New Spins for ground states and isomers in 115^{115}Pd and 117^{117}Pd

Levels in 115Pd and 117Pd nuclei, populated in the spontaneous fission of 248Cm were studied by means of prompt gamma spectroscopy using the EUROGAM2 array of Anti-Compton spectrometers. Negative-parity, I = 9/2 excitations were identified, which are associated with the long-lived isomers in these nuclei, reported previously as 11/2- excitations. The new data indicate spin and parity 3/2 + for ground states in 115Pd and 117Pd instead of 5/2 + proposed in previous works. This result implicates changes of spin assignments to other levels in both nuclei

Darkness visible: reflections on underground ecology

1 Soil science and ecology have developed independently, making it difficult for ecologists to contribute to urgent current debates on the destruction of the global soil resource and its key role in the global carbon cycle. Soils are believed to be exceptionally biodiverse parts of ecosystems, a view confirmed by recent data from the UK Soil Biodiversity Programme at Sourhope, Scotland, where high diversity was a characteristic of small organisms, but not of larger ones. Explaining this difference requires knowledge that we currently lack about the basic biology and biogeography of micro-organisms. 2 It seems inherently plausible that the high levels of biological diversity in soil play some part in determining the ability of soils to undertake ecosystem-level processes, such as carbon and mineral cycling. However, we lack conceptual models to address this issue, and debate about the role of biodiversity in ecosystem processes has centred around the concept of functional redundancy, and has consequently been largely semantic. More precise construction of our experimental questions is needed to advance understanding. 3 These issues are well illustrated by the fungi that form arbuscular mycorrhizas, the Glomeromycota. This ancient symbiosis of plants and fungi is responsible for phosphate uptake in most land plants, and the phylum is generally held to be species-poor and non-specific, with most members readily colonizing any plant species. Molecular techniques have shown both those assumptions to be unsafe, raising questions about what factors have promoted diversification in these fungi. One source of this genetic diversity may be functional diversity. 4 Specificity of the mycorrhizal interaction between plants and fungi would have important ecosystem consequences. One example would be in the control of invasiveness in introduced plant species: surprisingly, naturalized plant species in Britain are disproportionately from mycorrhizal families, suggesting that these fungi may play a role in assisting invasion. 5 What emerges from an attempt to relate biodiversity and ecosystem processes in soil is our extraordinary ignorance about the organisms involved. There are fundamental questions that are now answerable with new techniques and sufficient will, such as how biodiverse are natural soils? Do microbes have biogeography? Are there rare or even endangered microbes

Yrast structures in the neutron-rich isotopes Fe59,60 and the role of the g9/2 orbital

The structure of the neutron-rich isotopes Fe59,60 has been studied with the Gammasphere detector array using fusion-evaporation reactions. Level schemes for these nuclei are presented which have been extended to spins of ∼20. Both isotopes exhibit regular, near-yrast γ-decay sequences which are generated by the intrusion of the g9/2 orbital into the fp shell-model space. Lower-spin, natural-parity levels are discussed within the context of shell-model calculations using the GXPF1A interaction in the full fp model space. Experimental features of the high-spin bands are compared with total Routhian surface calculations

High-spin structures in the neutron-rich isotopes Mn57-60

Excited states in the neutron-rich isotopes Mn57-60 have been studied with fusion-evaporation reactions induced by Ca48 beams at 130 MeV on C13,14 targets. Level schemes have been deduced reaching spins of ∼16□ and ∼27□/2 in the odd-odd and odd-even isotopes, respectively. States with natural parity within an fp model space are compared to the predictions of large-scale shell-model calculations using the recently developed GXPF1A effective interaction. Quasirotational structures are evident in all of the isotopes and are discussed in terms of the deformation-driving potential of the ν1g9/2 intruder orbital. It is apparent that an enlarged model space, incorporating at least the 1g9/2 intruder state, is necessary to reproduce the observed experimental systematics in a more satisfactory manner

Magnetic rotation and quasicollective structures in 58Fe: Influence of the νg9/2 orbital

