3,064 research outputs found
Direct determination of photodisintegration cross sections and the p-process
Photon-induced reactions play a key role in the nucleosynthesis of heavy
neutron-deficient nuclei, the so-called p-nuclei. In this paper we review the
present status of experiments on photon-induced reactions at energies of
astrophysical importance and their relevance to p-process modeling.Comment: Nucl. Phys. A, in pres
Concentration of electric dipole strength below the neutron separation energy in N = 82 nuclei
The semi-magic nuclei Ba-138, Ce-140, and Sm-144 have been investigated in
photon scattering experiments up to an excitation energy of about 10 MeV. The
distribution of the electric dipole strength shows a resonance like structure
at energies between 5.5 and 8 MeV exhausting up to 1% of the isovector E1
Energy Weighted Sum Rule.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Photon-induced Nucleosynthesis: Current Problems and Experimental Approaches
Photon-induced reactions play a key role in the nucleosynthesis of rare
neutron-deficient p-nuclei. The paper focuses on (gamma,alpha), (gamma,p), and
(gamma,n) reactions which define the corresponding p-process path. The relation
between stellar reaction rates and laboratory cross sections is analyzed for
photon-induced reactions and their inverse capture reactions to evaluate
various experimental approaches. An improved version S_C(E) of the
astrophysical S-factor is suggested which is based on the Coulomb wave
functions. S_C(E) avoids the apparent energy dependence which is otherwise
obtained for capture reactions on heavy nuclei. It is found that a special type
of synchrotron radiation available at SPring-8 that mimics stellar blackbody
radiation at billions of Kelvin is a promising tool for future experiments. By
using the blackbody synchrotron radiation, sufficient event rates for
(gamma,alpha) and (gamma,p) reactions in the p-process path can be expected.
These experiments will provide data to improve the nuclear parameters involved
in the statistical model and thus reduce the uncertainties of nucleosynthesis
calculations.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, EPJA, accepte
The s-process branching at 185W
The neutron capture cross section of the unstable nucleus 185W has been
derived from experimental photoactivation data of the inverse reaction
186W(gamma,n)185W. The new result of sigma = (687 +- 110) mbarn confirms the
theoretically predicted neutron capture cross section of 185W of sigma = 700
mbarn at kT = 30 keV. A neutron density in the classical s-process of n_n =
(3.8 +0.9 -0.8} * 1e8 cm-3 is derived from the new data for the 185W branching.
In a stellar s-process model one finds a significant overproduction of the
residual s-only nucleus 186Os.Comment: ApJ, in pres
Fragmentation and systematics of the Pygmy Dipole Resonance in the stable N=82 isotones
The low-lying electric dipole (E1) strength in the semi-magic nucleus 136Xe
has been measured which finalizes the systematic survey to investigate the
so-called pygmy dipole resonance (PDR) in all stable even N=82 isotones with
the method of nuclear resonance fluorescence using real photons in the entrance
channel. In all cases, a fragmented resonance-like structure of E1 strength is
observed in the energy region 5 MeV to 8 MeV. An analysis of the fragmentation
of the strength reveals that the degree of fragmentation decreases towards the
proton-deficient isotones while the total integrated strength increases
indicating a dependence of the total strength on the neutron-to-proton ratio.
The experimental results are compared to microscopic calculations within the
quasi-particle phonon model (QPM). The calculation includes complex
configurations of up to three phonons and is able to reproduce also the
fragmentation of the E1 strength which allows to draw conclusions on the
damping of the PDR. Calculations and experimental data are in good agreement in
the degree of fragmentation and also in the integrated strength if the
sensitivity limit of the experiments is taken into account
The decay of quadrupole-octupole states in Ca and Ce
Background: Two-phonon excitations originating from the coupling of two
collective one-phonon states are of great interest in nuclear structure
physics. One possibility to generate low-lying excitations is the coupling
of quadrupole and octupole phonons.
Purpose: In this work, the -decay behavior of candidates for the
state in the doubly-magic nucleus Ca and in
the heavier and semi-magic nucleus Ce is investigated.
Methods: experiments have been carried out at the
High Intensity -ray Source (HIS) facility in combination with
the high-efficiency -ray spectroscopy setup consisting of
HPGe and LaBr detectors. The setup enables the acquisition of
- coincidence data and, hence, the detection of direct decay
paths.
Results: In addition to the known ground-state decays, for Ca the
decay into the state was observed, while for Ce the direct
decays into the and the state were detected. The experimentally
deduced transition strengths and excitation energies are compared to
theoretical calculations in the framework of EDF theory plus QPM approach and
systematically analyzed for isotones. In addition, negative parities for
two states in Ca were deduced simultaneously.
Conclusions: The experimental findings together with the theoretical
calculations support the two-phonon character of the excitation in the
light-to-medium-mass nucleus Ca as well as in the stable even-even
nuclei.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, as accepted in Phys. Rev.
Re(\gamm,n) cross section close to and above the neutron threshold
The neutron capture cross section of the unstable nucleus Re is
studied by investigating the inverse photodisintegration reaction
Re(,n). The special interest of the {\it s}-process branching
point Re is related to the question of possible {\it s}-process
contributions to the abundance of the {\it r}-process chronometer nucleus
^{187}^{186}\gamma^{186}$Os; the two predicted neutron-capture cross sections
differ by a factor of 2.4; this calls for future theoretical study.Comment: Phys. Rev. C, in pres
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