Shells and Shapes in the N=28 isotones

International audienceNew experimental results on 43S and 44S reveal that these nuclei are located in a transitional region of shape coexistence between the spherical 48Ca and the oblate 42Si. The origin of the deformation is discussed in terms of the evolution of the single particle energy levels leading to the compression of the energy difference of the orbitals in the sd and pf shells for protons and neutrons, respectively. Therefore, due to quadrupole excitations across the Z = 14 and N = 28 gaps, the intruder configuration in the neutron rich S isotopes became the ground state

Low Energy States of 3181Ga50^{81}_{31} Ga_{50} : Elements on the Doubly-Magic Nature of 78^{78}Ni

Excited levels were attributed to $^{81}_{31}$Ga$_{50}$ for the first time which were fed in the $\beta$-decay of its mother nucleus $^{81}$Zn produced in the fission of $^{nat}$U using the ISOL technique. We show that the structure of this nucleus is consistent with that of the less exotic proton-deficient N=50 isotones within the assumption of strong proton Z=28 and neutron N=50 effective shell effects.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX 4, 5 figures (eps format

Large scale shell model calculations for odd-odd 58−62^{58-62}Mn isotopes

Large scale shell model calculations have been carried out for odd-odd $^{58-62}$Mn isotopes in two different model spaces. First set of calculations have been carried out in full $\it{fp}$ shell valence space with two recently derived $\it{fp}$ shell interactions namely GXPF1A and KB3G treating $^{40}$Ca as core. The second set of calculations have been performed in ${fpg_{9/2}}$ valence space with the $fpg$ interaction treating $^{48}$Ca as core and imposing a truncation by allowing up to a total of six particle excitations from the 0f$_{7/2}$ orbital to the upper $\it{fp}$ orbitals for protons and from the upper $\it{fp}$ orbitals to the 0g$_{9/2}$ orbital for neutron. For low-lying states in $^{58}$Mn, the KB3G and GXPF1A both predicts good results and for $^{60}$Mn, KB3G is much better than GXPF1A. For negative parity and high-spin positive parity states in both isotopes $fpg$ interaction is required. Experimental data on $^{62}$Mn is sparse and therefore it is not possible to make any definite conclusions. More experimental data on negative parity states is needed to ascertain the importance of 0g$_{9/2}$ and higher orbitals in neutron rich Mn isotopes.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

Direct mass measurements of 19B, 22C, 29F, 31Ne, 34Na and other light exotic nuclei

We report on direct time-of-flight based mass measurements of 16 light neutron-rich nuclei. These include the first determination of the masses of the Borromean drip-line nuclei $^{19}$B, $^{22}$C and $^{29}$F as well as that of $^{34}$Na. In addition, the most precise determinations to date for $^{23}$N and $^{31}$Ne are reported. Coupled with recent interaction cross-section measurements, the present results support the occurrence of a two-neutron halo in $^{22}$C, with a dominant $\nu2s_{1/2}^2$ configuration, and a single-neutron halo in $^{31}$Ne with the valence neutron occupying predominantly the 2$p_{3/2}$ orbital. Despite a very low two-neutron separation energy the development of a halo in $^{19}$B is hindered by the 1$d_{5/2}^2$ character of the valence neutrons.Comment: 5 page

Structure of unbound neutron-rich 9^{9}He studied using single-neutron transfer

The 8He(d,p) reaction was studied in inverse kinematics at 15.4A MeV using the MUST2 Si-CsI array in order to shed light on the level structure of 9He. The well known 16O(d,p)17O reaction, performed here in reverse kinematics, was used as a test to validate the experimental methods. The 9He missing mass spectrum was deduced from the kinetic energies and emission angles of the recoiling protons. Several structures were observed above the neutron-emission threshold and the angular distributions were used to deduce the multipolarity of the transitions. This work confirms that the ground state of 9He is located very close to the neutron threshold of 8He and supports the occurrence of parity inversion in 9He.Comment: Exp\'erience GANIL/SPIRAL1/MUST

Lifetime measurements in 63^{63}Co and 65^{65}Co

Lifetimes of the $9/2^-_1$ and $3/2^-_1$ states in $^{63}$Co and the $9/2^-_1$ state in $^{65}$Co were measured using the recoil distance Doppler shift and the differential decay curve methods. The nuclei were populated by multi-nucleon transfer reactions in inverse kinematics. Gamma rays were measured with the EXOGAM Ge array and the recoiling fragments were fully identified using the large-acceptance VAMOS spectrometer. The E2 transition probabilities from the $3/2^-_1$ and $9/2^-_1$ states to the $7/2^-$ ground state could be extracted in $^{63}$Co as well as an upper limit for the $9/2^-_1\rightarrow7/2^-_1$ $B$(E2) value in $^{65}$Co. The experimental results were compared to large-scale shell-model calculations in the $pf$ and $pfg_{9/2}$ model spaces, allowing to draw conclusions on the single-particle or collective nature of the various states.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Performance of the improved larger acceptance spectrometer: VAMOS++

International audienceMeasurements and ion optic calculations showed that the large momentum acceptance of the VAMOS spectrometer at GANIL could be further increased from $\sim$ 11% to $\sim$ 30% by suitably enlarging the dimensions of the detectors used at the focal plane. Such a new detection system built for the focal plane of VAMOS is described. It consists of larger area detectors (1000 mm × 150 mm) namely, a Multi-Wire Parallel Plate Avalanche Counter (MWPPAC), two drift chambers, a segmented ionization chamber and an array of Si detectors. Compared to the earlier existing system (VAMOS), we show that the new system (VAMOS++) has a dispersion-independent momentum acceptance . Additionally a start detector (MWPPAC) has been introduced near the target to further improve the mass resolution to $\sim$ 1/220. The performance of the VAMOS++ spectrometer is demonstrated using measurements of residues formed in the collisions of 129Xe at 967 MeV on 197Au

New gas-filled mode of the large-acceptance spectrometer VAMOS

Spectromètre VAMOSA new gas-filled operation mode of the large-acceptance spectrometer VAMOS at GANIL is reported. A beam rejection factor greater than 1010 is obtained for the 40Ca+150Sm system at 196 MeV. The unprecedented transmission efficiency for the evaporation residues produced in this reaction is estimated to be around 80% for ®xn channels and above 95% for xnyp channels. A detailed study of the performance of the gasfilled VAMOS and future developments are discussed. This new operation mode opens avenues to explore the potential of fusion reactions in various kinematics

Synthesis of Specimen Preparation and Curing Processes for Cold Recycled Asphalt Mixes

The process of cold recycling (CR) is becoming method of choice for pavement rehabilitation due to significantly added environmental and economic benefits. Understanding and standardization of specimen preparation and curing processes are critical to replicate field conditions in lab. This paper presents an extensive synthesis of various specimen preparation and curing processes for cold recycled asphalt mixes. Topics synthesized include RAP, emulsion/bitumen and aggregate preparation, mixing processes, pre- and post- compaction curing, compaction and mechanical testing. This paper was developed through efforts of cold recycling task group (TG6) of RILEM Technical Committee on Testing and Characterization of Sustainable Innovative Bituminous Materials and Systems (TC-SIB)