Calibration of CR-39 solid-state track detectors for study of laser-driven nuclear reactions

It is of particular interest to investigate nuclear fusion reactions generated by high-intensity lasers in plasma environments that are similar to real astrophysical conditions.We have experimentally investigated2H(d,p)3H,one of the most crucial reactions in big bang nucleosynthesis models,at the Shenguang-Ⅱlaser facility.In this work,we present a new calibration of CR-39 solidstate track detectors,which are widely employed as the main diagnostics in this type of fusion reaction experiment.We measure the dependence of the track diameter on the proton energy.It is found that the track diameters of protons with different energies are likely to be identical.We propose that in this case,the energy of the reaction products can be obtained by considering both the diameters and gray levels of these tracks.The present results would be very helpful for analyzing the2 H(d,p)3H reaction products recorded with the same batch of CR-39 solid-state track detectors.

Generation of medical isotopes ^(47)Sc,^(67)Cu through laser-induced(γ,p)reaction

Short-lived medical isotopes and their generators are typically produced in nuclear reactors and cyclotrons that require extensive facilities.However,considering the environmental concerns and economic costs of these traditional approaches,modern laser technology,which provides extremely strong electric fields within tabletop-sized areas,can serve as a potential supplementary method.Focusing specifically on the(γ,p)generation of the vital medical isotopes^(47)Sc and^(67)Cu,we used both experimental results and PIC-GEANT4 simulations to demonstrate that laser-induced photonuclear reaction is a promising method for isotope production.We developed a model capable of calculating isotope yields under various laser conditions and acceleration mechanisms.The findings revealed that a 200 TW laser can sufficiently produce diagnostic amounts of^(47)Sc and^(67)Cu,while simultaneously providing high specific activity,which is significant in medical applications for improving treatment efficacy,enhancing image resolution,and reducing side effects.

Bayesian model averaging(BMA)for nuclear data evaluation

To ensure agreement between theoretical calculations and experimental data,parameters to selected nuclear physics models are perturbed and fine-tuned in nuclear data evaluations.This approach assumes that the chosen set of models accurately represents the‘true’distribution of considered observables.Furthermore,the models are chosen globally,indicating their applicability across the entire energy range of interest.However,this approach overlooks uncertainties inherent in the models themselves.In this work,we propose that instead of selecting globally a winning model set and proceeding with it as if it was the‘true’model set,we,instead,take a weighted average over multiple models within a Bayesian model averaging(BMA)framework,each weighted by its posterior probability.The method involves executing a set of TALYS calculations by randomly varying multiple nuclear physics models and their parameters to yield a vector of calculated observables.Next,computed likelihood function values at each incident energy point were then combined with the prior distributions to obtain updated posterior distributions for selected cross sections and the elastic angular distributions.As the cross sections and elastic angular distributions were updated locally on a per-energy-point basis,the approach typically results in discontinuities or“kinks”in the cross section curves,and these were addressed using spline interpolation.The proposed BMA method was applied to the evaluation of proton-induced reactions on ^(58)Ni between 1 and 100 MeV.The results demonstrated a favorable comparison with experimental data as well as with the TENDL-2023 evaluation.

Direct measurement of the break-out ^(19)F(p,γ)^(20)Ne reaction in the China Jinping underground laboratory(CJPL)

Calcium production and the stellar evolution of first-generation stars remain fascinating mysteries in astrophysics.As one possible nucleosynthesis scenario,break-out from the hot carbon–nitrogen–oxygen(HCNO)cycle was thought to be the source of the calcium observed in these oldest stars.However,according to the stellar modeling,a nearly tenfold increase in the thermonuclear rate ratio of the break-out ^(19)F(p,γ)^(20) Ne reaction with respect to the competing ^(19)F(p,α)^(16) O back-processing reaction is required to reproduce the observed calcium abundance.We performed a direct measurement of this break-out reaction at the China Jinping underground laboratory.The measurement was performed down to the low-energy limit of E_(c.m.)=186 keV in the center-of-mass frame.The key resonance was observed at 225.2 keV for the first time.At a temperature of approximately 0.1 GK,this new resonance enhanced the thermonuclear ^(19)F(p,γ)^(20) Ne rate by up to a factor of≈7.4,compared with the previously recommended NACRE rate.This is of particular interest to the study of the evolution of the first stars and implies a stronger breakdown in their“warm”CNO cycle through the ^(19)F(p,γ)^(20) Ne reaction than previously envisioned.This break-out resulted in the production of the calcium observed in the oldest stars,enhancing our understanding of the evolution of the first stars.

