Possibilities for the synthesis of superheavy element Z=121 in fusion reactions

Based on the dinuclear system model,the calculated evaporation residue cross sections matched well with the current experimental results.The synthesis of superheavy elements Z=121 was systematically studied through combinations of stable projectiles with Z=21-30 and targets with half-lives exceeding 50 d.The influence of mass asymmetry and isotopic dependence on the projectile and target nuclei was investigated in detail.The reactions^(254)Es(^(46)Ti,3n)^(297)121 and^(252)Es(^(46)Ti,3n)^(295)121 were found to be experimentally feasible for synthesizing superheavy element Z=121,with maximal evaporation residue cross sections of 6.619 and 4.123 fb at 219.9 and 223.9 MeV,respectively.

Improved mass relations of mirror nuclei

In this study,we revisit the previous mass relations of mirror nuclei by considering 1/N-and 1/Z-dependent terms and the shell effect across a shell.The root-mean-squared deviation is 66 keV for 116 nuclei with neutron number N≥10,as com-pared with experimental data compiled in the AME2020 database.The predicted mass excesses of 173 proton-rich nuclei,including 98 unknown nuclei,are tabulated in the Supplemental Material herein with competitive accuracy.

The breaking of spin symmetry in the single-particle resonances in deformed nuclei

The exploration of spin symmetry (SS) in nuclear physics has been instrumental in identifying atomic nucleus structures.In this study,we solve the Dirac equation from the relativistic mean field (RMF) in complex momentum representation.We investigated SS and its breaking in single-particle resonant states within deformed nuclei,with a focus on the illustrative nucleus168Er.This was the initial discovery of a resonant spin doublet in a deformed nucleus,with the expectation of the SS approaching the continuum threshold.With increasing single-particle energy,the splitting of the resonant spin doublets widened significantly.This escalating splitting implies diminishing adherence to the SS,indicating a departure from the expected behavior as the energy levels increase.We also analyzed the width of the resonant states,showing that lower orbital angular momentum resonances possess shorter decay times and that SS is preserved within broad resonant doublets,as opposed to narrow resonant doublets.Comparing the radial density of the upper components for the bound-state and resonant-state doublets,it becomes evident that while SS is well-preserved in the bound states,it deteriorates in the resonant states.The impact of nuclear deformation (β_(2)) on SS was examined,demonstrating that an increase in β_(2) resulted in higher energy and width splitting in the resonant spin doublets,which is attributed to increased component mixing.Furthermore,the sensitivity of spin doublets to various potential parameters such as surface diffuseness (a),radius (R),and depth (Σ0) is discussed,emphasizing the role of these parameters in SS.This study provides valuable insights into the behavior of spin doublets in deformed nuclei and their interplay with the nuclear structure,thereby advancing our understanding of SS in the resonance state.

Possibility of reaching the predicted center of the“island of stability”via the radioactive beam-induced fusion reactions

Based on the dinuclear system model,the synthesis of the predicted double-magic nuclei^(298)Fl and 304120 was investigated via neutron-rich radioactive beam-induced fusion reactions.The reaction^(58)Ca+^(244)Pu is predicted to be favorable for producing^(298)Fl with a maximal ER cross section of 0.301 pb.Investigations of the entrance channel effect reveal that the^(244)Pu target is more promising for synthesizing^(298)Fl than the neutron-rich targets^(248)Cm and^(249)Bk,because of the influence of the Coulomb barrier.For the synthesis of 304120,the maximal ER cross section of 0.046 fb emerges in the reaction^(58)V+^(249)Bk,indicating the need for further advancements in both experimental facilities and reaction mechanisms.

