Normal and intruder configurations in Si- 34 populated in the beta(-) decay of Mg-34 and Al-34

The structure of Si-34 was studied through gamma spectroscopy separately in the beta(-) decays of Mg-34 and Al-34 at the ISOLDE facility of CERN. Different configurations in Si-34 were populated independently from the two recently identified beta-decaying states in Al-34 having spin-parity assignments J(pi) = 4(-) dominated by the normal configuration pi(d(5/2))(-1) circle times nu(f(7/2)) and J(pi) = 1(+) by the intruder configuration pi(d(5/2))(-1) circle times nu(d(3/2))(-1) (f(7/2))(2). The paper reports on spectroscopic properties of Si-34 such as an extended level scheme, spin and parity assignments based on log(ft) values and gamma-ray branching ratios, absolute beta feeding intensities, and neutron emission probabilities. A total of 11 newly identified levels and 26 transitions were added to the previously known level scheme of Si-34. Large scale shell-model calculations using the SDPF-U-MIX interaction, able to treat higher order intruder configurations, are compared with the new results and conclusions are drawn concerning the predictive power of SDPF-U-MIX, the N = 20 shell gap, the level of mixing between normal and intruder configurations for the 0(1)(+), 0(2)(+), and 2(1)(+) states, and the absence of triaxial deformation in Si-3(4).Peer reviewe

Anthocyanidins and anthocyanins: colored pigments as food, pharmaceutical ingredients, and the potential health benefits

Anthocyanins are colored water-soluble pigments belonging to the phenolic group. The pigments are in glycosylated forms. Anthocyanins responsible for the colors, red, purple, and blue, are in fruits and vegetables. Berries, currants, grapes, and some tropical fruits have high anthocyanins content. Red to purplish blue-colored leafy vegetables, grains, roots, and tubers are the edible vegetables that contain a high level of anthocyanins. Among the anthocyanin pigments, cyanidin-3-glucoside is the major anthocyanin found in most of the plants. The colored anthocyanin pigments have been traditionally used as a natural food colorant. The color and stability of these pigments are influenced by pH, light, temperature, and structure. In acidic condition, anthocyanins appear as red but turn blue when the pH increases. Chromatography has been largely applied in extraction, separation, and quantification of anthocyanins. Besides the use of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins as natural dyes, these colored pigments are potential pharmaceutical ingredients that give various beneficial health effects. Scientific studies, such as cell culture studies, animal models, and human clinical trials, show that anthocyanidins and anthocyanins possess antioxidative and antimicrobial activities, improve visual and neurological health, and protect against various non-communicable diseases. These studies confer the health effects of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins, which are due to their potent antioxidant properties. Different mechanisms and pathways are involved in the protective effects, including free-radical scavenging pathway, cyclooxygenase pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, and inflammatory cytokines signaling. Therefore, this review focuses on the role of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins as natural food colorants and their nutraceutical properties for health. Abbreviations: CVD: Cardiovascular disease VEGF: Vascular endothelial growth factor

Collective properties of neutron-deficient Nd isotopes: Lifetime measurements of the yrast states in 136^{136}Nd

International audienceLifetimes of the low-energy levels in Nd136, populated in the reaction Te124(O16,4n), were measured with the ROSPHERE array at the Horia Hulubei National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), Bucharest-Magurele. The data were analyzed using the recoil distance Doppler shift method, and, in the cases where lifetimes were τ⩽1 ps, Doppler attenuation effects were taken into account. The deduced electromagnetic transition probabilities are discussed in the framework of the five-dimensional collective Hamiltonian (5DCH) theoretical model implemented with the D1S Gogny force, and detailed systematics of several observables in the even-even Nd isotopic chain are presented that highlight the transitional character of the neutron-deficient Nd isotopes. The 5DCH predictions are in overall good agreement with the present experimental results

New evidence for alpha clustering structure in the ground state band of ²¹²Po

Half-lives of the low-lying yrast states of 212Po have been measured using the delayed coincidence fast-timing method. We report on the first measurement of the 41+ half-life, as well as a new measurement of the 61+ half-life with improved accuracy compared to previous studies. The extracted lifetime of the 41+ and 61+ state have been determined to be 100(14) ps and 1.66(28) ns respectively. With these measurements, precise values are now available for the reduced transition strengths B(E2) of all ground state band levels in 212Po up to the first 8+ state, in particular B(E2; 41+→21+) = 9.4(13) W.u. and B(E2;61+→41+) = 8.7(15) W.u. Comparison of the new available data with an α-clustering model calculation provides evidence that the inclusion of the α-cluster degree of freedom significantly improves agreement with experimental data compared to earlier shell model calculations

Search for isospin-symmetry breaking in the A=62A=62 isovector triplet

The assignment of the first $2^+$ state in $^{62}$Ga has long been debated, due to its implications in triplet energy difference systematics in this mass region. An experiment has been performed at the IFIN-HH 9-MV Tandem accelerator using the ROSPHERE array in a mixed configuration of LaBr$_3$(Ce) and HPGe detectors, as well as an additional array of liquid scintillator neutron detectors. Excited states in $^{62}$Ga were populated through a $2n$ fusion-evaporation channel and an anisotropy ratio was obtained from neutron-filtered HPGe statistics of transitions observed at different angles. A $2^+$ state has been confirmed at an excitation energy of 978.1(1) keV. Theoretically, the interplay between isospin-symmetry breaking and shape-coexistence effects in the $A = 62$ isovector triplet is self-consistently treated within the beyond-mean-field complex excited Vampir variational model with symmetry projection before variation using an effective interaction obtained from a G matrix based on the charge-dependent Bonn CD potential adding the Coulomb interaction between the valence protons. Results are presented on Coulomb energy differences, mirror energy differences, triplet energy differences, and the superallowed Fermi $\beta$ decay of the ground state of $^{62}$Ge and $^{62}$Ga