Neutron-proton pairing in the N=Z radioactive fp-shell nuclei 56Ni and 52Fe probed by pair transfer

The isovector and isoscalar components of neutron-proton pairing are investigated in the N=Z unstable nuclei of the \textit{fp}-shell through the two-nucleon transfer reaction (p,$^3$He) in inverse kinematics. The combination of particle and gamma-ray detection with radioactive beams of $^{56}$Ni and $^{52}$Fe, produced by fragmentation at the GANIL/LISE facility, made it possible to carry out this study for the first time in a closed and an open-shell nucleus in the \textit{fp}-shell. The transfer cross-sections for ground-state to ground-state (J=0$^+$,T=1) and to the first (J=1$^+$,T=0) state were extracted for both cases together with the transfer cross-section ratios $\sigma$(0$^+$,T=1) /$\sigma$(1$^+$,T=0). They are compared with second-order distorted-wave born approximation (DWBA) calculations. The enhancement of the ground-state to ground-state pair transfer cross-section close to mid-shell, in $^{52}$Fe, points towards a superfluid phase in the isovector channel. For the "deuteron-like" transfer, very low cross-sections to the first (J=1$^+$,T=0) state were observed both for \Ni\phe\, and \Fe\phe\, and are related to a strong hindrance of this channel due to spin-orbit effect. No evidence for an isoscalar deuteron-like condensate is observed.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Cross-shell states in 15^{15}C: a test for p-sd interactions

The low-lying structure of $^{15}$C has been investigated via the neutron-removal $^{16}$C$(d,t)$ reaction. Along with bound neutron sd-shell hole states, unbound p-shell hole states have been firmly confirmed. The excitation energies and the deduced spectroscopic factors of the cross-shell states are an important measure of the $[(p)^{-1}(sd)^{2}]$ neutron configurations in $^{15}$C. Our results show a very good agreement with shell-model calculations using the SFO-tls interaction for $^{15}$C. However, a modification of the $p$-$sd$ and $sd$-$sd$ monopole terms was applied in order to reproduce the $N=9$ isotone $^{17}$O. In addition, the excitation energies and spectroscopic factors have been compared to the first calculations of $^{15}$C with the $ab~ initio$ self-consistent Green's function method employing the NNLO$_{sat}$ interaction. The results show the sensitivity to the size of the $N=8$ shell gap and highlight the need of going beyond the current truncation scheme in the theory

Atypical birdsong and artificial languages provide insights into how communication systems are shaped by learning, use and transmission

In this article, I argue that a comparative approach focusing on the cognitive capacities and behavioral mechanisms that underlie vocal learning in songbirds and humans can provide valuable insights into the evolutionary origins of language. The experimental approaches I discuss use abnormal song and atypical linguistic input to study the processes of individual learning, social interaction, and cultural transmission. Atypical input places increased learning and communicative pressure on learners, so exploring how they respond to this type of input provides a particularly clear picture of the biases and constraints at work during learning and use. Furthermore, simulating the cultural transmission of these unnatural communication systems in the laboratory informs us about how learning and social biases influence the structure of communication systems in the long run. Findings based on these methods suggest fundamental similarities in the basic social–cognitive mechanisms underlying vocal learning in birds and humans, and continuing research promises insights into the uniquely human mechanisms and into how human cognition and social behavior interact, and ultimately impact on the evolution of language

Shape coexistence and mixing of low-lying 0+ states in 96Sr

The low energy excited 02,3 + states in 96Sr are amongst the most prominent examples of shape coexistence across the nuclear landscape. In this work, the neutron [2s1/2]2 content of the 01,2,3 + states in 96Sr was determined by means of the d(95Sr, p) transfer reaction at the TRIUMF-ISAC2 facility using the SHARC and TIGRESS arrays. Spectroscopic factors of 0.19(3) and 0.22(3) were extracted for the 96Sr ground and 1229 keV 0+ states, respectively, by fitting the experimental angular distributions to DWBA reaction model calculations. A detailed analysis of the γ-decay of the isomeric 03 + state was used to determine a spectroscopic factor of 0.33(13). The experimental results are compared to shell model calculations, which predict negligible spectroscopic strength for the excited 0+ states in 96Sr. The strengths of the excited 02,3 + states were also analyzed within a two-level mixing model and are consistent with a mixing strength of a2=0.40(14) and a difference in intrinsic deformations of |Δβ|=0.31(3). These results suggest coexistence of three different configurations in 96Sr and strong shape mixing of the two excited 0+ states