Opportunities for production and property research of neutron-rich nuclei around N=126 at HIAF

The study of nuclide production and its properties in the N=126 neutron-rich region is prevalent in nuclear physics and astrophysics research.The upcoming High-energy FRagment Separator(HFRS)at the High-Intensity heavy-ion Accelerator Facility(HIAF),an in-flight separator at relativistic energies,is characterized by high beam intensity,large ion-optical acceptance,high magnetic rigidity,and high momentum resolution power.This provides an opportunity to study the production and properties of neutron-rich nuclei around N=126.In this paper,an experimental scheme is proposed to produce neutron-rich nuclei around N=126 and simultaneously measure their mass and lifetime based on the HFRS separator;the feasibility of this scheme is evaluated through simulations.The results show that under the high-resolution optical mode,many new neutron-rich nuclei approaching the r-process abundance peak around A=195 can be produced for the first time,and many nuclei with unknown masses and lifetimes can be produced with high statistics.Using the time-of-flight corrected by the measured dispersive position and energy loss information,the cocktails produced from 208 Pb fragmentation can be unambiguously identified.Moreover,the masses of some neutron-rich nuclei near N=126 can be measured with high precision using the time-of-flight magnetic rigidity technique.This indicates that the HIAF-HFRS facility has the potential for the production and property research of neutron-rich nuclei around N=126,which is of great significance for expanding the chart of nuclides,developing nuclear theories,and understanding the origin of heavy elements in the universe.

Isotopic dependence of the yield ratios of light fragments from different projectiles and their unified neutron skin thicknesses

The yield ratios of neutron-proton(R(n/p))and^(3)H-^(3)He(R(^(3)H∕^(3)He))with reduced rapidity from 0 to 0.5 were simulated at 50 MeV/u even-even ^(36−56)Ca+^(40)Ca,even-even ^(48−78)Ni+^(58)Ni,and ^(100−139)Sn(every third isotopes)+112 Sn for full reduced impact parameters using the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics(IQMD)model.The neutron and proton density distributions and root-mean-square radii of the reaction systems were obtained using the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock model,which was used for the phase space initialization of the projectile and target in IQMD.We defined the unified neutron skin thickness asΔRnp=<r^(2)>^(1∕2) n−<r^(2)>^(1∕2)p,which was negative for neutron-deficient nuclei.The unifiedΔRnp values for nuclei with the same relative neutron excess from different isotopic chains were nearly equal,except for extreme neutron-rich isotopes,which is a type of scaling behavior.The yield ratios of the three isotopic chain-induced reactions,which depended on the reduced impact parameter and unified neutron skin thickness,were studied.The results showed that both R(n/p)and R(^(3)H∕^(3)He)decreased with a reduced impact parameter for extreme neutron-deficient isotopes;however,they increased with reduced impact parameters for extreme neutron-rich isotopes,and increased with theΔRnp of the projectiles for all reduced impact parameters.In addition,a scaling phenomenon was observed betweenΔR np and the yield ratios in peripheral colli-sions from different isotopic chain projectiles(except for extreme neutron-rich isotopes).Thus,R(n/p)and R(^(3)H∕^(3)He)from peripheral collisions were suggested as experimental probes for extracting the neutron or proton skin thicknesses of non-extreme neutron-rich nuclei from different isotopic chains.

On joint analysing XMM-NuSTAR spectra of active galactic nuclei

A recently released XMM-Newton note revealed a significant calibration issue between nuclear spectroscopic telescope array(NuSTAR)and XMM-Newton European Photon Imaging Camera(EPIC)and provided an empirical correction to the EPIC effective area.To quantify the bias caused by the calibration issue in the joint analysis of XMM-NuSTAR spectra and verify the effectiveness of the correction,in this work,we perform joint-fitting of the NuSTAR and EPIC-pn spectra for a large sample of 104 observation pairs of 44 X-ray bright active galactic nuclei(AGN).The spectra were extracted after requiring perfect simultaneity between the XMM-Newton and NuSTAR exposures(merging good time intervals(GTIs)from two missions)to avoid bias due to the rapid spectral variability of the AGN.Before the correction,the EPIC-pn spectra are systematically harder than the corresponding NuSTAR spectra by■subsequently yielding significantly underestimated cutoff energy E_(cut)and the strength of reflection component R when performing joint-fitting.We confirm that the correction is highly effective and can commendably erase the discrepancy in best-fitΓ,E_(cut),and R.We thus urge the community to apply the correction when joint-fitting XMM-NuSTAR spectra,but note that the correction is limited to 3–12 keV and therefore not applicable when the soft X-ray band data are included.Besides,we show that as merging GTIs from two missions would cause severe loss of NuSTAR net exposure time,in many cases,joint-fitting yields no advantage compared with utilizing NuSTAR data alone.Finally,We present a technical note on filtering periods of high background flares for XMM-Newton EPIC-pn exposures in the small window(SW)mode.

