Fragment Angular Distributions Research Articles

Contrasting Dynamics in Isoelectronic Anions Formed by Electron Attachment.

Cyanogen NCCN and cyanoacetylene HCCCN are isoelectronic molecules, and as such, they have many similar properties. We focus on the bond cleavage in these induced by the dissociative electron attachment. In both molecules, resonant electron attachment produces CN- with very similar energy dependence. We investigate the very different dissociation dynamics, in each of the two molecules, revealed by velocity map imaging of this common fragment. Different dynamics are manifested both in the excess energy partitioning and in the angular distributions of fragments. Based on the comparison with electron energy loss spectra, which provide information about possible parent states of the resonances (both optically allowed and forbidden excited states of the neutral target), we ascribe the observed effect to the distortion of the nuclear frame during the formation of core-excited resonance in cyanoacetylene. The proposed mechanism also explains a puzzling difference in the magnitude of the CN- cross section in the two molecules which has been so far unexplained.

Examination of cluster production in excited light systems at Fermi energies from new experimental data and comparison with transport model calculations

Four different reactions, $^{32}$S+$^{12}$C and $^{20}$Ne+$^{12}$C at 25 and 50 MeV/nucleon, have been measured with the FAZIA detector capable of full isotopic identification of most forward emitted reaction products. Fragment multiplicities, angular distributions and energy spectra have been measured and compared with Monte Carlo simulations, i.e. the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics (AMD) and the heavy-ion phase space exploration (HIPSE) models. These models are combined with two different afterburner codes (HF$l$ and SIMON) to describe the decay of the excited primary fragments. In the case of AMD, the effect of including the clustering and inter-clustering processes to form bound particles and fragments is discussed. A clear confirmation of the role of cluster aggregation in the reaction dynamics and particle production for these light systems, for which the importance of the clustering process increases with bombarding energy, is obtained.

Development of Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors for Nuclear Reaction Studies

One of the frontiers of today’s nuclear physics research is the synthesis of Super Heavy Elements (SHE). Fusion-fission dynamics, namely the competition between quasi fission and fusion is one of the key challenges to optimize the SHE. To have an insight into the dynamics, one requires the study of fission fragment mass and angular distribution near barrier energies for heavy-ion induced fission reactions. Recent successful installation of linear accelerators in India offers a unique opportunity to study the dynamics of nuclear reactions and formation process of SHE. For the effective utilization of these current, as well as upcoming facilities, development of novel detectors to study reaction dynamics, formation process of SHE with heavier projectiles and higher beam energies is needed. Gaseous detectors have undergone a rapid improvement in terms of spatial, temporal and energy resolution, rate capability, radiation hardness, ion feedback etc., ushering in a new genre of micro-structured devices based on semi-conductor technology, commonly known as Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs). Although many of the MPGD structures were primarily developed for high-rate tracking of charged particles in high energy physics experiments, stability of operation, simplicity of construction and relatively low cost make these detectors suitable for other applications, such as low-energy nuclear physics experiments. The present activities encompass a detailed evaluation of the operational conditions of Micromesh-Multi Wire and THGEM-Multi Wire hybrid detector operated in low-pressure isobutane gas with a view to optimizing their use in the detection of charged particles and fission fragments.

Dissociative multiple ionization of carbon dioxide dimers in intense femtosecond laser fields

Molecular dimers have attracted much attention in the study of molecular structure and dynamics due to their complex interactions involving both weak van der Waals and strong covalent bonds. We investigate the dissociative ionization of carbon dioxide dimers exposed to intense femtosecond laser fields. The angular distributions of ionic fragments of the breakup channels ${({\mathrm{CO}}_{2})}_{2}{}^{2+}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\mathrm{CO}}_{2}^{+}+{\mathrm{CO}}_{2}^{+}$ and ${({\mathrm{CO}}_{2})}_{2}{}^{3+}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\mathrm{CO}}_{2}{}^{2+}+{\mathrm{CO}}_{2}^{+}$ strongly depend on the laser intensity. Simulations based on time-dependent density-functional theory reproduce the experimental observations qualitatively and show that the angular distribution of fragments is determined by the angle-dependent orbital ionization probability and the relative contributions of different orbitals, both of which are intensity sensitive. By comparing the ionization of the dimer with ${\mathrm{CO}}_{2}$ monomer, we find that the weak van der Waals bond and molecular geometry in the dimer play considerable roles. This work extends significantly earlier studies of simple linear covalent bond molecules.