Multinucleon transfer dynamics in nearly symmetric nuclear reactions

Within the framework of the dinuclear system model,the multinucleon transfer dynamics for nearly symmetric nuclear collisions has been investigated.The reaction mechanism in the systems of 198Pt+198Pt and 204Hg+198Pt was investigated at beam energies around the Coulomb barrier.It was found that the isotopic yields are enhanced with increased incident energy in the domain of proton-rich nuclides.However,the production on the neutron-rich side weakly depends on the energy.The angular distribution with the beam energy was also analyzed in the multinucleon transfer reactions.Projectile-like fragments were produced toward the forward emission with increasing incident energy.The target-like fragments manifested the opposite trend in the transfer reactions.

Liver Nuclear Activation of Carbon Tetrachloride or Bromotrichloromethane to Trichloromethyl and Trichloromethylperoxyl Free Radicals.Their Reactions With Lipids and Proteins

The formation of·CCl3 radicals in liver nuclei was suggested by spin trapping of them with N-t-butyl-α-phenylnitrone followed by GC/MS detection of the resulting adduct. Comparison of its formation in microsomal biotransformation of CCl4 was made. In aerobic nuclear activation mixtures containing NADPH and CCl4, significant decrease in the arachidonic acid content of nuclear lipids was observed (27. 8%, compared to control), the intensity of this decrease was lower than that occurring in the corresponding microsomal incubation mixtures (29.1%). Significant decreases in arachidonic acid content of nuclear and endoplasmic reticulum lipids were also observed in animals at 6 hours of poisoning with the haloalkane. During aerobic nuclear metabolism of CCl4 or CBrCl3, cholesterol oxidation products were detected: a ketocholesterol, an epoxide like structure and 7-ketocholesterol. Nuclear protein carbonyl formation was not promoted during nuclear CCl4 biotransformation. NADPH by itself may lead to protein carbonyl formation during prolonged periods of incubation. CBrCl3 in contrast, led to decreased protein carbonyl formation. No increase in nuclear protein carbonyl formation was observed in CCl4 intoxicated animals during periods of time between 1 to 6 hours after treatment. The results indicate that during nuclear biotransformation of CCl4 or CBrCl3 reactive free radicals, PUFA degradation, reactive aldehydes and cholesterol oxidation products are formed, nearby DNA and regulatory proteins.

Spallation reaction and the probe of nuclear dissipation with excitation energy at scission

We study in the framework of the Langevin model the influence of initial excitation energy(E*) of Hg compound nuclei(CNs) on the sensitivity of the excitation energy at scission(Esc*) to the nuclear friction strength(β).It is shown that the sensitivity is enhanced substantially with increasing E*.Moreover,we find that the significant sensitivity of Esc* to β at high E*is little affected by a marked difference in the neutron-to-proton ratio of a CN and in its size and fissility.Our findings suggest that,on the experimental side,a measurement of Esc* in energetic proton-induced spallation reactions can provide not only a sensitive but also a robust probe of nuclear dissipation in fission of highly excited nuclei.Further development of a suitable approach to spallation reaction is discussed.

The cross section calculation of 112Sn(α,γ)116Te reaction with different nuclear models at the astrophysical energy range

The theoretical cross section calculations for the astrophysical p process are needed because most of the related reactions are technically very difficult to be measured in the laboratory. Even if the reaction was measured,most of the measured reactions have been carried out at the higher energy range from the astrophysical energies.Therefore, almost all cross sections needed for p process simulation have to be theoretically calculated or extrapolated to the astrophysical energies.^(112)Sn(α,γ)^(116)Te is an important reaction for the p process nucleosynthesis. The theoretical cross section of ^(112)Sn(α,γ)^(116)Te reaction was investigated for different global optical model potentials,level density, and strength function models at the astrophysically interested energies. Astrophysical S factors were calculated and compared with experimental data available in the EXFOR database. The calculation with the optical model potential of the dispersive model by Demetriou et al., and the back-shifted Fermi gas level density model and Brink-Axel Lorentzian strength function model best served to reproduce experimental results at an astrophysically relevant energy region. The reaction rates were calculated with these model parameters at the p process temperature and compared with the current version of the reaction rate library Reaclib and Starlib.

