Broken seniority symmetry in the semimagic proton mid-shell nucleus ⁹⁵Rh

Lifetime measurements of low-lying excited states in the semimagic ( N = 50 ) nucleus 95Rh have been performed by means of the fast-timing technique. The experiment was carried out using γ -ray detector arrays consisting of LaBr3(Ce) scintillators and germanium detectors integrated into the DESPEC experimental setup commissioned for the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) Phase-0, Darmstadt, Germany. The excited states in 95Rh were populated primarily via the β decays of 95Pd nuclei, produced in the projectile fragmentation of a 850 MeV/nucleon 124Xe beam impinging on a 4 g / cm2 9Be target. The deduced electromagnetic E2 transition strengths for the γ -ray cascade within the multiplet structure depopulating from the isomeric Iπ = 21 / 2+ state are found to exhibit strong deviations from predictions of standard shell model calculations which feature approximately conserved seniority symmetry. In particular, the observation of a strongly suppressed E2 strength for the 13 / 2+ → 9 / 2+ ground state transition cannot be explained by calculations employing standard interactions. This remarkable result may require revision of the nucleon-nucleon interactions employed in state-of-the-art theoretical model calculations, and might also point to the need for including three-body forces in the Hamiltonian

Response of the FAst TIMing Array (FATIMA) for DESPEC at FAIR Phase-0

International audienceThe Monte-Carlo simulated response for γ-ray detection of the FAst TIMing Array (FATIMA) for exploitation within the DEcay SPECtroscopy (DESPEC) experimental system at the FAIR Phase-0 facility at Darmstadt, Germany is presented. In this configuration, FATIMA consisted of 36 LaBr3(Ce) detectors surrounding the AIDA, position-sensitive charged-particle active stopper. The decay of the Iπ=8+ isomer-fed decay cascade in 96Pd, measured in the first DESPEC experiment at the FAIR-0 facility was used to validate the simulations. The experimental data yielded in-situ full-energy peak efficiency values for FATIMA of 11.2(11)%, 6.8(7)%, 3.8(4)% and 2.1(4)% at 106, 325, 684 and 1415 keV respectively, consistent with the values derived from the simulated response

Commissioning the FAst TIMing array (FATIMA) at FAIR Phase-0:Half-lives of excited states in the N=50 isotones 96Pd and 94Ru

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Response of the FAst TIMing Array (FATIMA) for DESPEC at FAIR Phase-0

The Monte-Carlo simulated response for γ-ray detection of the FAst TIMing Array (FATIMA) for exploitation within the DEcay SPECtroscopy (DESPEC) experimental system at the FAIR Phase-0 facility at Darmstadt, Germany is presented. In this configuration, FATIMA consisted of 36 LaBr3(Ce) detectors surrounding the AIDA, position-sensitive charged-particle active stopper. The decay of the Ιπ=8+ isomer-fed decay cascade in 96Pd, measured in the first DESPEC experiment at the FAIR-0 facility was used to validate the simulations. The experimental data yielded in-situ full-energy peak efficiency values for FATIMA of 11.2(11)%, 6.8(7)%, 3.8(4)% and 2.1(4)% at 106, 325, 684 and 1415 keV respectively, consistent with the values derived from the simulated response

DESPEC Phase-0 campaign at GSI

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Fast-timing Measurement in 96^{96}Pd: Improved Accuracy for the Lifetime of the 41+4_1^{+} State

International audienceDirect lifetime measurements via γ–γ coincidences using the FATIMA fast-timing LaBr3(Ce) array were performed for the excited states below previously reported isomers. In the N = 50 semi-magic 96Pd nucleus, lifetimes below the I π = 8+ seniority isomer were addressed as a benchmark for further analysis. The results for the I π = 2+ and 4 + states confirm the published values. Increased accuracy for the lifetime value was achieved for the 4 + state

Nature of seniority symmetry breaking in the semimagic nucleus 94^{94}Ru

International audienceDirect lifetime measurements via γ-γ coincidences using a fast timing detector array consisting of LaBr3(Ce) scintillators has been applied to determine the lifetime of low-lying states in the semimagic (N=50) nucleus Ru94. The experiment was carried out as the first in a series of “FAIR-0” experiments with the DESPEC experimental setup at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR). Excited states in Ru94 were populated primarily via the β-delayed proton emission of Pd95 nuclei, produced in the projectile fragmentation of an 850 MeV/nucleon Xe124 beam impinging on a 4 g/cm2Be9 target. While the deduced E2 strength for the 2+→0+ transition in the yrast cascade follows the expected behavior for conserved seniority symmetry, the intermediate 4+→2+ transition exhibits a drastic enhancement of transition strength in comparison with pure-seniority model predictions as well as standard shell model predictions in the fpg proton hole space with respect to doubly magic Sn100. The anomalous behavior is ascribed to a subtle interference between the wave function of the lowest seniority ν=2, Iπ=4+ state and that of a close-lying ν=4 state that exhibits partial dynamic symmetry. In addition, the observed strongly prohibitive 6+→4+ transition can be attributed to the same mechanism but with a destructive interference. It is noted that such effects may provide stringent tests of the nucleon-nucleon interactions employed in state-of-the-art theoretical model calculations

Decay studies in the A∼225 Po-Fr region from the DESPEC campaign at GSI in 2021

International audienceThe HISPEC-DESPEC collaboration aims at investigating the structure of exotic nuclei formed in fragmentation reactions with decay spectroscopymeasurements, as part of the FAIR Phase-0 campaign at GSI. This paper reportson first results of an experiment performed in spring 2021, with a focus on β-decaystudies in the Po-Fr nuclei in the 220 <A< 230 island of octupole deformationexploiting the DESPEC setup. Ion-beta correlations and fast-timing techniques arebeing employed, giving an insight into this difficult-to-reach region