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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Quantified limits of the nuclear landscape

The chart of the nuclides is limited by particle drip lines beyond which nuclear stability to proton or neutron emission is lost. Predicting the range of particle-bound isotopes poses an appreciable challenge for nuclear theory as it involves extreme extrapolations of nuclear masses well beyond the regions where experimental information is available. Still, quantified extrapolations are crucial for a wide variety of applications, including the modeling of stellar nucleosynthesis. We use microscopic nuclear global mass models, current mass data, and Bayesian methodology to provide quantified predictions of proton and neutron separation energies as well as Bayesian probabilities of existence throughout the nuclear landscape all the way to the particle drip lines. Here, we apply nuclear density functional theory with several energy density functionals. We also consider two global mass models often used in astrophysical nucleosynthesis simulations. To account for uncertainties, Bayesian Gaussian processes are trained on the separation-energy residuals for each individual model, and the resulting predictions are combined via Bayesian model averaging. This framework allows to account for systematic and statistical uncertainties and propagate them to extrapolative predictions. We establish and characterize the drip-line regions where the probability that the nucleus is particle- bound decreases from 1 to 0. In these regions, we provide quantified predictions for one- and two-nucleon separation energies. According to our Bayesian model averaging analysis, 7759 nuclei with Z ≤ 119 have a probability of existence ≥ 0.5. The extrapolation results obtained in this study will be put through stringent tests when new experimental information on existence and masses of exotic nuclei becomes available. In this respect, the quantified landscape of nuclear existence obtained in this study should be viewed as a dynamical prediction that will be fine-tuned when new experimental information and improved global mass models become available.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electric and magnetic dipole strength in 112,114,116,118,120,124 Sn

Background: There is renewed interest in electric dipole strength distributions for a variety of reasons including the extraction of the dipole polarizability related to properties of the symmetry energy and a measure for the neutron skin thickness, understanding the structure of low-energy $\textit{E}$1 strength in nuclei with neutron excess, and establishing the systematics of the isovector giant dipole resonance (IVGDR). Inelastic proton scattering at energies of a few hundred MeV and very forward angles including 0° has been established as a tool for the study of electric and magnetic dipole strength distributions in nuclei. Purpose: The present work aims at a systematic investigation of the electric and magnetic dipole strength distributions in the chain of stable even-mass tin isotopes. Methods: Inelastic proton scattering experiments were performed at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka, with a 295-MeV beam covering laboratory angles 0°–6° and excitation energies 6–22 MeV. Cross sections due to $\textit{E}$1 and $\textit{M}$1 excitations were extracted with a multipole decomposition analysis (MDA) and then converted to reduced transition probabilities with the “virtual photon method” for $\textit{E}$1 and the “unit cross section method” for $\textit{M}$1 excitations, respectively. Including a theory-aided correction for the high-excitation-energy region not covered experimentally, the electric dipole polarizability was determined from the $\textit{E}$1 strength distributions. Results: In this work, total photoabsorption cross sections derived from the $\textit{E}$1 and $\textit{M}$1 strength distributions show significant differences compared to those from previous ($\textit{γ, xn}$) experiments in the energy region of the IVGDR. The widths of the IVGDR deduced from the present data with a Lorentz parametrization show an approximately constant value of about 4.5 MeV in contrast to the large variations between isotopes observed in previous work. The IVGDR centroid energies are in good correspondence to expectations from empirical systematics of their mass dependence. Furthermore, a study of the dependence of the IVGDR energies on bulk matter properties is presented. The $\textit{E}$1 strengths below neutron threshold show fair agreement in this work with results from ($\textit{γ, γ'}$) experiments on 112,116,120,124 Sn in the energy region between 6 and 7 MeV, where also isoscalar $\textit{E}$1 strength was found for 124 Sn. At higher excitation energies, large differences are observed, pointing to a different nature of the excited states with small ground-state branching ratios. The isovector spin-$\textit{M}$1 strengths exhibit a broad distribution between 6 and 12 MeV in all studied nuclei. Conclusions: The present results contribute to the solution of a variety of nuclear structure problems including the systematics of the energy and width of the IVGDR, the structure of low-energy $\textit{E}$1 strength in nuclei, new constraints to energy density functionals (EDFs) aiming at a systematic description of the dipole polarizability across the nuclear chart, from which properties of the symmetry energy can be derived, and the systematics of the isovector spin-$\textit{M}$1 strength in heavy nuclei.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Global study of separable pairing interaction in covariant density functional theory

