High-spin structure in the transitional nucleus 131Xe:Competitive neutron and proton alignment in the vicinity of the N = 82 shell closure

International audienceThe transitional nucleus Xe131 is investigated after multinucleon transfer in the Xe136+Pb208 and Xe136+U238 reactions employing the high-resolution Advanced γ-Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy, and as an elusive reaction product in the fusion-evaporation reaction Sn124(B11,p3n)Xe131 employing the High-efficiency Observatory for γ-Ray Unique Spectroscopy (HORUS) γ-ray array coupled to a double-sided silicon strip detector at the University of Cologne, Germany. The level scheme of Xe131 is extended to 5 MeV. A pronounced backbending is observed at ℏω≈0.4MeV along the negative-parity one-quasiparticle νh11/2(α=−1/2) band. The results are compared to the high-spin systematics of the Z=54 isotopes and the N=77 isotones. Large-scale shell-model calculations employing the PQM130, SN100PN, GCN50:82, SN100-KTH, and a realistic effective interaction reproduce the experimental findings and provide guidance to elucidate the structure of the high-spin states. Further calculations in Xe129−132 provide insight into the changing nuclear structure along the Xe chain towards the N=82 shell closure. Proton occupancy in the π0h11/2 orbital is found to be decisive for the description of the observed backbending phenomenon

Hemodynamics in intracranial aneurysms

Hemodynamics are considered a risk factor for the initiation, growth and rupture of intracranial aneurysms. In this thesis several aspects of the research of hemodynamics in intracranial aneurysms are discussed. First, I discuss the need to obtain aneurysm hemodynamics in a patient-specific manner, followed by possible clinical routines for obtaining such information. Second, the strengths and limitations of presented studies and the underlying technology are discussed. Third, the main outcome of the comparison study in chapter 10 is absence of additional value of aneurysm hemodynamics for characterization of ruptured versus unruptured aneurysm. This outcome raises questions whether there still is a future for hemodynamics in rupture risk prediction, and whether additional studies are still required to determine its definitive role for this purpose