. The $3p$-emission processes have been studied by means of angular correlations $^{28}$S+3$p$ and the respective decay vertexes. The energies of the previously-unknown ground and excited states of $^{31}$K have been determined. This provides its $3p$ separation-energy value $S_{3p}$ of $-4.6(2)$ MeV. Upper half-life limits of 10 ps of the observed $^{31}$K states have been derived from distributions of the measured decay vertexes.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Position sensitive resonant Schottky cavities for heavy ion storage rings

Studying the rapid neutron capture process (r-process) in stellar environments, that leads to the creation of elements heavier than 56-Fe, remains one of the fundamental questions of modern physics and therefore an active field of research within nuclear astrophysics. Exotic nuclides which participate in the r-process due to their low production yield and short half-life can be efficiently investigated in storage rings. In such facilities non-destructive methods of particle detection are often used for in-flight measurements based on frequency analysis. Due to the low signal level the detectors should be very sensitive and fast because of short lifetime of the particles. Resonant Schottky cavity pickups fulfill such requirement. Apart from their applications in the measurements of beam parameters, they can be used in non-destructive in-ring decay studies of radioactive ion beams. In addition, position sensitive Schottky pick-up cavities can enhance precision in the isochronous mass measurement technique. The goal of this work is to design such a position sensitive resonant Schottky cavity pickup based on theoretical calculations and simulations.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Radiative electron capture as a tunable source of highly linearly polarized x-rays

The radiative electron capture (REC) into the K shell of bare Xe ions colliding with a hydrogen gas target has been investigated. In this study, the degree of linear polarization of the K-REC radiation was measured and compared with rigorous relativistic calculations as well as with the previous results recorded for U$^{92+}$. Owing to the improved detector technology a significant gain in precision of the present polarization measurement is achieved compared to the previously published results. The obtained data confirms that for medium-Z ions such as Xe the REC process is a source of highly polarized x-rays which can easily be tuned with respect to the degree of linear polarization and the photon energy. We argue, in particular, that for relatively low energies the photons emitted under large angles are almost fully linear polarized.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

A Magnetic Spectrometer for Electron-Positron Pair Spectroscopy in Storage Rings

We report an analysis of electron-optical properties of a toroidal magnetic sector spectrometer and examine parameters for its implementation in a relativistic heavy-ion storage ring like HESR at the future FAIR facility. For studies of free-free pair production in heavy-ion atom collisions, this spectrometer exhibits very high efficiencies for coincident $e^+e^-$ pair spectroscopy over a wide range of momenta of emitted lepton pairs. The high coincidence efficiency of the spectrometer is the key for stringent tests of theoretical predictions for the phase space correlation of lepton vector momenta in free-free pair production.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Beyond Wigner's isobaric multiplet mass equation: Effect of charge-symmetry-breaking interaction and Coulomb polarization

The quadratic form of the isobaric multiplet mass equation (IMME), which was originally suggested by Wigner and has been generally regarded as valid, is seriously questioned by recent high-precision nuclear mass measurements. The usual resolution to this problem is to add empirically the cubic and quartic $T_z$-terms to characterize the deviations from the IMME, but finding the origin of these terms remains an unsolved difficulty. Based on a strategy beyond the Wigner's first-order perturbation, we derive explicitly the cubic and quartic $T_z$-terms. These terms are shown to be generated by the effective charge-symmetry breaking and charge-independent breaking interactions in nuclear medium combined with the Coulomb polarization effect. Calculations for the $sd$- and lower $fp$-shells explore a systematical emergence of the cubic $T_z$-term, suggesting a general deviation from the original IMME. Intriguingly, the magnitude of the deviation exhibits an oscillation-like behavior with mass number, modulated by the shell effect.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2019

Approaching the Gamow window with stored ions: Direct measurement of $^{124}$Xe(p,$γ$) in the ESR storage ring