Spectra and Predissociation Dynamics of the 4pσB''1∑u+ and 4pπD' 1Πu States of D2.

The spectra and predissociation dynamics of the Rydberg states 4pσB″1∑u+(υ'=2) and 4pπD'1Πu±(υ'=1) of the D2 molecule have been studied by a combination of XUV laser pump, UV laser probe, and velocity map imaging methods. The D(2l) fragment yield spectrum and the D2 excitation spectrum have been measured. Although the predissociation rates were found to be small and comparable to the radiative decay rates, the D(2l) fragments were observed for all the Rydberg states. The measured D(2l) fragment angular distributions are in good agreement with a reported model that has an analytical formula for anisotropy parameters. The results demonstrated that the 4pσB″1∑u+ and 4pπD'1Π u+ states dissociate via direct and indirect coupling with an 1∑u+ state, respectively. For predissociation of the 4pσB″1∑u+ state, the experimental data showed that D(1s) + D(2s) is the main channel, supporting previous theoretical predictions that the predissociation occurs by coupling to the vibrational continuum of the 3pσB'1∑u+ state.

Simulation of the fission process of the excited compound nuclei Rn210 and Fr215 produced in fusion reactions within the framework of the modified statistical model

In the framework of the modified statistical model there have been simulated fission process of the excited compound nuclei $^{210}\mathrm{Rn}$ and $^{215}\mathrm{Fr}$ produced in $^{16}\mathrm{O}+^{194}\mathrm{Pt}$ and $^{19}\mathrm{F}+^{196}\mathrm{Pt}$ reactions and calculated the evaporation residue cross section, the fission cross section, the fission probability, the average prescission neutron multiplicity, the mean fission time, and the anisotropy of fission fragments angular distribution as a function of excitation energy. The classical collective motion of the excited compound nuclei about the ground state, the temperature dependence of the location, the height of fission transition points, and the projection of the total spin of the compound nucleus onto the symmetry axis $K$ have been considered in the statistical calculations. A constant nuclear dissipation was applied in the statistical calculations. In the statistical calculations, the temperature coefficient of the effective potential $k$ and the scaling factor of the fission-barrier height ${r}_{s}$ were considered as a free parameter and their magnitudes inferred by fitting measured data on the evaporation residue cross section and the fission cross section for the excited compound nuclei $^{210}\mathrm{Rn}$ and $^{215}\mathrm{Fr}$. It was shown that the results of calculations are in good agreement with the experimental data by using appropriate values for these parameters equal to $k=0.0160\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0050\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{Me}{\mathrm{V}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ and ${r}_{s}=1.0030\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0020$ for $^{210}\mathrm{Rn}$ and $k=0.0065\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0040\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{Me}{\mathrm{V}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ and ${r}_{s}=1.0040\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0015$ for $^{215}\mathrm{Fr}$. Furthermore, by using appropriate values of parameters $k$ and ${r}_{s}$ have been calculated the average prescission neutron multiplicity, the fission probability, the mean fission time, and the anisotropy of fission fragments angular distribution for the nuclei $^{210}\mathrm{Rn}$ and $^{215}\mathrm{Fr}$. Comparison of the theoretical data with the experimental data were shown that the modified statistical model is well able to reproduce different experimental data. Although, at high excitation energies the results of calculations for the anisotropy of fission fragments angular distribution and fission probability are slightly lower than the experimental data.

