Ground-state configuration of neutron-rich ³⁵Al via Coulomb breakup

The ground-state configuration of ³⁵Al has been studied via Coulomb dissociation (CD) using the LAND-FRS setup (GSI, Darmstadt) at a relativistic energy of ~ 403 MeV/nucleon. The measured inclusive differential CD cross section for ³⁵Al, integrated up to 5.0 MeV relative energy between the ³³Al core and the neutron using a Pb target, is 78(13) mb. The exclusive measured CD cross section that populates various excited states of ³³Al is 29(7) mb. The differential CD cross section of ³⁵Al -> ³⁴Al + n has been interpreted in the light of a direct breakup model, and it suggests that the possible ground-state spin and parity of ³⁵Al could be, tentatively, 1/2⁺ or 3/2⁺ or 5/2⁺. The valence neutrons, in the ground state of ³⁵Al, may occupy a combination of either l = 3,0 or l = 1,2 orbitals coupled with the ³⁴Al core in the ground and isomeric state(s), respectively. This hints of a particle-hole configuration of the neutron across the magic shell gaps at N = 20,28 which suggests narrowing the magic shell gap. If the 5/2⁺ is the ground-state spin-parity of ³⁵Al as suggested in the literature, then the major ground-state configuration of ³⁵Al is a combination of ³⁴Al (g. s.; 4⁻) circle times ν_(p_(3/2)) and ³⁴Al (isomer; 1⁺) circle times ν _(d_(3/2)) states. The result from this experiment has been compared with that from a previous knockout measurement and a calculation using the SDPF-M interaction

Coulomb dissociation of P 27 at 500 MeV/u

The proton-capture reaction Si26(p,γ)P27 was studied via Coulomb dissociation (CD) of P27 at an incident energy of about 500 MeV/u. The three lowest-lying resonances in P27 have been populated and their resonance strengths have been measured. In addition, a nonresonant direct-capture component was clearly identified and its astrophysical S factor measured. The experimental results are compared to Monte Carlo simulations of the CD process using a semiclassical model. Our thermonuclear reaction rates show good agreement with the rates from a recent compilation. With respect to the nuclear structure of P27 we have found evidence for a negative-parity intruder state at 2.88-MeV excitation energy. © 2016 American Physical Society

Coulomb breakup of neutron-rich 29,30^{29,30}Na isotopes near the island of inversion

First results are reported on the ground state configurations of the neutron-rich $^{29,30}$Na isotopes, obtained via Coulomb dissociation (CD) measurements as a method of the direct probe. The invariant mass spectra of those nuclei have been obtained through measurement of the four-momentum of all decay products after Coulomb excitation on a $^{208}Pb$ target at energies of 400-430 MeV/nucleon using FRS-ALADIN-LAND setup at GSI, Darmstadt. Integrated Coulomb-dissociation cross-sections (CD) of 89 $(7)$ mb and 167 $(13)$ mb up to excitation energy of 10 MeV for one neutron removal from $^{29}$Na and $^{30}$Na respectively, have been extracted. The major part of one neutron removal, CD cross-sections of those nuclei populate core, in its' ground state. A comparison with the direct breakup model, suggests the predominant occupation of the valence neutron in the ground state of $^{29}$Na${(3/2^+)}$ and $^{30}$Na${(2^+)}$ is the $d$ orbital with small contribution in the $s$-orbital which are coupled with ground state of the core. The ground state configurations of these nuclei are as $^{28}$Na_{gs (1^+)\otimes\nu_{s,d} and $^{29}$Na$_{gs}(3/2^+)\otimes\nu_{ s,d}$, respectively. The ground state spin and parity of these nuclei, obtained from this experiment are in agreement with earlier reported values. The spectroscopic factors for the valence neutron occupying the $s$ and $d$ orbitals for these nuclei in the ground state have been extracted and reported for the first time. A comparison of the experimental findings with the shell model calculation using MCSM suggests a lower limit of around 4.3 MeV of the sd-pf shell gap in $^{30}$Na.Comment: Modified version of the manuscript is accepted for publication in Journal of Physics G, Jan., 201

Beyond the neutron drip line: The unbound oxygen isotopes (25)O and (26)O

This is the publisher's version, and is also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.88.034313.The very neutron-rich oxygen isotopes 25O and 26O are investigated experimentally and theoretically. The unbound states are populated in an experiment performed at the R3B-LAND setup at GSI via proton-knockout reactions from 26F and 27F at relativistic energies around 442 and 414 MeV/nucleon, respectively. From the kinematically complete measurement of the decay into 24O plus one or two neutrons, the 25O ground-state energy and width are determined, and upper limits for the 26O ground-state energy and lifetime are extracted. In addition, the results provide indications for an excited state in 26O at around 4 MeV. The experimental findings are compared to theoretical shell-model calculations based on chiral two- and three-nucleon (3N) forces, including for the first time residual 3N forces, which are shown to be amplified as valence neutrons are added

The Nuclear Receptor LXR Limits Bacterial Infection of Host Macrophages through a Mechanism that Impacts Cellular NAD Metabolism

Macrophages exert potent effector functions against invading microorganisms but constitute, paradoxically, a preferential niche for many bacterial strains to replicate. Using a model of infection by Salmonella Typhimurium, we have identified a molecular mechanism regulated by the nuclear receptor LXR that limits infection of host macrophages through transcriptional activation of the multifunctional enzyme CD38. LXR agonists reduced the intracellular levels of NAD+ in a CD38-dependent manner, counteracting pathogen-induced changes in macrophage morphology and the distribution of the F-actin cytoskeleton and reducing the capability of non-opsonized Salmonella to infect macrophages. Remarkably, pharmacological treatment with an LXR agonist ameliorated clinical signs associated with Salmonella infection in vivo, and these effects were dependent on CD38 expression in bone-marrow-derived cells. Altogether, this work reveals an unappreciated role for CD38 in bacterial-host cell interaction that can be pharmacologically exploited by activation of the LXR pathway

Cluster structure of neutron-rich 10Be and 14C via resonant alpha scattering

Neutron-rich10Be and 14C nuclei were studied via resonant α scattering of radioactive 6He and 10Be beams, respectively, produced by the TwinSol facility at the University of Notre Dame. The Prototype Active-Target Time-Projection Chamber (pAT-TPC) was used as a thick gaseous α target to induce resonant scattering and as a device to track reacted particles inside the target, providing continuous excitation functions and angular distributions over a wide range of energies and angles. The experimental results indicate a melting phenomenon of α clusters in the 4+ rotational member of the 10Be ground state and a linear chain alignment of three α clusters in 14C excited states, as recently predicted by an anti-symmetrized molecular dynamics calculation