A systematic global investigation of pairing properties based on all available experimental data on pairing indicators has been performed for the first time in the framework of covariant density functional theory. It is based on the separable pairing interaction. The optimization of the scaling factors of this interaction to experimental data clearly reveals its isospin dependence in the neutron subsystem. However, the situation is less certain in the proton subsystem since similar accuracy of the description of pairing indicators can be achieved both with isospin-dependent and mass-dependent scaling factors. The differences in the functional dependencies of scaling factors lead to uncertainties in the prediction of proton and neutron pairing properties which are especially pronounced at high isospin and could have a significant impact on some physical observables. For a given part of the nuclear chart the scaling factors for spherical nuclei are smaller than those for deformed ones; this feature exists also in nonrelativistic density functional theories. Furthermore, its origin is traced back to particle-vibration coupling in odd-A nuclei which is missing in all existing global studies of pairing. Although the present investigation is based on the NL5(E) covariant energy density functional (CEDF), its general conclusions are expected to be valid also for other CEDFs built at the Hartree level.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Proton decays in 16 Ne and 18 Mg and isospin-symmetry breaking in carbon isotopes and isotones

We report that proton-rich nuclei possess unique properties in the nuclear chart. Due to the presence of both continuum coupling and Coulomb interaction, phenomena such as halos, Thomas-Ehrman shift, and proton emissions can occur. Relevant experimental data are difficult to obtain, so that theoretical calculations are needed to understand nuclei at drip lines and to guide experimentalists. In particular, the 16 Ne and 18 Mg isotopes are supposed to be one-proton and/or two-proton emitting nuclei, but associated experimental data are either incomplete or even unavailable. Consequently, we performed Gamow shell model calculations of carbon isotones bearing A = 15 - 18 . Isospin-symmetry breaking occurring in carbon isotones and isotopes is also discussed. It is hereby shown that the mixed effects of continuum coupling and Coulomb interaction at drip lines generate complex patterns in isospin multiplets. Added to that, it is possible to determine the one-proton and two-proton widths of 16 Ne and 18 Mg . Obtained decay patterns are in agreement with those obtained in previous experimental and theoretical works. Moreover, to our knowledge, this is the first theoretical calculation of binding energy and partial decay widths of 18 Mg in a configuration interaction picture.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quadrupole collectivity in the neutron-rich sulfur isotopes 38,40,42,44 S

Electromagnetic transition strengths in the even-even neutron-rich sulfur isotopes 38,40,42,44 S were measured using intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. By utilizing the sensitivity of the experimental technique to E2 excitations from the ground state, the evolution of the pattern of B(E2) strengths to several low-lying 2 + states was investigated at Z = 16 from near stability to the N = 28 island of inversion. The experimental results allowed a detailed comparison with predictions from shell-model calculations using the SDPF-MU Hamiltonian, which was designed to describe collectivity in this region of the nuclear chart. While the shell-model calculations succeeded in modeling transition strengths at N = 22, 24, 26, the experimental B(E2; $0$ $^{+}_{1}$ → $2$ $^{+}_{1}$) at N = 28 was smaller than the predicted value by about a factor of 2, similar to previous observations for chlorine and argon isotopes around N = 28. The dependence of this overprediction by theory on the choice of effective charges was explored.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Updated systematics of intermediate-energy single-nucleon removal cross sections

The body of experimental measurements of intermediate-energy reactions that remove a single nucleon from a secondary beam of neutron- or proton-rich nuclei continues to grow. These data have been analyzed consistently using an approximate, eikonal-model treatment of the reaction dynamics combined with appropriate shell-model descriptions of the projectile initial state, the bound final states spectrum of the reaction residue, and single-particle removal strengths computed from their wave-function overlaps. Here, the systematics of the ratio R s of the measured inclusive cross section to all bound final states and the calculated cross section to bound shell-model states—in different regions of the nuclear chart and involving both very weakly bound and strongly bound valence nucleons—is important in relating the empirically deduced orbital occupancies to those from the best available shell-model predictions. Importantly, several new higher-energy measurements, for which the sudden-approximation aspect of the dynamical description is placed on an even stronger footing, now supplement the previously analyzed measurements. These additional data sets are discussed. Their R s values are shown to conform to and reinforce the earlier-observed systematics, with no indication that the approximately linear reduction in R s with increasing nucleon separation energy is a consequence of a breakdown of the sudden approximation.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Spectroscopy of states in 136 Ba using the 138 Ba(p,t) reaction

