β-delayed fission and α decay of At196

A nuclear-decay spectroscopy study of the neutron-deficient isotope At196 is reported where an isotopically pure beam was produced using the selective Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source and On-Line Isotope Mass Separator (CERN). The fine-structure α decay of At196 allowed the low-energy excited states in the daughter nucleus Bi192 to be investigated. A β-delayed fission study of At196 was also performed. A mixture of symmetric and asymmetric fission-fragment mass distributions of the daughter isotope Po196 (populated by β decay of At196) was deduced based on the measured fission-fragment energies. A βDF probability PβDF(At196)=9(1)×10−5 was determined

Charge radii and electromagnetic moments of 195-211At

Hyperfine-structure parameters and isotope shifts of At195-211 have been measured for the first time at CERN-ISOLDE, using the in-source resonance-ionization spectroscopy method. The hyperfine structures of isotopes were recorded using a triad of experimental techniques for monitoring the photo-ion current. The Multi-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer, in connection with a high-resolution electron multiplier, was used as an ion-counting setup for isotopes that either were affected by strong isobaric contamination or possessed a long half-life; the ISOLDE Faraday cups were used for cases with high-intensity beams; and the Windmill decay station was used for short-lived, predominantly α-decaying nuclei. The electromagnetic moments and changes in the mean-square charge radii of the astatine nuclei have been extracted from the measured hyperfine-structure constants and isotope shifts. This was only made possible by dedicated state-of-the-art large-scale atomic computations of the electronic factors and the specific mass shift of atomic transitions in astatine that are needed for these extractions. By comparison with systematics, it was possible to assess the reliability of the results of these calculations and their ascribed uncertainties. A strong deviation in the ground-state mean-square charge radii of the lightest astatine isotopes, from the trend of the (spherical) lead isotopes, is interpreted as the result of an onset of deformation. This behavior bears a resemblance to the deviation observed in the isotonic polonium isotopes. Cases for shape coexistence have been identified in At197,199, for which a significant difference in the charge radii for ground (9/2-) and isomeric (1/2+) states has been observed

Fine structure in the alpha decay of 218At^218At

International audienceAn α-decay study of At218 was performed at the CERN-ISOLDE facility. Laser-ionized beams of At218 were mass separated and implanted into an α-γ detection setup. Coincidence α-γ data were collected for the first time and a more precise half-life value of T1/2=1.27(6) s was measured. A new α-decay scheme was deduced based on the extracted reduced α-decay widths for fine-structure decays. The results from this work lead to a preferred spin and parity assignment of Jπ=(3−); however, Jπ=(2)− cannot be fully excluded

alphaalpha-decay properties of 200,202Fr^200,202Fr

Background: The neutron-deficient lead region provides a range of nuclear phenomena, including isomerism at low energies. This phenomenon can be studied by α decay because the degree of hindrance of α decay provides information on the change in nuclear structure of connected states. Purpose: The aim of this work was to investigate the α-decay properties of $^{200,202}$FR and daughter products. Method: Neutron-deficient francium nuclei are produced at ISOLDE-CERN bombarding a UCx target with 1.4 GeV protons. Surface ionization and mass-separation techniques were employed to provide a pure radioactive ion beam at a radiation-detection setup. Results: Due to the very high statistics and the high beam purity, improved decay data for $^{202}$FR and its daughters were obtained. In particular, this data set allowed us to identify many fine-structure α lines with a relative reduced α-decay width up to five orders of magnitude lower as the strongest ground-to-ground state or isomeric-to-isomeric state α-decay transition. In addition, several half-life values were extracted with similar or better precision as compared with the literature. Conclusions: The observation of crossover transitions positioned the isomeric high-spin level of $^{198}$At at an excitation energy of 265(3) keV. Half-life values of 4.47(5) s and 1.28(10) s were extracted for the ground state and isomeric state of $^{198}$At and 52(3) ms for the ground-state decay of $^{200}$FR. Furthermore, α-decay schemes for Fr202 and its daughter $^{198}$At could be constructed

Shape coexistence studied in 182,184^182,184 Hg via the β decay of 182,184^182,184 Tl

The $beta ^+$ /EC decay $^182,184$ Tl to excited states in the daughter nuclei $^182,184$ Hg has been investigated at the CERN on-line isotope mass separator facility. In both Tl nuclei two β -decaying states were observed. In the case of 184 Tl, narrow-band laser spectroscopy could be used to disentangle the decay of both isomers. In 182 Hg a precise energy of 335 (1) keV for the $0_2^+$ state was measured together with its feeding from a tentatively proposed $2_3^+$ state at 973 keV. Large conversion coefficients for the $2_2^+to 2_1^+$ transition in $^182,184$ Hg were measured to be 7.2 (13) and 14.2 (36), respectively, evidencing a strong E0 component

Inverse odd-even staggering in nuclear charge radii and possible octupole collectivity in $^217,218,219At revealed by in-source laser spectroscopy

International audienceHyperfine-structure parameters and isotope shifts for the 795-nm atomic transitions in $^{217,218,219}$At have been measured at CERN-ISOLDE, using the in-source resonance-ionization spectroscopy technique. Magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments, and changes in the nuclear mean-square charge radii, have been deduced. A large inverse odd-even staggering in radii, which may be associated with the presence of octupole collectivity, has been observed. Namely, the radius of the odd-odd isotope $^{218}$At has been found to be larger than the average of its even-$N$ neighbors, $^{217,219}$At. The discrepancy between the additivity-rule prediction and experimental data for the magnetic moment of $^{218}$At also supports the possible presence of octupole collectivity in the considered nuclei

β-delayed fission of 192,194At

By using the recoil-fission correlation technique, the exotic process of beta-delayed fission (βDF) was unambiguously identified in the very neutron-deficient nuclei 192,194At in experiments at the velocity filter SHIP at Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI). The upper limits for the total kinetic energy release in fission of 192,194Po, being the daughter products of 192,194At after beta(+)/EC decay, were estimated. The possibility of an unusually high beta DF probability for 192At is discussed