Signal intensity changes of dentate nucleus on plain MR T1WI innasopharyngeal carcinoma patients after radiotherapy andmultiple injections of gadolinium-base contrast agent

Objective To observe changes of plain MR T1WI signal intensity of dentate nucleus in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients after radiotherapy and multiple times of intravenous injection of gadolinium-based contrast agent(GBCA).Methods Fifty patients with pathologically confirmed nasopharyngeal carcinoma and received intensity-modulated radiotherapy were retrospectively enrolled as the nasopharyngeal carcinoma group,and 50 patients with other malignant tumors and without history of brain radiotherapy were retrospectively enrolled as the control group.All patients received yearly GBCA enhanced MR examinations for the nasopharynx or the head.T1WI signal intensities of the dentate nucleus and the pons on same plane were measured based on images in the year of confirmed diagnosis(recorded as the first year)and in the second to the fifth years.T1WI signal intensity ratio of year i(ranging from 1 to 5)was calculated with values of dentate nucleus divided by values of the pons(ΔSI i),while the percentage of relative changes of year j(ranging from 2 to 5)was calculated withΔSI j compared toΔSI 1(Rchange j).The values of these two parameters were compared,and the correlation ofΔSI and GBCA injection year-time was evaluated within each group.Results No significant difference of gender,age norΔSI 1 was found between groups(all P>0.05).The second to the fifth yearΔSI and Rchange in nasopharyngeal carcinoma group were all higher than those in control group(all P<0.05).Within both groups,ΔSI was positively correlated with GBCA injection year-time(both P<0.05).Conclusion Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who underwent radiotherapy and multiple times of intravenous injection of GBCA tended to be found with gradually worsening GBCA deposition in dentate nucleus,for which radiotherapy might be a risk factor.

Improved nuclear mass formula with an additional term from the Fermi gas model

Nuclear mass is a fundamental property of nuclear physics and a necessary input in nuclear astrophysics.Owing to the complexity of atomic nuclei and nonperturbative strong interactions,conventional physical models cannot completely describe nuclear binding energies.In this study,the mass formula was improved by considering an additional term from the Fermi gas model.All nuclear masses in the Atomic Mass Evaluation Database were reproduced with a root-mean-square deviation(RMSD)of -1.86 MeV(1.92 MeV).The new mass formula exhibits good performance in the neutron-rich nuclear region.The RMSD decreases to 0.393 MeV when the ratio of the neutron number to the proton number is≥1.6.

One-neutron stripping process in the^(209)Bi(^(6)Li,^(5)Li)^(210)Bi*reaction reaction

One-neutron stripping process between^(6)Li and^(209)Bi was studied at 28,30,and 34 MeV using the in-beamγ-ray spectroscopy method.Theγ-γcoincident analysis clearly identified twoγ-rays feeding the ground and long-lived isomeric states,which were employed to determine the cross section.The one-neutron stripping cross sections were similar to the cross sections of complete fusion in the^(6)Li+^(209)Bi system,but the one-neutron stripping cross sections decreased more gradually at the sub-barrier region.A coupled-reaction-channel calculation was performed to study the detailed reaction mechanism of the one-neutron stripping process in^(6)Li.The calculations indicated that the first excited state of 5 Li is critical in the actual one-neutron transfer mechanism,and the valence proton of 209Bi can be excited to the low-lying excited state in(^(6)Li,^(5)Li)reaction,unlike in the(d,p)reaction.