Background: The 136 Ba isotope is the daughter nucleus in 136 Xe $ββ$ decay. It also lies in a shape transitional region of the nuclear chart, making it a suitable candidate to test a variety of nuclear models. Purpose: To obtain spectroscopic information on states in 136 Ba, which will allow a better understanding of its low-lying structure. These data may prove useful to constrain future 136 Xe → 136 Ba neutrinoless $ββ$ decay matrix element calculations. Methods: Here, a 138 Ba(p, t) reaction was used to populate states in 136 Ba up to approximately 4.6 MeV in excitation energy. The tritons were detected using a high-resolution Q3D magnetic spectrograph. A distorted wave Born approximation analysis was performed for the measured triton angular distributions. Results: 102 excited states in 136 Ba were observed, out of which 52 are reported for the first time. Definite spin-parity assignments are made for 26 newly observed states, while previously ambiguous assignments for ten other states are resolved. Together with other available data, the results are used to determine level densities in 136 Ba. These were compared with theory predictions, obtained using shell model calculations with Hamiltonians previously used for 136 Xe neutrinoless $ββ$ decay matrix element evaluations. Conclusions: The shell model predicted level densities agree reasonably well for the two Hamiltonians. However the results for theory and experiment are found to agree only at lower energies, diverging from one another for the higher lying states, with the discrepancy increasing with energy. This is presumably because of lower production cross sections for a majority of the higher-lying predicted states and the experimental limitations in resolving a large number of nearly degenerate states predicted by the theory.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effective shell-model interaction for nuclei “southeast” of 100 Sn

We construct an effective shell-model interaction for the valence space spanned by single-particle neutron and single-hole proton states in 100 Sn. Starting from chiral nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon forces and single-reference coupled-cluster theory for 100 Sn we apply a second similarity transformation that decouples the valence space. The particle-particle components of the resulting effective interaction can be used in shell model calculations for neutron deficient tin isotopes. The hole-hole interaction can be used to calculate the N=50 isotones south of 100 Sn, and the full particle-hole interaction describes nuclei in the region southeast of 100 Sn. We compute low-lying excited states in selected nuclei southeast of 100 Sn, and find reasonable agreement with data. The presented techniques can also be applied to construct effective shell-model interactions for other regions of the nuclear chart.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mapping the N = 40 island of inversion: Precision mass measurements of neutron-rich Fe isotopes

Nuclear properties across the chart of nuclides are key to improving and validating our understanding of the strong interaction in nuclear physics. Here we present high-precision mass measurements of neutron-rich Fe isotopes performed at the TITAN facility. The multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-ToF-MS), achieving a resolving power greater than 600000 for the first time, enabled the measurement of 63–70 Fe, including first-time high-precision direct measurements (δm/m ≈ 10 -7 ) of 68–70 Fe, as well as the discovery of a long-lived isomeric state in 69 Fe. These measurements are accompanied by both mean-field and ab initio calculations using the most recent realizations which enable theoretical assignment of the spin-parities of the 69 Fe ground and isomeric states. Together with mean-field calculations of quadrupole deformation parameters for the Fe isotope chain, these results benchmark a maximum of deformation in the N = 40 island of inversion in Fe and shed light on trends in level densities indicated in the newly refined mass surface.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Investigating nuclear structure near N=32 and N=34: Precision mass measurements of neutron-rich Ca, Ti, and V isotopes

Nuclear mass measurements of isotopes are key to improving our understanding of nuclear structure across the chart of nuclides, in particular, for the determination of the appearance or disappearance of nuclear shell closures. Here, we present high-precision mass measurements of neutron-rich Ca, Ti, and V isotopes performed at TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN) and the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facilities. These measurements were made using the TITAN multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-ToF-MS) and the LEBIT 9.4T Penning trap mass spectrometer. In total, 13 masses were measured, 8 of which represent increases in precision over previous measurements. These measurements refine trends in the mass surface around N=32 and N=34, and support the disappearance of the N=32 shell closure with increasing proton number. Additionally, our data do not support the presence of a shell closure at N=34.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Density matrix renormalization group description of the island of inversion isotopes F 28 – 33

