Charged particle decay of hot and rotating 88^{88}Mo nuclei in fusion-evaporation reactions

A study of fusion-evaporation and (partly) fusion-fission channels for the $^{88}$Mo compound nucleus, produced at different excitation energies in the reaction $^{48}$Ti + $^{40}$Ca at 300, 450 and 600 MeV beam energies, is presented. Fusion-evaporation and fusion-fission cross sections have been extracted and compared with the existing systematics. Experimental data concerning light charged particles have been compared with the prediction of the statistical model in its implementation in the Gemini++ code, well suited even for high spin systems, in order to tune the main model parameters in a mass region not abundantly covered by exclusive experimental data. Multiplicities for light charged particles emitted in fusion evaporation events are also presented. Some discrepancies with respect to the prediction of the statistical model have been found for forward emitted $\alpha$-particles; they may be due both to pre-equilibrium emission and to reaction channels (such as Deep Inelastic Collisions, QuasiFission/QuasiFusion) different from the compound nucleus formation.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figure

Lifetime measurements of short-lived excited states, and shape changes in As 69 and Ge 66 nuclei

Background: The nuclear shape is a macroscopic feature of an atomic nucleus that is sensitive to the underlying nuclear structure in terms of collectivity and the interaction between nucleons. Therefore, the evolution of nuclear shapes has attracted many theoretical and experimental nuclear structure studies. The structure of the A≈70, N≈Z nuclei, lying far from the stability line, is interesting because a particularly strong proton-neutron correlation may occur here due to the occupation of the same orbits by nucleons of both types. In this region, different particle configurations drive a nucleus towards various deformed shapes: prolate, oblate, octupole, or nonaxial. These nuclear shapes change rapidly with nucleon number and also with angular momentum. This is reflected by a presence of different structures (bands) of excited states which exhibit a broad range of lifetimes. Purpose: The aim of this paper is to determine lifetimes of some high-spin excited states in As69 and Ge66 nuclei to examine the shape evolution in these neutron-deficient nuclei. Methods: Lifetimes of high-spin states in As69 and Ge66 have been measured by using the Doppler-shift attenuation technique with the GASP and recoil filter detector setup at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro. The nuclei of interest were produced in the S32(95MeV)+0.8mg/cm2 Ca40 fusion-evaporation reaction. The strongest reaction channels 3p and α2p led to the As69 and Ge66 final nuclei, respectively. Using γ-γ-recoil coincidences we were able to determine very short lifetimes (in the femtosecond range) in the residual nuclei of interest. Results: In As69, the extracted lifetimes are τ=72 (-32, +45) fs for the 33/2+ state at 7897 keV and τ<85 fs for the 37/2+ state at 9820 keV. For the Ge66 case, the lifetime of the 11- state at 7130 keV is τ=122(±41) fs. Lifetimes in As69 and Ge66 reported in this paper have been measured for the first time in the present experiment. Conclusions: The results are discussed in the terms of deformation and shape evolution in As69 and Ge66. The quadrupole moments deduced from the measured lifetimes were compared with the cranked Woods-Saxon-Strutinsky calculations by means of the total Routhian surface method. It turns out that Band 3 in As69 shows an oblate-prolate shape transition, and above spin 33/2+ it corresponds to a prolate collective structure with β2≈0.27 and γ≈20. In turn, in Ge66 the negative-parity band built on the 7- state at 4205 keV corresponds to a triaxial shape with β2=0.33 and γ=31. Analysis of the transitional quadrupole moments derived from the experimental and theoretical ones points to a significant change of deformation in the As69 and Ge66 nuclei with increasing rotational frequency

Quadrupole collectivity in Ca 42 from low-energy Coulomb excitation with AGATA

A Coulomb-excitation experiment to study electromagnetic properties of Ca42 was performed using a 170-MeV calcium beam from the TANDEM XPU facility at INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro. γ rays from excited states in Ca42 were measured with the AGATA spectrometer. The magnitudes and relative signs of ten E2 matrix elements coupling six low-lying states in Ca42, including the diagonal E2 matrix elements of 21+ and 22+ states, were determined using the least-squares code gosia. The obtained set of reduced E2 matrix elements was analyzed using the quadrupole sum rule method and yielded overall quadrupole deformation for 01,2+ and 21,2+ states, as well as triaxiality for 01,2+ states, establishing the coexistence of a weakly deformed ground-state band and highly deformed slightly triaxial sideband in Ca42. The experimental results were compared with the state-of-the-art large-scale shell-model and beyond-mean-field calculations, which reproduce well the general picture of shape coexistence in Ca42

Superdeformed and Triaxial States in Ca 42

Shape parameters of a weakly deformed ground-state band and highly deformed slightly triaxial sideband in ^{42}Ca were determined from E2 matrix elements measured in the first low-energy Coulomb excitation experiment performed with AGATA. The picture of two coexisting structures is well reproduced by new state-of-the-art large-scale shell model and beyond-mean-field calculations. Experimental evidence for superdeformation of the band built on 0_{2}^{+} has been obtained and the role of triaxiality in the A∼40 mass region is discussed. Furthermore, the potential of Coulomb excitation as a tool to study superdeformation has been demonstrated for the first time