Multi-layer phenomena in petawatt laser-driven acceleration of heavy ions

Laser-accelerated high-flux-intensity heavy-ion beams are important for new types of accelerators.A particle-in-cell program(Smilei) is employed to simulate the entire process of Station of Extreme Light(SEL) 100 PW laser-accelerated heavy particles using different nanoscale short targets with a thickness of 100 nm Cr, Fe, Ag, Ta, Au, Pb, Th and U, as well as 200 nm thick Al and Ca. An obvious stratification is observed in the simulation. The layering phenomenon is a hybrid acceleration mechanism reflecting target normal sheath acceleration and radiation pressure acceleration, and this phenomenon is understood from the simulated energy spectrum,ionization and spatial electric field distribution. According to the stratification, it is suggested that high-quality heavy-ion beams could be expected for fusion reactions to synthesize superheavy nuclei. Two plasma clusters in the stratification are observed simultaneously, which suggest new techniques for plasma experiments as well as thinner metal targets in the precision machining process.

On the Relation Between Symmetry of Radio Galaxies and Their Physical Parameters

Gravity as a fundamental force plays a dominant role in the formation and evolution of cosmic objects and leaves its effect in the emergence of symmetric and asymmetric structures.Thus,analyzing the symmetry criteria allows us to uncover mechanisms behind the gravity interaction and understand the underlying physical processes that contribute to the formation of large-scale structures such as galaxies.We use a segmentation process using intensity thresholding and the k-means clustering algorithm to analyze radio galaxy images.We employ a symmetry criterion and explore the relation between morphological symmetry in radio maps and host galaxy properties.Optical properties(stellar mass,black hole mass,optical size(R_(50)),concentration,stellar mass surface density(μ_(50)),and stellar age)and radio properties(radio flux density,radio luminosity,and radio size)are considered.We found that there is a correlation between symmetry and radio size,indicating larger radio sources have smaller symmetry indices.Therefore,size of radio sources should be considered in any investigation of symmetry.Weak correlations are also observed with other properties,such as R_(50)for FRI galaxies and stellar age.We compare the symmetry differences between FRI and FRII radio galaxies.FRII galaxies show higher symmetry in 1.4 GHz and 150 MHz maps.Investigating the influence of radio source sizes,we discovered that this result is independent of the sizes of radio sources.These findings contribute to our understanding of the morphological properties and analyses of radio galaxies.

RETRACTED: Nuclear Structure Study of Odd-Odd Yttrium Nuclei within Interacting-Boson Fermi-Fermion Model (IBFFM)

Short Retraction NoticeThe paper does not meet the standards of "Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics". This article has been retracted to straighten the academic record. In making this decision the Editorial Board follows COPE's Retraction Guidelines. The aim is to promote the circulation of scientific research by offering an ideal research publication platform with due consideration of internationally accepted standards on publication ethics. The Editorial Board would like to extend its sincere apologies for any inconvenience this retraction may have caused.Editor guiding this retraction: Prof. Wen-Xiu Ma (EiC of JAMP)The full retraction notice in PDF is preceding the original paper, which is marked "RETRACTED".

Constraining nuclear symmetry energy with the charge radii of mirror-pair nuclei

The nuclear charge radius plays a vital role in determining the equation of state of isospin asymmetric nuclear matter.Based on the correlation between the differences in charge radii of mirror-partner nuclei and the slope parameter(L)of symmetry energy at the nuclear saturation density,an analysis of the calibrated slope parameter L was performed in finite nuclei.In this study,relativistic and nonrelativistic energy density functionals were employed to constrain the nuclear symmetry energy through the available databases of the mirror-pair nuclei^(36)Ca–^(36)S,^(38)Ca–^(38)Ar,and ^(54)Ni–^(54)Fe.The deduced nuclear symmetry energy was located in the range 29.89–31.85 MeV,and L of the symmetry energy essentially covered the range 22.50–51.55 MeV at the saturation density.Moreover,the extracted L_(s) at the sensitivity density p_(s)=0.10 fm^(-3) was located in the interval range 30.52–39.76 MeV.

