New β-delayed proton decays in the rare-earth region near the proton drip line

The β-delayed proton precursors125Nd128Pm129Sm,137Gd and139Dy near the proton drip line were produced by the irradiation of92Mo,96Ru and106Cd with an36Ar beam, and conclusively identified for the first time by using proton-gamma coincidence in combination with a He-jet tape transport system. Their half-lives were determined to be 0.60(15)s,1.0(3)s,O.55(10)s,2.2(2)s and 0.6 (2)s, respectively. The measured energy spectra of β-delayed protons and estimated proton branching ratios to the final states in “daughter” nuclei for the precursors125Nd,129Sm,137Gd and139Dy, as well as the previously reported ones for the precursors135Gd and121Ce, were fitted by a statistical model calculation. The ground-state spins and parities of121Ce,125Nd,129Sm,139Gd,137Gd and139Dy were then assigned as 5/2±,5/2±, 1/2± (or 3/2+), 5/2+,7/2+- and 7/2, respectively. The consistency between the experimental spin-parity assignment and the predicted Nilsson diagrams indirectly indicates that the ground states of121Ce,125Nd,129Sm,135Gd,137Gd and139Dy are highly deformed with β2, - 0.3.

β-delayed proton decays near the proton drip line

We briefly reviewed the experimental study on a-delayed proton decays near the proton drip line published by our group during the period of 1996―2004, namely the first observation of the a-delayed proton decays of 9 new nuclides in the rare-earth region and the new measurements of a-delayed proton decays of 5 nuclides in the mass ～90 region near the N = Z line with the aid of the “p-?” coincidence in combination with a He-jet tape transport system. In the meantime some important experimental technique details were supplemented. The experimental results, including the half -lives, spins, parities, deformations and production reaction cross sections for the 14 nuclei were summarized and compared with the current nuclear-model predictions, and then the following points were represented. (1) The experimental half-lives for 85Mo and 92Rh as well as the predicted “waiting point” nuclei 89Ru and 93Pd are 5―10 times longer than the theoretical predictions given by M?ller et al. using a macroscopic-microscopic model. It considerably influences the predictions of the abundances of the nuclides produced in the rp-process. (2) The current-model predictions are not consistent with the experimental assignments of the spins and parities for the proton drip-line nuclei 142Ho and 128Pm. However, the nuclear potential energy surface (PES) calculated by using a Woods- Saxon-Strutinsky method reproduced the experimental results. (3) The Alice code overestimated the production reaction cross sections of the studied 9 rare-earth nuclei by one order of magnitude or two, while HIVAP code overestimated them by one order of magnitude approximately.

Determination for β-delayed fission probability of ^(230)Ac

The230Ra has been produced via232Th-2p reaction induced by 60 MeV/u18O ion irradiation of natural thorium. The radium was radiochemically separated from the mixture of thorium and reaction products. Thin Ra sources in which230Ac was got through $^{230} Ra\xrightarrow{{\beta ^ - }}^{230} $ Ac were prepared for observing fission fragments from β-delayed fission of230Ac. The sources were exposed to the mica fission track detectors and measured by the HPGe γ detector. The precursor230Ac was identified by means of observed two fission events as well as γ spectra, and the β-delayed fission probability of230Ac was obtained to be (1.19 ± 0.85) × 10-8.

β-delayed proton decay of the proton drip-line nucleus ^(142)Ho in the rare-earth region

New β-delayed proton precursor 142Ho was produced via heavy ion induced reaction 106Cd(40Ca, p3n), and identified for the first time by using a He-jet fast tape transport system in combination with 'p-γ' coincidence measurements. The β-delayed proton decay of 142Ho was observed and its half life was determined to be (0.4±0.1) s. By fitting the experimental relative branching ratios to final states in the proton daughter nucleus 141Tb and the energy spectrum of β-delayed protons with a statistical model calculation, the ground-state spin of 142Ho was assigned as 5, 6 or 7. Nuclear energy-potential-surface (EPS) calculations were performed using the Woods-Saxon Strutinsky method. The calculated results favored the assignments of 7- to 142Ho. AS the by-products, some γ-transitions in the proton daughter nuclei following the β-delayed proton decays of precursors 139Gd, 140Tb, 142Tb, and 143Dy were reported here for the first time.