Study of the γ decay of high-lying states in 208Pb via inelastic scattering of 17O ions

High-lying states in 208Pb nucleus were populated via inelastic scattering of a 17O beam at bombarding energy of 20 MeV/u. Their subsequent gamma decay was measured with the detector system AGATA Demonstrator based on HPGe detectors, coupled to an array of large volume LaBr3:Ce scintillators. Preliminary results in comparison with (γ,γ′) data, for states in the 5–8 MeV energy interval, seem to indicate that in that region the states belong to two different groups one with a isoscalar character and the other with a isovector nature. This is similar to what was observed in other stable nuclei with (α,α′γ) experiments. The multipolarity of the observed gamma transitions is determined with remarkable sensitivity thanks to angular distribution measurements. Data aiming at studying the neutron decay of the Giant Quadrupole Resonance in the 208Pb by the high resolution measurement of the following gamma decay are also presented in their preliminary form

PI3K Signaling in Normal B Cells and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).

B cells provide immunity to extracellular pathogens by secreting a diverse repertoire of antibodies with high affinity and specificity for exposed antigens. The B cell receptor (BCR) is a transmembrane antibody, which facilitates the clonal selection of B cells producing secreted antibodies of the same specificity. The diverse antibody repertoire is generated by V(D)J recombination of heavy and light chain genes, whereas affinity maturation is mediated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID)-mediated mutagenesis. These processes, which are essential for the generation of adaptive humoral immunity, also render B cells susceptible to chromosomal rearrangements and point mutations that in some cases lead to cancer. In this chapter, we will review the central role of PI3K s in mediating signals from the B cell receptor that not only facilitate the development of functional B cell repertoire, but also support the growth and survival of neoplastic B cells, focusing on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B cells. Perhaps because of the central role played by PI3K in BCR signaling, B cell leukemia and lymphomas are the first diseases for which a PI3K inhibitor has been approved for clinical use

Revisiting the B-cell compartment in mouse and humans: more than one B-cell subset exists in the marginal zone and beyond.

International audienceABSTRACT: The immunological roles of B-cells are being revealed as increasingly complex by functions that are largely beyond their commitment to differentiate into plasma cells and produce antibodies, the key molecular protagonists of innate immunity, and also by their compartmentalisation, a more recently acknowledged property of this immune cell category. For decades, B-cells have been recognised by their expression of an immunoglobulin that serves the function of an antigen receptor, which mediates intracellular signalling assisted by companion molecules. As such, B-cells were considered simple in their functioning compared to the other major type of immune cell, the T-lymphocytes, which comprise conventional T-lymphocyte subsets with seminal roles in homeostasis and pathology, and non-conventional T-lymphocyte subsets for which increasing knowledge is accumulating. Since the discovery that the B-cell family included two distinct categories - the non-conventional, or extrafollicular, B1 cells, that have mainly been characterised in the mouse; and the conventional, or lymph node type, B2 cells - plus the detailed description of the main B-cell regulator, FcγRIIb, and the function of CD40+ antigen presenting cells as committed/memory B-cells, progress in B-cell physiology has been slower than in other areas of immunology. Cellular and molecular tools have enabled the revival of innate immunity by allowing almost all aspects of cellular immunology to be re-visited. As such, B-cells were found to express "Pathogen Recognition Receptors" such as TLRs, and use them in concert with B-cell signalling during innate and adaptive immunity. An era of B-cell phenotypic and functional analysis thus began that encompassed the study of B-cell microanatomy principally in the lymph nodes, spleen and mucosae. The novel discovery of the differential localisation of B-cells with distinct phenotypes and functions revealed the compartmentalisation of B-cells. This review thus aims to describe novel findings regarding the B-cell compartments found in the mouse as a model organism, and in human physiology and pathology. It must be emphasised that some differences are noticeable between the mouse and human systems, thus increasing the complexity of B-cell compartmentalisation. Special attention will be given to the (lymph node and spleen) marginal zones, which represent major crossroads for B-cell types and functions and a challenge for understanding better the role of B-cell specificities in innate and adaptive immunology

Gamma decay of pygmy states in 90,94Zr from inelastic scattering of light ions

We performed experiments to study the low-energy part of the E1 response (Pygmy Dipole Resonance) in 90,94Zr nuclei, by measuring the (p,p'γ) and (α,α'γ) inelastic scattering reactions at energies Ebeam,p = 80 MeV and Ebeam,α = 130 MeV respectively. The inelastically scattered particles were measured by employing the high-resolution spectrometer Grand Raiden. The gamma-rays emitted following the de-excitation of the Zr target nuclei were detected using both the clover type HPGe detectors of the CAGRA array and the large volume LaBr3:Ce scintillation detectors from the HECTOR+ array. Some preliminary results are presented here