Prediction of synthesis cross sections of new moscovium isotopes in fusion‑evaporation reactions

In the framework of the dinuclear system model,the synthesis mechanism of the superheavy nuclides with atomic numbers Z=112,114,115 in the reactions of projectiles 40,^(48)Ca bombarding on targets^(238)U,^(242)Pu,and^(243)Am within a wide interval of incident energy has been investigated systematically.Based on the available experimental excitation functions,the dependence of calculated synthesis cross-sections on collision orientations has been studied thoroughly.The total kinetic energy(TKE)of these collisions with fixed collision orientation shows orientation dependence,which can be used to predict the tendency of kinetic energy diffusion.The TKE is dependent on incident energies,as discussed in this paper.We applied the method based on the Coulomb barrier distribution function in our calculations.This allowed us to approximately consider all the collision orientations from tip-tip to side-side.The calculations of excitation functions of^(48)Ca+^(238)U,^(48)Ca+242Pu,and^(48)Ca+^(243)Am are in good agreement with the available experimental data.The isospin effect of projectiles on production cross-sections of moscovium isotopes and the influence of the entrance channel effect on the synthesis cross-sections of superheavy nuclei are also discussed in this paper.The synthesis cross-section of new moscovium isotopes 278−286 Mc was predicted to be as large as hundreds of pb in the fusion-evaporation reactions of^(35,37)Cl+^(248)Cf,^(38,40)Ar+^(247)Bk,^(39,41)K+247 Cm,^(40,42,44,46)Ca+^(243)Am,45 Sc+^(244)Pu,and^(46,48,50)Ti+237Np,51 V+^(238)U at some typical excitation energies.

Continuum Skyrme Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory with Green’s function method for neutron-rich Ca,Ni,Zr,and Sn isotopes

The possible exotic nuclear properties in the neutron-rich Ca,Ni,Zr,and Sn isotopes are examined with the continuum Skyrme Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory in the framework of the Green’s function method.The pairing correlation,the couplings with the continuum,and the blocking effects for the unpaired nucleon in odd-A nuclei are properly treated.The Skyrme interaction SLy4 is adopted for the ph channel and the density-dependentinteraction is adopted for the pp chan-nel,which well reproduce the experimental two-neutron separation energies S_(2n)and one-neutron separation energies Sn.It is found that the criterion S_(n)>0 predicts a neutron drip line with neutron numbers much smaller than those for S_(2n)>0.Owing to the unpaired odd neutron,the neutron pairing energies−E_(pair)in odd-A nuclei are much lower than those in the neighbor-ing even-even nuclei.By investigating the single-particle structures,the possible halo structures in the neutron-rich Ca,Ni,and Sn isotopes are predicted,where sharp increases in the root-mean-square(rms)radii with significant deviations from the traditional rA^(1∕3)rule and diffuse spatial density distributions are observed.Analyzing the contributions of various partial waves to the total neutron densityρlj(r)∕ρ(r)reveals that the orbitals located around the Fermi surface-particularly those with small angular momenta-significantly affect the extended nuclear density and large rms radii.The number of neutrons Nλ(N_(0))occupying above the Fermi surfacen(continuum threshold)is discussed,whose evolution as a function of the mass number A in each isotope is consistent with that of the pairing energy,supporting the key role of the pairing correlation in halo phenomena.

Systematic study on the proton radioactivity of spherical proton emitters

In this study, based on a two-potential approach, we systematically investigated the proton radioactivity half-lives of spherical proton emitters with 69≤Z≤81 from the ground and/or isomeric state, choosing the nuclear potential to be a modified Woods–Saxon potential that contains the isospin effect of the daughter nucleus. It was found that the calculated half-lives could reproduce the experimental data well. Furthermore, we extended this model to predict the half-lives of 17 protonemitting candidates whose radioactivity is energetically allowed or observed but not yet quantified in NUBASE2020. For comparison, the unified fission model, Coulomb potential and proximity potential model, universal decay law for proton emission, and new Geiger–Nuttall law were also used. All the predicted results are consistent with each other.