Nonequilibrium dissociative dynamics of D2 in two-color, few-photon excitation and ionization

${\mathrm{D}}_{2}$ molecules, excited by linearly cross-polarized femtosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and near-infrared (NIR) light pulses, reveal highly structured ${\mathrm{D}}^{+}$ ion fragment momenta and angular distributions that originate from two different four-step dissociative ionization pathways after four-photon absorption (one XUV $+$ three NIR). We show that, even for very low dissociation kinetic energy release $\ensuremath{\le}$ 240 meV, specific electronic excitation pathways can be identified and isolated in the final ion momentum distributions. With the aid of ab initio electronic structure and time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation calculations, angular momentum, energy, and parity conservation are used to identify the excited neutral molecular states and molecular orientations relative to the polarization vectors in these different photoexcitation and dissociation sequences of the neutral ${\mathrm{D}}_{2}$ molecule and its ${\mathrm{D}}_{2}^{+}$ cation. In one sequential photodissociation pathway, molecules aligned along either of the two light polarization vectors are excluded, while another pathway selects molecules aligned parallel to the light propagation direction. The evolution of the nuclear wave packet on the intermediate $B{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{1}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{u}^{+}$ electronic state of the neutral ${\mathrm{D}}_{2}$ molecule is also probed in real time.

Measurement of fission excitation function for 19F + 194, 196, 198Pt reactions

Experimental fission cross-sections are reported for the 19F + 194,196,198Pt reactions populating an isotopic chain of compound nuclei comprising both closed and non-closed shell nuclei. The fission cross-sections are obtained at near and above Coulomb barrier energies by measuring fission fragment angular distributions. The present work aims to estimate nuclear dissipation and find its isotopic and shell closure dependence from statistical model (SM) analysis of experimental data. Pre-scission neutron multiplicity data for the same systems is also included in the SM analysis. An updated version of SM is used in the present analysis, which includes shell corrections in level density and fission barrier as well as the effect of collective enhancement of level density and orientation effect of the compound nucleus along the symmetry axis. An isotopic dependence of the dissipation strength fitting the fission excitation functions is observed. The pre-scission neutron multiplicity, however, is underestimated by the SM.

Effects of π*−σ* coupling on dissociative-electron-attachment angular distributions in vinyl, allyl, and benzyl chloride and in chlorobenzene

We report on a velocity map imaging study of ${\mathrm{Cl}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ anions resulting from the dissociative electron attachment to four unsaturated chlorohydrocarbons. In all four molecules, this process is mediated by the formation of the lowest shape resonance. The choice of the molecules was motivated by the different character of this resonance. In the planar compounds chlorobenzene and vinyl chloride, it is a ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{*}$ resonance, which is not dissociative along the C-Cl bond without distortion of the planar geometry. In the nonplanar compounds benzyl chloride and allyl chloride, the shape resonance has a mixed ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{*}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{*}$ character and is directly dissociative without the need for any additional distortion. Our motivation was to find out whether the dissociation-allowing nuclear motion has a common imprint in the resulting fragment angular distributions. In spite of the expected similarities between the two classes of compounds, the resulting images are quite different for all four molecules. We interpret the results, especially the imprints of the bending dynamics, with the aid of a single-electronic-state model in the axial recoil approximation.

Angular distribution of fragments in neutron-induced nuclear fission at energies 1−200 MeV: Data, theoretical models and relevant problems

In recent years, investigations of angular distributions of fragments in neutron-induced nuclear fission have been extended to intermediate energies, up to 200 MeV, as well as to a wide range of target isotopes. Using as an example the latest data obtained by our group for the reaction 237Np(n; f), we discuss the specific features of fission fragment angular distribution and present a method for their simulation based on the code TALYS. It is shown that a simplified model reasonably describes energy dependence of the angular distribution in the whole range 1–200 MeV. The ways to improve the model are discussed along with the possibilities to use it for obtaining new information on fission and pre-equilibrium processes in neutron-nucleus interaction. We consider also the relevant problems of describing fission fragment angular distributions.

