Q value and half-life of double-electron capture in Os-184

Os-184 has been excluded as a promising candidate for the search of neutrinoless double-electron capture. High-precision mass measurements with the Penning-trap mass spectrometer TRIGA-TRAP resulted in a marginal resonant enhancement with = -8.89(58) keV excess energy to the 1322.152(22) keV 0+ excited state in W-184. State-of-the-art energy density functional calculations are applied for the evaluation of the nuclear matrix elements to the excited states predicting a strong suppression due to the large deformation of mother and daughter states. The half-life of the transition in Os-184 exceeds T_{1/2} > 1.3 10^{29} years for an effective neutrino mass of 1 eV.Comment: accepted in Phys. Rev.

Thermal (n, γ) cross section and resonance integral of 171Tm

Background: About 50% of the heavy elements are produced in stars during the slow neutron capture process. The analysis of branching points allows us to set constraints on the temperature and the neutron density in the interior of stars. Purpose: The temperature dependence of the branch point 171Tm is weak. Hence, the 171Tm neutron capture cross section can be used to constrain the neutron density during the main component of the s process in thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) stars. Methods: A 171Tm sample produced at the ILL was activated with thermal and epithermal neutrons at the TRIGA research reactor at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. Results: The thermal neutron capture cross section and the resonance integral have been measured for the first time to be σth = 9.9 ± 0.9 b and σRI = 193 ± 14 b. Conclusions: Based on our results, new estimations of the direct capture components’ impact on the Maxwellian-nAveraged cross sections (MACS) are possible.European Unions’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013

Future of superheavy element research: Which nuclei could be synthesized within the next few years?

Low values of the fusion cross sections and very short half-lives of nuclei with Z$>$120 put obstacles in synthesis of new elements. Different nuclear reactions (fusion of stable and radioactive nuclei, multi-nucleon transfers and neutron capture), which could be used for the production of new isotopes of superheavy (SH) elements, are discussed in the paper. The gap of unknown SH nuclei, located between the isotopes which were produced earlier in the cold and hot fusion reactions, can be filled in fusion reactions of $^{48}$Ca with available lighter isotopes of Pu, Am, and Cm. Cross sections for the production of these nuclei are predicted to be rather large, and the corresponding experiments can be easily performed at existing facilities. For the first time, a narrow pathway is found to the middle of the island of stability owing to possible $\beta^+$-decay of SH isotopes which can be formed in ordinary fusion reactions of stable nuclei. Multi-nucleon transfer processes at near barrier collisions of heavy (and very heavy, U-like) ions are shown to be quite realistic reaction mechanism allowing us to produce new neutron enriched heavy nuclei located in the unexplored upper part of the nuclear map. Neutron capture reactions can be also used for the production of the long-living neutron rich SH nuclei. Strong neutron fluxes might be provided by pulsed nuclear reactors and by nuclear explosions in laboratory conditions and by supernova explosions in nature. All these possibilities are discussed in the paper.Comment: An Invited Plenary Talk given by Valeriy I. Zagrebaev at the 11th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2012), San Antonio, Texas, USA, May 27-June 1, 2012. To appear in the NN2012 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS

Prospects for the discovery of the next new element: Influence of projectiles with Z > 20

The possibility of forming new superheavy elements with projectiles having Z > 20 is discussed. Current research has focused on the fusion of 48Ca with actinides targets, but these reactions cannot be used for new element discoveries in the future due to a lack of available target material. The influence on reaction cross sections of projectiles with Z > 20 have been studied in so-called analog reactions, which utilize lanthanide targets carefully chosen to create compound nuclei with energetics similar to those found in superheavy element production. The reactions 48Ca, 45Sc, 50Ti, 54Cr + 159Tb, 162Dy have been studied at the Cyclotron Institute at Texas A&M University using the Momentum Achromat Recoil Spectrometer. The results of these experimental studies are discussed in terms of the influence of collective enhancements to level density for compound nuclei near closed shells, and the implications for the production of superheavy elements. We have observed no evidence to contradict theoretical predictions that the maximum cross section for the 249Cf(50Ti, 4n)295120 and 248Cm(54Cr, 4n)298120 reactions should be in the range of 10-100 fb.Comment: An invited talk given by Charles M. Folden III at the 11th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2012), San Antonio, Texas, USA, May 27-June 1, 2012. Also contains information presented by Dmitriy A. Mayorov and Tyler A. Werke in separate contributions to the conference. This contribution will appear in the NN2012 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS

Gas chemical investigation of hafnium and zirconium complexes with hexafluoroacetylacetone using preseparated short-lived radioisotopes