Pairing effects on the fragment mass distribution of Th,U,Pu,and Cm isotopes

In this article,a comprehensive study of the fission process of Th,U,Pu,and Cm isotopes using a Yukawa-folded meanfield plus standard pairing model is presented.The study focused on analyzing the effects of the pairing interaction on the fragment mass distribution and its dependence on nuclear elongation.The significant role of pairing interactions in the fragment mass distributions of^(230)Th,^(234)U,^(240)Pu,and^(246)Cm was demonstrated.Numerical analysis revealed that increasing the pairing interaction strength decreased the asymmetric fragment mass distribution and increased the symmetric distribution.Furthermore,the odd-even mass differences at symmetric and asymmetric fission points were examined,highlighting their sensitivity to changes in the pairing interaction strength.Systematic analysis of the Th,U,Pu,and Cm isotope fragment mass distributions demonstrated the effectiveness of the model in reproducing the experimental data.In addition,the effects of the zero-point energy and half-width parameter on the fragment mass distribution for^(240)Pu were explored.Thus,this study provides valuable insights into the fission process by emphasizing the importance of pairing interactions and their relationship with nuclear elongation.

Nuclei Segmentation in Histopathology Images Using Structure-Preserving Color Normalization Based Ensemble Deep Learning Frameworks

This paper presents a novel computerized technique for the segmentation of nuclei in hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)stained histopathology images.The purpose of this study is to overcome the challenges faced in automated nuclei segmentation due to the diversity of nuclei structures that arise from differences in tissue types and staining protocols,as well as the segmentation of variable-sized and overlapping nuclei.To this extent,the approach proposed in this study uses an ensemble of the UNet architecture with various Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)architectures as encoder backbones,along with stain normalization and test time augmentation,to improve segmentation accuracy.Additionally,this paper employs a Structure-Preserving Color Normalization(SPCN)technique as a preprocessing step for stain normalization.The proposed model was trained and tested on both single-organ and multi-organ datasets,yielding an F1 score of 84.11%,mean Intersection over Union(IoU)of 81.67%,dice score of 84.11%,accuracy of 92.58%and precision of 83.78%on the multi-organ dataset,and an F1 score of 87.04%,mean IoU of 86.66%,dice score of 87.04%,accuracy of 96.69%and precision of 87.57%on the single-organ dataset.These findings demonstrate that the proposed model ensemble coupled with the right pre-processing and post-processing techniques enhances nuclei segmentation capabilities.

The AGN Feedback in Compact Galaxies:On the Impact of a More Massive Central Black Hole

We conduct high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations using the MACER framework to investigate the interplay between the interstellar medium,active galactic nuclei(AGN)feedback and black hole(BH)feeding in a massive compact galaxy,with an emphasis on the impact of different central BH masses.We find that with a more massive central BH,high-speed outflows are more prominent,and the gas fraction in the compact galaxy is reduced.Due to the lower gas density and higher gas temperature,the compact galaxy with a more massive BH(MAS galaxy)remains predominantly single-phase with the cooling time t_(cool)■100t_(ff).In contrast,the compact galaxy with the reference BH mass(REF galaxy)maintains a higher gas fraction with a shorter cooling time,slightly more multiphase gas and less prominent outflows.We further demonstrate that the difference in gas thermal states and kinematics is caused by the stronger AGN feedback in the compact galaxy with a more massive BH,where the AGN wind power is twice as much as that with the reference BH.Since the AGN feedback efficiently suppresses the inflow rate and the BH feeding rate,the BH mass growth is significant in neither the compact galaxy with the reference BH nor that with the more massive BH,only by 24%and 11%of the initial BH mass,respectively,over the entire evolution time of 10 Gyr.We thus posit that without ex situ mass supply from mergers,the massive BHs in compact galaxies cannot grow significantly via gas accretion during the late phase,but might have already formed by the end of the rapid early phase of galaxy formation.