Recent experiments have confirmed that the neutron-rich isotopes 28,29 F belong to the so-called island of inversion (IOI), a region of the nuclear chart around Z = 10 and N = 20 where nuclear structure deviates from the standard shell model predictions due to deformation and continuum effects. However, while the general principles leading to the IOI are relatively well understood, the details of the low-lying structure of the exotic fluorine isotopes 28–33 F are basically unknown. In this study, we perform large-scale shell model calculations including continuum states to investigate the properties of the neutron-rich isotopes 25–33 F, from a core of 24 O and using an effective two-body interaction with a small number of adjustable parameters in the central and tensor channels. We develop two models adjusted on experimentally confirmed states in 25,26 O and 25–27 F based on different assumptions concerning the positions of the neutron 0d 3/2 and 1p 3/2 shells, and solve the many-body problem using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method for open quantum systems in an sd–fp model space. We obtain the first detailed spectroscopy of 25–33F in the continuum and show how the interplay between continuum effects and deformation explains the recent data on 28,29 F. Several deformed one- and two-neutron halo states are predicted in 29,31 F, and we provide some information about the possible structure of the heaviest fluorine isotopes. We also suggest several experimental studies of interest to constraint models and test the present predictions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Abrasion-fission reactions at intermediate energies

The availability of high-intensity, heavy-ion beams coupled to sensitive, large solid-angle acceptance spectrometers has enabled a detailed examination of the fission fragments produced in induced-fission reactions. The abrasion fission process involves the formation of projectile-like prefragments in violent nuclear collisions at relative energies in excess of 100 MeV/u. At intermediate energies below this threshold, experiments suggest a change in the prefragment kinematic qualities. Information regarding the influence of this transitional phase upon the evolution of nuclei approaching the point of scission is scarce. In this article, data are presented for over 200 nuclei from nickel to palladium produced in abrasion-fission reactions of a 80 MeV/u 238 U beam. Cross sections were obtained following yield measurements performed for the principal charge states of the identified fission fragments and a detailed analysis of the ion transmission. A full kinematic analysis of the fission fragments has been performed using the LISE ++ software package, where the trajectory of an ion passing through a spectrometer can be reconstructed based upon measurements at the focal plane. Furthermore, the results obtained at the S800 spectrograph are compared with predictions obtained with a three-fission progenitor (3EER) model. Systematic studies of fission-fragment properties continue to provide a valuable experimental benchmark for theoretical efforts directed toward describing this complex decay channel, that is important in the context of planning experiments to explore the neutron-rich region of the nuclear chart at rare-isotope beam facilities.

59 ≤ A ≤ 8990 ≤ A ≤ 149↗
DOE OSTI2023

Invariant-mass spectroscopy in projectile fragmentation reactions

The fragmentation of a projectile into a number of pieces can lead to the creation of many resonances in different nuclei. We discuss application of the invariant-mass method to the products from such reactions to find some of the most exotic resonances located furthest beyond the proton drip line. We show examples from fragmentation of a fast 13 O beam including the production of the newly identified 9 N resonance. In extracting resonance parameters from invariant-mass spectra, accurate estimates of the background from nonresonant prompt protons are needed. These prompt protons are correlated with the resonances due to long-range Coulomb interactions and will suppress events when resonance decay products and the prompt protons have small invariant masses. The shape of this background is especially important in determining the widths of wide resonances typically found at the edge of the chart of nuclides. An event-mixing recipe is proposed to describe this background, where the mixed events have reduced weighting for the smaller invariant masses to account for the effect of the Coulomb final-state interactions. The weighting is based on the measured correlations of heavier hydrogen isotopes with the resonances or the projectile residues. We also show that the relative magnitude of the background can be reduced in some cases by selecting events where the resonance decay products are accompanied by a deuteron or triton cluster. Here, the deuteron and triton clusters are largely not products of resonant decay and thus events with an accompanying cluster are associated with fewer background protons than events without them. The width of the 5/2¯ state in 9 C with the new background prescription was found to be consistent with the value obtained using proton elastic scattering on 8 B. Improved values for the widths of 10 C, 10,11 N, and 12 O resonances were also obtained using the new background prescription.

