A new analysis method to determine beta-decay half-lives in experiments with complex background

This paper reports the first application of a new technique to measure the beta-decay half -lives of exotic nuclei in complex background conditions. Since standard tools were not adapted to extract the relevant information, a new analysis method was developed. The time distribution of background events is established by recording time correlations in backward time. The beta half lives of the nuclides and the detection efficiency of the set-up are determined simultaneously from a least-squares fit of the ratio of the time-correlation spectra recorded in forward and in backward time, using numerical functions. The necessary numerical functions are calculated in a Monte-Carlo code using the known operation parameters of the experiment and different values for the two free parameters, half-life and detection efficiency, as input parameters.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figure

Production of new neutron-rich isotopes of heavy elements in fragmentation reactions of 238^{238}U projectiles at 1 A GeV

The production of heavy neutron-rich nuclei has been investigated using cold fragmentation reactions of $^{238}$U projectiles at relativistic energies. The experiment performed at the high-resolving-power magnetic spectrometer FRS at GSI allowed to identify 45 new heavy neutron-rich nuclei: $^{205}$Pt, $^{207-210}$Au, $^{211-216}$Hg, $^{213-217}$Tl, $^{215-220}$Pb, $^{219-224}$Bi, $^{221-227}$Po, $^{224-229}$At, $^{229-231}$Rn and $^{233}$Fr. The production cross sections of these nuclei were also determined and used to benchmark reaction codes that predict the production of nuclei far from stability.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Coincidence measurement of residues and light particles in the reaction 56Fe+p at 1 GeV per nucleon with SPALADIN

The spallation of $^{56}$Fe in collisions with hydrogen at 1 A GeV has been studied in inverse kinematics with the large-aperture setup SPALADIN at GSI. Coincidences of residues with low-center-of-mass kinetic energy light particles and fragments have been measured allowing the decomposition of the total reaction cross-section into the different possible de-excitation channels. Detailed information on the evolution of these de-excitation channels with excitation energy has also been obtained. The comparison of the data with predictions of several de-excitation models coupled to the INCL4 intra-nuclear cascade model shows that only GEMINI can reasonably account for the bulk of collected results, indicating that in a light system with no compression and little angular momentum, multifragmentation might not be necessary to explain the data.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, revised version accepted in Phys. Rev. Let

Extending the north-east limit of the chart of nuclides

The existence of nuclei with exotic combinations of protons and neutrons provides fundamental information on the forces acting between nucleons. The maximum number of neutrons a given number of protons can bind, neutron drip line1, is only known for the lightest chemical elements, up to oxygen. For heavier elements, the larger its atomic number, the farther from this limit is the most neutron-rich known isotope. The properties of heavy neutron-rich nuclei also have a direct impact on understanding the observed abundances of chemical elements heavier than iron in our Universe. Above half of the abundances of these elements are thought to be produced in rapid-neutron capture reactions, r-process, taking place in violent stellar scenarios2 where heavy neutron-rich nuclei, far beyond the ones known up today, are produced. Here we present a major step forward in the production of heavy neutron-rich nuclei: the discovery of 73 new neutron-rich isotopes of chemical elements between tantalum (Z=72) and actinium (Z=89). This result proves that cold-fragmentation reactions3 at relativistic energies are governed by large fluctuations in isospin and energy dissipation making possible the massive production of heavy neutron-rich nuclei, paving then the way for the full understanding of the origin of the heavier elements in our Universe. It is expected that further studies providing ground and structural properties of the nuclei presented here will reveal further details on the nuclear shell evolution along Z=82 and N=126, but also on the understanding of the stellar nucleosyntheis r-process around the waiting point at A~190 defining the speed of the matter flow towards heavier fissioning nuclei

β-delayed γ-proton decay in 56Zn: analysis of the charged-particle spectrum

A study of the beta decay of the proton-rich T-z = 2 nucleus Zn-56 has been reported in a recent publication. A rare and exotic decay mode, beta-delayed gamma-proton decay, has been observed there for the first time in the fp shell. Here, we expand on some of the details of the data analysis, focussing on the charged particle spectrum

Discovery and Cross-Section Measurement of Neutron-Rich Isotopes in the Element Range from Neodymium to Platinum at the FRS

With a new detector setup and the high-resolution performance of the fragment separator FRS at GSI we discovered 57 new isotopes in the atomic number range of 60$\leq Z \leq 78$: \nuc{159-161}{Nb}, \nuc{160-163}{Pm}, \nuc{163-166}Sm, \nuc{167-168}{Eu}, \nuc{167-171}{Gd}, \nuc{169-171}{Tb}, \nuc{171-174}{Dy}, \nuc{173-176}{Ho}, \nuc{176-178}{Er}, \nuc{178-181}{Tm}, \nuc{183-185}{Yb}, \nuc{187-188}{Lu}, \nuc{191}{Hf}, \nuc{193-194}{Ta}, \nuc{196-197}{W}, \nuc{199-200}{Re}, \nuc{201-203}{Os}, \nuc{204-205}{Ir} and \nuc{206-209}{Pt}. The new isotopes have been unambiguously identified in reactions with a $^{238}$U beam impinging on a Be target at 1 GeV/u. The isotopic production cross-section for the new isotopes have been measured and compared with predictions of different model calculations. In general, the ABRABLA and COFRA models agree better than a factor of two with the new data, whereas the semiempirical EPAX model deviates much more. Projectile fragmentation is the dominant reaction creating the new isotopes, whereas fission contributes significantly only up to about the element holmium.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

The High-Acceptance Dielectron Spectrometer HADES

HADES is a versatile magnetic spectrometer aimed at studying dielectron production in pion, proton and heavy-ion induced collisions. Its main features include a ring imaging gas Cherenkov detector for electron-hadron discrimination, a tracking system consisting of a set of 6 superconducting coils producing a toroidal field and drift chambers and a multiplicity and electron trigger array for additional electron-hadron discrimination and event characterization. A two-stage trigger system enhances events containing electrons. The physics program is focused on the investigation of hadron properties in nuclei and in the hot and dense hadronic matter. The detector system is characterized by an 85% azimuthal coverage over a polar angle interval from 18 to 85 degree, a single electron efficiency of 50% and a vector meson mass resolution of 2.5%. Identification of pions, kaons and protons is achieved combining time-of-flight and energy loss measurements over a large momentum range. This paper describes the main features and the performance of the detector system