Isomer yields in nuclear fission

The generation of angular momentum in the fission process is still an open question. To shed light on this topic, we started a series of measurements at the IGISOL-JYFLTRAP facility in Finland. Highprecision measurements of isomeric yield ratios (IYR) are performed with a Penning trap, partly with the aim to extract average root-mean-square (rms) quantities of fragment spin distributions. The newly installed Phase-Imaging Ion-Cyclotron Resonance (PI-ICR) technique allows the separation of masses down to tens of keV, which is suffcient to disentangle many isomers. In this paper, we first summarize the previous measurements on the neutron and proton-induced fission of uranium and thorium, e.g. the odd cadmium and indium isotopes (119 ≤ A ≤ 127). The measurements revealed systematic trends as function of mass number, which stimulated further exploration. A recent measurement was performed at IGISIOL and several new IYR data will soon be published, for the first time. Secondly, we employ the TALYS nuclear-reaction code to model one of the newly measured isomer yields. Detailed GEF and TALYS calculations are discussed for the fragment angular momentum distribution in 134I.

Calculating the Angular Distribution of Fragments in the Near-Threshold Fissioning of 234U by Neutrons

Calculating the Angular Distribution of Fragments in the Near-Threshold Fissioning of 234U by Neutrons

Complete characterization of the 3p Rydberg complex of a molecular ion: MgAr+. I. Observation of the Mg(3pσ)Ar+ B+ state and determination of its structure and dynamics.

We report on the experimental observation of the B+ 2Σ+ state of MgAr+ located below the Mg+(3p 2P3/2) + Ar(1S0) dissociation asymptote. Using the technique of isolated-core multiphoton Rydberg-dissociation spectroscopy, we have recorded rotationally resolved spectra of the B+ 2Σ+(v') ← X+ 2Σ+(v″ = 7) transitions, which extend from the vibrational ground state (v' = 0) to the dissociation continuum above the Mg+(3p 2P3/2) + Ar(1S0) dissociation threshold. The analysis of the rotational structure reveals a transition from Hund's angular-momentum-coupling case (b) at low v' values to case (c) at high v' values caused by the spin-orbit interaction. Measurements of the kinetic-energy release and the angular distribution of the Mg+ fragments detected in the experiments enabled the characterization of the dissociation mechanisms. The vibrational levels of the B+ state above v' = 6 are subject to predissociation into the Mg+(3p 2P1/2) + Ar(1S0) continuum, and the fragment angular distributions exhibit anisotropy β parameters around 0.5, whereas direct dissociation into the continuum above the Mg+(3p 2P3/2) + Ar(1S0) asymptote is characterized by β parameters approaching 2. Molecular ions excited to the B+ state with v' = 0-6 efficiently absorb a second photon to the repulsive part of the 2Σ+ state associated with the Mg+(3d 2D3/2,5/2) + Ar(1S0) continua. The interpretation of the data is validated by the results of ab initio calculations of the low-lying electronic states of MgAr+, which provided initial evidence for the existence of bound vibrational levels of the B+ state and for the photodissociation mechanisms of its low vibrational levels.

Dissociation in strong field: A quantum analysis of the relation between angular momentum and angular distribution of fragments

An ab initio simulation of strong-field photodissociation of diatomic molecules was developed, inspired by recent dissociation experiments of F2-. The transition between electronic states was modeled with thermal initial conditions. Carefully designed absorbing boundary conditions were applied to describe the boundary conditions of the experiment. We studied the influence of field intensity on the direction of the outcoming fragments and laboratory-fixed axis, defined by the field polarization. At high intensities, the angular distribution became more peaked with a marginal influence on kinetic energy release. The study is the first step in a complete simulation of strong field control of photodissociation.

Fission and Quasi-Fission in Reactions with Deformed Nuclei

The mass-energy distributions of fragments formed in reactions 16,18O + 232Th, 238U, and 22Ne + 232Th, 238U at energies near the Coulomb barrier are measured to study the role of multimodal fission in the reactions of light ions with strongly deformed actinide nuclei. It is found that at these energies, multimodal fission affects significantly the mass–energy and angular distributions of fragments that results in an increase of the width of mass distributions and large angular anisotropy as in the case of quasifission.