6 ≤ A ≤ 19↗
DOE OSTI2024

Global properties of nuclei at finite-temperature within the covariant energy density functional theory

In stellar environments nuclei appear at finite temperatures, becoming extremely hot in core-collapse supernovae and neutron-star mergers. However, due to theoretical and computational complexity, most model calculations of nuclear properties are performed at zero temperature, while those existing at finite temperatures are limited only to selected regions of the nuclide chart. In this study we perform the global calculation of nuclear properties for even-even 8 ≤ Z ≤ 104 nuclei at temperatures in range 0 ≤ T ≤ 2 MeV. Calculations are based on the finite-temperature relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov model supplemented by the Bonche-Levit-Vautherin vapor subtraction procedure. We find that near the neutron-drip line the continuum states have significant contribution already at moderate temperature T ≈ 1 MeV, thus emphasizing the necessity of the vapor subtraction procedure. Results include neutron emission lifetimes, quadrupole deformations, neutron-skin thickness, proton and neutron pairing gaps, entropy and excitation energy. Up to the temperature T ≈ 1 MeV, the nuclear landscape is influenced only moderately by the finite-temperature effects, mainly by reducing the pairing correlations. Here, as the temperature increases further, the effects on nuclear structures become pronounced, reducing both the deformations and the shell effects.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optimized nuclear energy density functionals including long-range pion contributions

Nuclear energy density functionals successfully reproduce properties of nuclei across almost the entire nuclear chart. However, nearly all available functionals are phenomenological in nature and lack a rigorous connection to systematically improvable nuclear forces. This issue might be solved with an energy density functional obtained from first principles. As an intermediate step towards this goal we construct the GUDE family of functionals that is obtained from a hybrid scheme consisting of long-range pion-exchange contributions derived from chiral effective field theory at the Hartree-Fock level and a phenomenological Skyrme part. When including pion contributions beyond next-to-leading order in the chiral expansion, we find significant improvements over a reference Skyrme functional constructed following the same protocol. We analyze the importance of different pion contributions and identify which terms drive the observed improvements. Since pions are incorporated without adding further optimization parameters to the functionals, the improvements can be attributed to the functional form of these terms. Our work therefore suggests that the considered chiral contributions constitute useful ingredients for true energy density functionals. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Landscape of nuclear deformation softness with spherical quasiparticle random-phase approximation

We investigate the stability and softness of nuclei against quadrupole, octupole, and hexadecapole deformation. By applying the spherical Skyrme-force Hartree-Fock Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer quasiparticle random phase approximation, we diagnose ground-state deformation when imaginary solutions are obtained, i.e., the spherical ground state collapses. We also calculate the multipole polarizability in spherical nuclei with no collapse, as a measure of softness. This numerically light and theoretically sound method is found able to capture deformation patterns across the nuclide chart. As a result, the connection between the intrinsic shape of nuclei and the dynamics of their low-lying collective states is established and the role of shell structure is discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multimodal fission from self-consistent calculations

When multiple fission modes coexist in a given nucleus, distinct fragment yield distributions appear. Multimodal fission has been observed in a number of fissioning nuclei spanning the nuclear chart, and this phenomenon is expected to affect the nuclear abundances synthesized during the rapid neutron-capture process (𝑟-process). In this study, we generalize the previously proposed hybrid model for fission-fragment yield distributions to predict competing fission modes and estimate the resulting yield distributions. Here, our framework allows for a comprehensive large-scale calculation of fission-fragment yields suited for 𝑟-process nuclear network studies. Nuclear density functional theory is employed to obtain the potential energy and collective inertia tensor on a multidimensional collective space defined by mass multipole moments. Fission pathways and their relative probabilities are determined using the nudged elastic band method. Based on this information, mass and charge fission yields are predicted using the recently developed hybrid model. Fission properties of fermium isotopes are calculated in the axial quadrupole-octupole collective space for three energy density functionals (EDFs). Disagreement between the EDFs appears when multiple fission modes are present. Within our framework, the UNEDF⁢1 HFB EDF agrees best with experimental data. Calculations in the axial quadrupole-octupole-hexadecapole collective space improve the agreement with the experiment for SkM*. We also discuss the sensitivity of fission predictions on the choice of EDF for several superheavy nuclei. Fission-fragment yield predictions for nuclei with multiple fission modes are sensitive to the underlying EDF. For large-scale calculations in which a minimal number of collective coordinates is considered, UNEDF⁢1 HFB provides the best description of experimental data, though the sensitivity motivates robust quantification of the uncertainties of the theoretical model.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