β-delayed proton decay of ^(89)Ru

89Ru was synthesized in the reaction of 58Ni (36Ar, 2p3n) on the basis of a 'p-γ' coincidence measurement by using a He-jet tape transport system, and its p-delayed proton emission with a half-life of (1.1 ±0.2) s was investigated. The p-delayed proton spectrum of 89Ru populating the low-lying states in 88Mo was obtained, and the final state proton branching ratios to the low-lying 2+ and 4 + states in88Mo were estimated to be 100:6. Based on the statistical model calculations, the ground state spin of 89Ru was preliminarily assigned to be 5/2+ or 7/2±, and the mass excess of 89Ru was deduced to be -59.5 MeV.

Properties of the β-delayed proton decay of ^(146)Ho

The proton-rich isotope 146Ho was produced via the fusion-evaporation reaction ^92Mo （^58Ni, 3p1n）. The β-delayed proton decay of 146Ho was studied by proton-γ coincidence measurements using a He-jet tape transport system. The γ-transitions in ^145Tb following the proton emissions were observed, and the β-delayed proton branching ratios to the final states in the grand-daughter nucleus ^145Tb were determined. According to the relative branching ratios, the ground-state spin of 146Ho has been proposed and the possible configuration discussed.

Investigation ofβ—‑decay half‑life and delayed neutron emission with uncertainty analysis

β-decay half-life and β-delayed neutron emission(βn) are of great importance in the development of basic science and industrial applications, such as nuclear physics and nuclear energy, where β--decay plays an important role. Many theoretical models have been proposed to describe β-decay half-lives, whereas the systematic study of βn is still rare. This study aimed to investigate β--decay half-lives and βn probabilities through analytical formulas and by comparing them with experimental data. Analytical formulas for β--decay properties have been proposed by considering prominent factors, that is, decay energy,odevity, and the shell effect. The bootstrap method was used to simultaneously evaluate the total uncertainty on calculations,which was composed of statistic and systematic uncertainties. β--decay half-lives, βn probabilities, and the corresponding uncertainties were evaluated for the neutron-rich region. The experimental half-lives were well reproduced. Additional predictions are also presented with theoretical uncertainties, which helps to better understand the disparity between the experimental and theoretical results.

β-decay studies of the neutron-rich ^(18,21)N isotopes

The β-decay studies of neutron-rich 18,21N isotopes have been performed using β-n, β-γ, and β-n-γ coincidence methods. The 18,21N ions were produced by the fragmentation of the 22Ne and 26Mg beams, respectively, on a thick beryllium target. The time of flight of the emitted neutrons following the β-decay of 18,21N was measured by a neutron detector system with wide energy detection range and low-energy detection threshold. In addition, several clover germanium detectors were used to detect the β-delayed γ-rays. The half-lives of the β-decays of 18N and 21N were determined to be (619±2) ms and (82.9±7.5) ms, respec tively. Several new β-delayed neutron groups were observed with a total branching ratio of (6.98±1.46)% and (90.5±4.2)% for 18N and 21N, respectively. The level schemes of 18O and 21O were deduced. The experimental Gamow-Teller β-decay strengths of 18N and 21N to these levels were compared with the shell model calculations.

An Implantation and Detection System for Spectroscopy of 22,24Si

A new decay detection system with high detection efficiency and low detection threshold has been developed for charged-particle decay studies, including β-delayed proton, α decay or direct proton emission from proton-rich nuclei. The detection system was tested by using the β-delayed proton emitter ^(24)Si and was commissioned in the decay study of ^(22)Si produced by projectile fragmentation at the First Radioactive Ion Beam Line in Lanzhou. Under a continuous-beam mode, the isotopes of interest were implanted into two double-sided silicon strip detectors, where the subsequent decays were measured and correlated to the preceding implantations by using position and time information. The system allows to measure protons with energies down to about 200 ke V without obvious β background in the proton spectrum. Further application of the detection system can be extended to the measurements of β-delayed proton decay and the direct proton emission of other exotic proton-rich nuclei.

Comparison of β-decay and Charge-exchange Reactions in Mirror T=2 Nuclei and Isospin Mixing

We have carried out β decay studies of proton rich nuclei in the fp shell at different laboratories.Here we present our recent results on the β decay of Tz =-2 nuclei performed at GANIL and compare them with the Charge Exchange reactions on their stable, mirror-partner targets, performed at RCNP.In one of the cases, the ^(56)Zn-^(56)Fe pair, a strong isospin mixing has been observed. The results are well reproduced in the framework of Shell Model calculations.