Measurement of anomalous nuclear reaction in deuterium-loaded metal

This paper reports on an experiment for testing natural nuclear fusion at low temperature searching for evidence of the origin of 3He from natural nuclear fusion in deep Earth. The experiment was carried out using deuterium-loaded titanium foil samples and powder sample. Detection of charged particle was carried out using a low-level charged particle spectrometer. An A1 foil was used as an energy absorber for identification of charged particle. Although the counting rate is very low in the experiment, the emission of energetic particle from the sample is observed and the particle is identified as a proton having energy about 2.8 MeV after exiting the titanium sample. This work provides a positive result for the emission of charged particle in the deuterium-loaded titanium foil samples at low temperature, but a negative result for the deuterium-loaded titanium powder sample. The average reaction yield is deduced to be （0.46±0.08） protons/h for the foil samples. With the suggestion that the proton originates from d-d reaction, we calculate the reaction rate for d-d reaction, and the obtained result is 1.4×10^-24 fusion/d-d.sec. The negative result of the deuterium-loaded titanium powder sample suggests that the reaction yield might be correlated with the density or microscopic variables of deuterium-loaded titanium materials. The negative result also indicates that d-d reaction catalysed by μ-meson from cosmic ray can be excluded in the samples in this experiment.

Anomalous Nuclear Reaction in Earth’s Interior:a New Field in Physics Science?

Tritium （3^H） in excess of the atmospheric values was found at volcanic Lakes Pavin （France）, Laacher （Germany） and Nemrut （Turkey）, as well as Kilauea Volcano at Hawaii （USA） and other volcanoes. Because 3^H has a short half-life of 12.3 years, the tritium and the resulting 3^He must have formed recently in the Earth. The result suggests that nuclear reactions may generate a significant amount of tritium in the interior of the Earth, although we have not yet learned what the reaction mechanism may be responsible. The nuclear reaction that can be responsible for tritium production in the Earth is probably a new research field in physics science. Nuclear reactions that generate tritium might be a source of ＂missing＂ energy （heat） in the interior of the Earth. Finding in-situ 3^H in the mantle may exhibit an alternative explanation of 3^He origin in the deep Earth.

Strong screening effects on resonant nuclear reaction ^(23)Mg(p,γ) ^(24)Al in the surface of magnetars

Based on the theory of relativistic superstrong magnetic fields （SMFs）, by using the method of Thomas-Fermi-Dirac approximations, we investigate the problem of strong electron screening （SES） in SMFs and the influence of SES on the nuclear reaction of 23Mg （p, Y）24A1. Our calculations show that the nuclear reaction will be markedly effected by the SES in SMFs in the surface of magnetars. Our calculated screening rates can increase two orders of magnitude due to SES in SMFs.

Nuclear Stopping and Pauli Blocking in Heavy-Ion Reactions near Fermi Energy

The dissipation phenomenon in the heavy-ion reaction at incident energy near the Fermi energy is studied by simulating the reaction ^129Xe＋^129Sn with the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. The calculations involving a proper prescription of implementing the Pauli exclusion principle show that the isotropy ratio measured by free protons emitted in the reaction at energy slightly higher than the Fermi energy is in agreement with the experimental data recently released by the INDRA collaboration. A feasible value of the Pauli-blocking factor is estimated by comparing the theoretical results with the experimental data for the energy range considered here.

Sigma Meson Production in Nuclear Reactions

The sigma meson production in p ＋ ^12C and p A- ^40Ca reactions at the incident energy Ep = 1.5 GeV is investigated within the Quantum Molecular Dynamics model. The simulation results indicate a distinctive A dependence of the sigma production, that is, the increase of A is followed by an increase of the production cross sections. We find that the σ meson production in proton-induced reactions is strongly medium-dependent, and the produced σ mesons decaying in a denser medium experience a stronger mass shift towards lower masses. This mass shift is an experimentally accessible observable in the final state pion pairs, which do not suffer from reabsorption by the surrounding nucleons. It is pointed out that the ratio of measured sigma cross sections as a function of the sigma invariant-mass from various reactions is a good probe to explore the existence of the σ meson in a dense nuclear environment.

