"Safe" Coulomb Excitation of 30Mg

We report on the first radioactive beam experiment performed at the recently commissioned REX-ISOLDE facility at CERN in conjunction with the highly efficient gamma spectrometer MINIBALL. Using 30Mg ions accelerated to an energy of 2.25 MeV/u together with a thin nat-Ni target, Coulomb excitation of the first excited 2+ states of the projectile and target nuclei well below the Coulomb barrier was observed. From the measured relative de-excitation gamma ray yields the B(E2; 0+ -> 2+) value of 30Mg was determined to be 241(31) e2fm4. Our result is lower than values obtained at projectile fragmentation facilities using the intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation method, and confirms the theoretical conjecture that the neutron-rich magnesium isotope 30Mg lies still outside the ``island of inversion''

Coulomb Excitation of Neutron-Rich Zn Isotopes: First Observation of the 2+_1 State in 80Zn

Neutron-rich, radioactive Zn isotopes were investigated at the Radioactive Ion Beam facility REX-ISOLDE (CERN) using low-energy Coulomb excitation. The energy of the 2 state in 78Zn could be firmly established and for the first time the 2+0 transition in 80Zn was observed at 1492(1) keV. B(E2,20) values were extracted for 74,76,78,80Zn and compared to large scale shell model calculations. With only two protons outside the Z=28 proton core, 80Zn is the lightest N=50 isotone for which spectroscopic information has been obtained to date. Two sets of advanced shell model calculations reproduce the observed B(E2) systematics. The results for N=50 isotones indicate a good N=50 shell closure and a strong Z=28 proton core polarization. The new results serve as benchmarks to establish theoretical models, predicting the nuclear properties of the doubly magic nucleus 78Ni

Coulomb excitation of the N=50 nucleus Zn-80

Neutron rich Zinc isotopes, including the N=50 nucleus Zn-80, were produced and post-accelerated at the Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility REX-ISOLDE (CERN). Low-energy Coulomb excitation was induced on these isotopes after post-acceleration, yielding B(E2) strengths to the first excited 2(+) states. For the first time, an excited state in Zn-80 was observed and the 2(1)(+) state in Zn-78 was established. The measured B(E2,2(1)(+) -> 0(1)(+)) values are compared to two sets of large scale shell model calculations. Both calculations reproduce the observed B(E2) systematics for the full Zinc isotopic chain. The results for N=50 isotones indicate a good N=50 shell closure and a strong Z=28 proton core polarization. The new results serve as benchmarks to establish theoretical models, predicting the nuclear properties of the doubly magic nucleus Ni-78

Coulomb Excitation of Neutron-Rich Zn Isotopes: First Observation of the 2[sub 1][sup +] State in [sup 80]Zn

Neutron-rich, radioactive Zn isotopes were investigated at the Radioactive Ion Beam facility REX-ISOLDE (CERN) using low-energy Coulomb excitation. The energy of the 21+ state in 78Zn could be firmly established and for the first time the 2+-->01+ transition in 80Zn was observed at 1492(1) keV. B(E2,21+-->01+) values were extracted for 74,76,78,80Zn and compared to large scale shell model calculations. With only two protons outside the Z=28 proton core, 80Zn is the lightest N=50 isotone for which spectroscopic information has been obtained to date. Two sets of advanced shell model calculations reproduce the observed B(E2) systematics. The results for N=50 isotones indicate a good N=50 shell closure and a strong Z=28 proton core polarization. The new results serve as benchmarks to establish theoretical models, predicting the nuclear properties of the doubly magic nucleus 78Ni

Low-energy Coulomb excitation of neutron-rich zinc isotopes

At the radioactive ion beam facility REX-ISOLDE, neutron-rich zinc isotopes were investigated using lowenergy Coulomb excitation. These experiments have resulted in B(E2, 2+1 → 0+1 ) values in 74−80Zn, B(E2, 4+1 → 2+1 ) values in 74,76Zn and the determination of the energy of the first excited 2+1 states in 78,80Zn. The zinc isotopes were produced by high-energy proton- (A = 74, 76, 80) and neutron- (A = 78) induced fission of 238U, combined with selective laser ionization and mass separation. The isobaric beam was postaccelerated by the REX linear accelerator and Coulomb excitation was induced on a thin secondary target, which was surrounded by the MINIBALL germanium detector array. In this work, it is shown how the selective laser ionization can be used to deal with the considerable isobaric beam contamination and howa reliable normalization of the experiment can be achieved. The results for zinc isotopes and the N = 50 isotones are compared to collective model predictions and state-of-the-art large-scale shell-model calculations, including a recent empirical residual interaction constructed to describe the present experimental data up to 2004 in this region of the nuclear chart

Coulomb excitation of neutron-rich beams at REX-ISOLDE

After the successful commissioning of the radioactive beam experiment at ISOLDE (REX-ISOLDE) --an accelerator for exotic nuclei produced by ISOLDE-- in 2002 and the promotion to a CERN user facility in 2003, first physics experiments using these beams were performed. Initial experiments focused on the region of deformation in the vicinity of the neutron-rich Na and Mg isotopes. Preliminary results on the neutron-rich Na and Mg isotopes show the high potential and physics opportunities offered by the exotic isotope accelerator REX in conjunction with the modern Germanium γ spectrometer MINIBALL