Volatile metal complexes of the group 4 elements Zr and Hf with hexafluoroacetylacetonate (hfa) have been studied using short-lived radioisotopes of the metals. The new technique of physical preseparation has been employed where reaction products from heavy-ion induced fusion reactions are isolated in a physical recoil separator - the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator in our work - and made available for chemistry experiments. Formation and decomposition of M(hfa)4 (M=Zr, Hf) has been observed and the interaction strength with a fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) Teflon surface has been studied. From the results of isothermal chromatography experiments, an adsorption enthalpy of -ΔHa=(57±3)kJ/mol was deduced. In optimization experiments, the time for formation of the complex and its transport to a counting setup installed outside of the irradiation cave was minimized and values of roughly one minute have been reached. The half-life of 165Hf, for which conflicting values appear in the literature, was measured to be (73.9±0.8)s. Provided that samples suitable for α-spectroscopy can be prepared, the investigation of rutherfordium (Rf), the transactinide member of group 4, appears possible. In the future, based on the studies presented here, it appears possible to investigate short-lived single atoms produced with low rates ( e.g. , transactinide isotopes) in completely new chemical systems, e.g. , as metal complexes with organic ligands as used here or as organometallic compound

The possible existence of Hs in nature from a geochemical point of view

A hypothesis of the existence of a long-lived isotope 271Hs in natural molybdenites and osmirides is considered from a geochemical point of view. It is shown that the presence of Hs in these minerals can be explained only by making an additional ad hoc assumption on the existence of an isobaric pair of 271Bh-271Hs. This assumption could be tested by mass-spectrometric measurements of U, Pb, Kr, Xe, and Zr isotopic shifts.Comment: 5 pages, no figures. Physics of Particles and Nuclei Letters, 2006, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 165-168 in pres

Mechanisms Suppressing Superheavy Element Yields in Cold Fusion Reactions

Superheavy elements are formed in fusion reactions which are hindered by fast nonequilibrium processes. To quantify these, mass-angle distributions and cross sections have been measured, at beam energies from below-barrier to 25% above, for the reactions of 48Ca,50Ti, and 54Cr with 208 Pb. Moving from 48Ca to 54Cr leads to a drastic fall in the symmetric fission yield, which is reflected in the measured mass-angle distribution by the presence of competing fast nonequilibrium deep inelastic and quasifission processes. These are responsible for reduction of the compound nucleus formation probablity PCN (as measured by the symmetric-peaked fission cross section), by a factor of 2.5 for 50Ti and 15 for 54Cr in comparison to 48 Ca. The energy dependence of PCN indicates that cold fusion reactions (involving 208Pb) are not driven by a diffusion process.The authors acknowledge the Australian Research Council for support through Discovery Grants No. DP140101337, No. DP160101254, No. DP170102318, No. FL110100098, and No. DE140100784. Financial support from the NCRIS HIA capability for operation of the Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility is acknowledged. The authors acknowledge the support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) via funds of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

High-resolution and low-background 163^{163}Ho spectrum: interpretation of the resonance tails

The determination of the effective electron neutrino mass via kinematic analysis of beta and electron capture spectra is considered to be model-independent since it relies on energy and momentum conservation. At the same time the precise description of the expected spectrum goes beyond the simple phase space term. In particular for electron capture processes, many-body electron-electron interactions lead to additional structures besides the main resonances in calorimetrically measured spectra. A precise description of the $^{163}$Ho spectrum is fundamental for understanding the impact of low intensity structures at the endpoint region where a finite neutrino mass affects the shape most strongly. We present a low-background and high-energy resolution measurement of the $^{163}$Ho spectrum obtained in the framework of the ECHo experiment. We study the line shape of the main resonances and multiplets with intensities spanning three orders of magnitude. We discuss the need to introduce an asymmetric line shape contribution due to Auger–Meitner decay of states above the auto-ionisation threshold. With this we determine an enhancement of count rate at the endpoint region of about a factor of 2, which in turn leads to an equal reduction in the required exposure of the experiment to achieve a given sensitivity on the effective electron neutrino mass

First Experiment at TASCA Towards X-Ray Fingerprinting of Element 115 Decay Chains

To identify the atomic number of superheavy nuclei produced in Ca-48-induced fusion-evaporation reactions, an experiment aiming at measuring characteristic X-rays is being prepared at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany. The gas-filled separator TASCA will be employed, sending the residues towards the multi-coincidence detector setup TASISpec. Two ion-optical modes relying on differing magnetic polarities of the quadrupole magnets can be used at TASCA. New simulations and experimental tests of transmission and background suppression for these two focusing modes into TASISpec are presented