We report the first measurement of low-energy proton-capture cross sections of $^{124}$Xe in a heavy ion storage ring. $^{124}$Xe$^{54+}$ ions of five different beam energies between 5.5 AMeV and 8 AMeV were stored to collide with a windowless hydrogen target. The $^{125}$Cs reaction products were directly detected. The interaction energies are located on the high energy tail of the Gamow window for hot, explosive scenarios such as supernovae and X-ray binaries. The results serve as an important test of predicted astrophysical reaction rates in this mass range. Good agreement in the prediction of the astrophysically important proton width at low energy is found, with only a 30% difference between measurement and theory. Larger deviations are found above the neutron emission threshold, where also neutron- and $γ$-widths significantly impact the cross sections. The newly established experimental method is a very powerful tool to investigate nuclear reactions on rare ion beams at low center-of-mass energies.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Neutron skin and signature of the $N$ = 14 shell gap found from measured proton radii of $^{17-22}$N

A thick neutron skin emerges from the first determination of root mean square radii of the proton distributions for $^{17-22}$N from charge changing cross section measurements around 900$A$ MeV at GSI. Neutron halo effects are signaled for $^{22}$N from an increase in the proton and matter radii. The radii suggest an unconventional shell gap at $N$ = 14 arising from the attractive proton-neutron tensor interaction, in good agreement with shell model calculations. $Ab$ $initio$, in-medium similarity re-normalization group, calculations with a state-of-the-art chiral nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interaction reproduce well the data approaching the neutron drip-line isotopes but are challenged in explaining the complete isotopic trend of the radii.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2018

Experimental Investigation of the Transition Energy $γ_t$ in the Isochronous Mode of the HIRFL-CSRe

The Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) based on storage rings is a powerful technique for mass measurement of short-lived exotic nuclei. The transition energy $γ_t$ of the storage ring is a vital parameter of the IMS technique. It is difficult to measure the $γ_t$ and its relation to momentum spread or circulating length, especially to monitor the variation of $γ_t$ during experiments. An experimental investigation on the $γ_t$ has been performed for the IMS experiment at the Cooler Storage Ring of the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL-CSRe). With the velocity measured by two time-of-flight (TOF) detectors, the $γ_t$ as a function of orbital length can be determined. The influences of higher order magnetic field components on the $γ_t$ function were inferred for isochronous correction. This paper introduces and investigates the influence of dipole magnetic fields, quadrupole magnetic fields and sextupole magnetic fields on the $γ_t$ function. With the quadrupole magnets and sextupole magnets corrections, a mass resolution of 171332 (FWHM) and $σ(T)/T=1.34\times10^{-6}$ were reached, which shall be compared with 31319 (FWHM) and $σ(T)/T=7.35\times10^{-6}$ obtained without correction.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2018

Storage ring mass spectrometry for nuclear structure and astrophysics research

In the last two and a half decades ion storage rings have proven to be powerful tools for precision experiments with unstable nuclides in realm of nuclear structure and astrophysics. There are presently three storage ring facilities in the world at which experiments with stored radioactive ions are possible. These are the ESR in GSI, Darmstadt/Germany, the CSRe in IMP, Lanzhou/China, and the R3 storage ring in RIKEN, Saitama/Japan. In this work, an introduction to the facilities is given. Selected characteristic experimental results and their impact in nuclear physics and astrophysics are presented. Planned technical developments and the envisioned future experiments are outlined.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2018

Application of isochronous mass spectrometry for the study of angular momentum population in projectile fragmentation reactions

Isochronous mass spectrometry was applied to measure isomeric yield ratios of fragmentation reaction products. This approach is complementary to conventional gamma-ray spectroscopy in particular for measuring yield ratios for long-lived isomeric states. Isomeric yield ratios for the high-spin I = 19/2 states in the mirror nuclei 53Fe and 53Co are measured to study angular momentum population following the projectile fragmentation of 78Kr at energies of 480A MeV on a beryllium target. The 19/2 state isomeric ratios of 53Fe produced from different projectiles in the literature have also been extracted as a function of mass number difference between projectile and fragment (mass loss). The results are compared to ABRABLA07 model calculations. The isomeric ratios of 53Fe produced using different projectiles suggest that the theory underestimates not only the previously reported dependence on the spin but also the dependence on the mass loss.

nucl-ex↗