Dynamical Behavior of Core ^3He Nuclear Reaction-Diffusion Systems and Sun＇s Gravitational Field

The coupling of the sun's gravitational field with processes of diffusion and convection exerts a significant influence on the dynamical behavior of the core 3He nuclear reaction-diffusion system. Stability analyses of the system are made in this paper by using the theory of nonequilibrium dynamics. It is showed that, in the nuclear reaction regions extending from the center to about 0.38 times of the radius of the sun, the gravitational field enables the core 3He nuclear reaction-diffusion system to become unstable and, after the instability, new states to appear in the system have characteristic of time oscillation. This may change the production rates of both 7Be and 8B neutrinos.

A Survey of New Methods for Production of Some Radionuclides, at Laboratory Scale, through Secondary Reactions in Nuclear Reactors

The studies performed in the frame of a project destined for the search of new (t,n) and (p,n) reactions of interest in nuclear reactors are described. Experimental evidences of the observations of the reactions: 46Ti(t,n)48V, 48Ti(p,n)48V, 52Cr(t,n)54Mn, 56Fe(p,n)56Co, 72Ge(t,n)74As and 74Ge(p,n)74As, are presented. Additional data on some secondary reactions, already characterised for the production of 7Be, 56Co, 58Co, 65Zn and 88Y, were also obtained. The significance of these data is discussed.

New Exotic Models of Cold Nuclear Reactions and the Creation of the World

The work has the characters of a philosophical note, in which a new exotic version of the atom structure is discussed. According to this, the atomic nucleus consists of “normal” and “special” neutrons. Electrons are internal part of both types of neutron. Electrons can leave “normal” neutrons of the nucleus and return back with a certain probability. These processes lead to the appearance of protons in the nucleus and form the electron orbits of the atom. At the same time, it is possible that the Coulomb’s barriers of atoms and nucleus disappear at some point in time and cold nuclear reactions pass through. This assumption leads to a new exotic model of the Universe structure, namely, the existence of neutron ether, consisting of special neutrons that do not emit their own electrons. In this ethereal ocean of special neutrons, periodically provoked disturbances arise. After that, it creates pockets, clusters of our normal neutrons inherent in our world, which can already emit electrons and, consequently, create atoms. The ether gets sick from time to time. However, as a result of this disease, stars arise. Some possible stages in the creation of our world are also discussed in this paper.

1-2 Nuclear Fragmentation in Low-energy Antiproton Induced Reactions

The dynamics of antiproton-nucleus collisions is complicated, which is associated with the mean-field potentials of hadrons in nuclear medium, and also with a number of reaction channels, i.e., the annihilation channels, chargeexchange reaction, elastic and inelastic collisions. Larger yields of strange particles in antiproton induced reactions are favorable to form hypernuclei in comparison to proton-nucleus and heavy-ion collisions.

Determining nitrogen depth distributions in seeds of grain by nuclear reaction method

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Spatial and spectral measurement of laser-driven protons through radioactivation

The simultaneous measurement of the spatial profile and spectrum of laser-accelerated protons is important for further optimization of the beam qualities and applications.We report a detailed study regarding the underlying physics and regular procedure of such a measurement through the radioactivation of a stack composed of aluminum,copper,and CR-39 plates as well as radiochromic films(RCFs).After being radioactivated,the copper plates are placed on imaging plates(IPs)to detect the positrons emitted by the reaction products through contact imaging.The spectrum and energy-dependent spatial profile of the protons are then obtained from the IPs and confirmed by the measured ones from the RCFs and CR-39 plates.We also discuss the detection range,influence of electrons,radiation safety,and spatial resolution of this measurement.Finally,insights regarding the extension of the current method to online measurements and dynamic proton imaging are also provided.

Study of nuclear reaction method for the determination of protein content in wheat seeds

A 13.4 MeV deuteron beam from the 1.2 meter cyclotron of Sichuan University was used to determine theprotein content in wheat seeds on the basis of (d,p) reactions. The influence of the variation of the water content inseeds has been investigated.