The structure of 58Fe was investigated at Gammasphere using 48Ca(13 ,14C,xn) fusion-evaporation reactions at a beam energy of 130 MeV. The level scheme has been revised and extended to J∼17 and an excitation energy of 16.6 MeV. Regular band structures consisting of low-energy ΔJ=1 transitions have been observed at moderate spin (J∼8-15) and are candidates for magnetic rotational bands. Self-consistent tilted-axis-cranking calculations within a relativistic mean-field theory were applied to investigate these bands and were found to reproduce the experimental results well. In other parts of the level scheme, quasirotational bands composed of stretched-E2 transitions have been extended to high spin, and other new bands have been identified. Positive-parity experimental states were compared to predictions of the spherical shell model using the GXPF1A, KB3G, and FPD6 effective interactions in the fp model space. The projected shell model, with a deformed quasiparticle basis including the neutron νg9/2 orbital, was applied to interpret regular ΔJ=2 band structures that extend beyond the maximum spin available for π[(f7/2)-2]- ν[(p3/2f 5/2p1/2)4] configurations and exhibit features characteristic of rotational alignment. It is clear that the νg9/2 intruder orbital plays a crucial role in describing the quasirotational structures in this nucleus, even starting as low as J∼5

Alignment delays in the N = Z nuclei 72Kr, 76Sr, and 80Zr

The ground state rotational bands of the N = Z nuclei 72Kr, 76Sr, and 80Zr have been extended into the angular momentum region where rotation alignment of particles is normally expected. By measuring the moments of inertia of these bands we have observed a consistent increase in the rotational frequency required to start pair breaking, when compared to neighboring nuclei. 72Kr shows the most marked effect. It has been widely suggested that these “delayed alignments” arise from np-pairing correlations. However, alignment frequencies are very sensitive to shape degrees of freedom and normal pairing, so the new experimental observations are still open to interpretation

Shape transitions far from stability: The nucleus 58Cr

Abstract Excited states up to I π = 8 + in the neutron-rich nucleus 58Cr have been identified by using a new experimental setup composed of the large acceptance magnetic spectrometer PRISMA and the highly efficient γ-detector array CLARA. Interestingly, the excitation energy sequence of the ground-state band follows the one expected by the E ( 5 ) dynamical symmetry for a nucleus at the critical point of the shape phase transition from a spherical vibrator ( U ( 5 ) ) to a γ-soft rotor ( O ( 6 ) ). For the first time, in the same physical system, large scale shell-model calculations in the full fp shell are compared to the E ( 5 ) analytical model results and to the Interacting Boson Model. The theoretical results are in excellent agreement with the present data

Testing mean-field models near the N=Z line: γ-ray spectroscopy of the Tz=1/2 nucleus 73Kr

Excited states in the N=Z+1 nucleus 73Kr have been investigated using the 40Ca(36Ar, 2pn) and 40Ca(40Ca, α2pn) reactions at 145 and 160 MeV, respectively. γ rays were detected using the Gammasphere array and events were recorded in coincidence with charged-particle and neutron detectors. The three previously observed bands were extended to high spin, and a new unfavored positive-parity band has been observed. The alignment characteristics and decay properties of the bands are all consistent with large-deformation prolate rotation, with no clear evidence for oblate bands or shape coexistence. This is quite different from neighboring 72,74Kr, indicating a strong shape-stabilizing role for the valence neutron. The experimental results are compared to extended total Routhian surface, cranked Nilsson Strutinsky, and cranked relativistic mean-field calculations. The results suggest that the paired calculations lack some important physics. Neutron-proton correlations may be the missing ingredient. There is also evidence for an unusual band crossing in the negative-parity bands, which may indicate the presence of T=0 pairing correlations. At high spin all the models can reproduce the experimental data

Observation of octupole excitations in 141^{141}Cs and 143^{143}Cs nuclei

Excited states in $^{141}$Cs, populated in spontaneous fission of $^{248}$Cm, were studied by means of prompt-$\gamma$ spectroscopy, using the EUROGAM2 multidetector array. This work reports the first observation of octupole excitations in the $^{141}$Cs and $^{143}$Cs nuclei. The new data for $^{141,143}$Cs do not support theoretical predictions of octupole deformation in the neutron-rich Cs isotopes and indicates octupole correlations weaker than observed in the corresponding Ba isotones