Single-particle structure of neutron-rich Sr isotopes via 2H(94,95,96Sr,p)^2H(^94,95,96Sr, p) reactions

Background: The region around neutron number N=60 in the neutron-rich Sr and Zr nuclei is one of the most dramatic examples of a ground-state shape transition from (near) spherical below N=60 to strongly deformed shapes in the heavier isotopes. Purpose: The single-particle structure of Sr95-97 approaching the ground-state shape transition at Sr98 has been investigated via single-neutron transfer reactions using the (d,p) reaction in inverse kinematics. These reactions selectively populate states with a large overlap of the projectile ground state coupled to a neutron in a single-particle orbital. Method: Radioactive Sr94,95,96 nuclei with energies of 5.5 AMeV were used to bombard a CD2, where D denotes H2, target. Recoiling light charged particles and γ rays were detected using a quasi-4π silicon strip detector array and a 12-element Ge array. The excitation energy of states populated was reconstructed employing the missing mass method combined with γ-ray tagging and differential cross sections for final states were extracted. Results: A reaction model analysis of the angular distributions allowed for firm spin assignments to be made for the low-lying 352, 556, and 681 keV excited states in Sr95 and a constraint has been placed on the spin of the higher-lying 1666 keV state. Angular distributions have been extracted for ten states populated in the H2(Sr95,p)Sr96 reaction, and constraints have been provided for the spins and parities of several final states. Additionally, the 0, 167, and 522 keV states in Sr97 were populated through the H2(Sr96,p) reaction. Spectroscopic factors for all three reactions were extracted. Conclusions: Results are compared to shell-model calculations in several model spaces and the structure of low-lying states in Sr94 and Sr95 is well described. The spectroscopic strength of the 0+ and 2+ states in Sr96 is significantly more fragmented than predicted. The spectroscopic factors for the H2(Sr96,p)Sr97 reaction suggest that the two lowest-lying excited states have significant overlap with the weakly deformed ground state of Sr96, but the ground state of Sr97 has a different structure

Shell evolution approaching the N=20 island of inversion : Structure of Mg 29

The island of inversion for neutron-rich nuclei in the vicinity of N=20 has become the testing ground par excellence for our understanding and modeling of shell evolution with isospin. In this context, the structure of the transitional nucleus Mg29 is critical. The first quantitative measurements of the single-particle structure of Mg29 are reported, using data from the d(Mg28, p γ)Mg29 reaction. Two key states carrying significant 3 (f-wave) strength were identified at 2.40±0.10 (Jπ=5/2-) and 4.28±0.04 MeV (7/2-). New state-of-the-art shell-model calculations have been performed and the predictions are compared in detail with the experimental results. While the two lowest 7/2- levels are well described, the sharing of single-particle strength disagrees with experiment for both the 3/2- and 5/2- levels and there appear to be general problems with configurations involving the p3/2 neutron orbital and core-excited components. These conclusions are supported by an analysis of the neutron occupancies in the shell-model calculations

Low-lying single-particle structure of 17C and the N = 14 sub-shell closure

The first investigation of the single-particle structure of the bound states of 17C, via the C transfer reaction, has been undertaken. The measured angular distributions confirm the spin-parity assignments of and for the excited states located at 217 and 335 keV, respectively. The spectroscopic factors deduced for these states exhibit a marked single-particle character, in agreement with shell model and particle-core model calculations, and combined with their near degeneracy in energy provide clear evidence for the absence of the sub-shell closure. The very small spectroscopic factor found for the ground state is consistent with theoretical predictions and indicates that the strength is carried by unbound states. With a dominant valence neutron configuration and a very low separation energy, the excited state is a one-neutron halo candidate