Quantum control of the dissociation of LiH molecules with two intense laser pulses

The dissociation dynamics of LiH molecules induced by two overlapping femtosecond pulses is investigated based on the time-dependent quantum wave packet method. The first pulse induces population transfer from the ground state $X{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{1}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{+}$ to the excited state $A{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{1}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{+}$ which is coupled with the repulsive state $B{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{1}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Pi}}$ and the state $X{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{1}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{+}$ by the second pulse. The two products $\mathrm{Li}(2p)$ and $\mathrm{Li}(2s)$ can be obtained via the ladder and $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ transitions, respectively, and the branching ratio of the products can be controlled by varying the second pulse frequency $\ensuremath{\hbar}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{2}$. The choice of the intermediate state can affect the dissociation probability and angular distribution of fragments. As the second pulse intensity is increased, more products occur in other directions besides the directions $\ensuremath{\theta}={0}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ and ${180}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$. The delay time of two pulses also has influence on the angular distribution.

Neutron-induced fission fragment angular distributions, anisotropy, and linear momentum transfer measured with the NIFFTE fission time projection chamber

The Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment (NIFFTE) collaboration has performed measurements with a fission time projection chamber (fissionTPC) to study the fission process by reconstructing full three-dimensional tracks of fission fragments and other ionizing radiation. The amount of linear momentum imparted to the fissioning nucleus by the incident neutron can be inferred by measuring the opening angle between the fission fragments. Using this measured linear momentum, fission fragment angular distributions can be converted to the center-of-mass frame for anisotropy measurements. Angular anisotropy is an important experimental observable for understanding the quantum mechanical state of the fissioning nucleus and vital to determining detection efficiency for cross section measurements. Neutron linear momentum transfer to fissioning $^{235}$U, $^{238}$U, and $^{239}$Pu and fission fragment angular anisotropy of $^{235}$U and $^{238}$U as a function of neutron energies in the range 130 keV--250 MeV are presented.

Effects of isospin and dissipation coefficient of the K coordinate in simulation of fission dynamics of excited compound nuclei

A stochastic approach based on four-dimensional (4D) dynamical model has been used to simulate the fission process of the excited compound nuclei [Formula: see text]Fr, [Formula: see text]Fr and [Formula: see text]Fr produced in fusion reactions. Effects of isospin and dissipation coefficient of the [Formula: see text] coordinate, [Formula: see text], on estimation of the evaporation residue (ER) cross-section, the prescission neutron multiplicity, the variance of the mass and energy distributions of fission fragments and the anisotropy of fission fragments angular distribution have been investigated for the excited compound nuclei [Formula: see text]Fr, [Formula: see text]Fr and [Formula: see text]Fr. Three collective shape coordinates [Formula: see text] plus the projection of total spin of the compound nucleus to the symmetry axis, [Formula: see text], were considered in the 4D dynamical model. In the 4D dynamical model, the magnitude of the dissipation coefficient of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], was considered as a free parameter and its magnitude inferred by fitting measured data on the ER cross-section. Results of the extracted dissipation coefficients of [Formula: see text] for different isotopes of Fr were shown that the magnitude of the dissipation coefficient of [Formula: see text] increases with decreasing isospin of fissioning compound nucleus. It was also shown that the prescission neutron multiplicity and the anisotropy of fission fragments angular distribution increase with increasing isospin whereas the variance of the mass and energy distributions of fission fragments decrease with increasing isospin of fissioning compound nucleus. Furthermore, it was shown that the calculated values of prescission neutron multiplicity and the variance of the mass distribution of fission fragments for the excited compound nuclei [Formula: see text]Fr, [Formula: see text]Fr and [Formula: see text]Fr decrease with the dissipation strength of [Formula: see text], whereas the variance of the energy distribution of fission fragments and the anisotropy of fission fragments angular distribution increase with the dissipation strength of [Formula: see text].

Photodissociation of HCl in the photon energy range 14.6-15.0 eV: Channel-resolved branching ratios and fragment angular distributions.

For the HCl molecule, four photodissociation channels are open in the excitation energy region 14.6-15.0 eV: H(2s) + Cl(2P3/2), H(2p) + Cl(2P3/2), H(2s) + Cl(2P1/2), and H(2p) + Cl(2P1/2). We measured the fragment angular distributions and the branching ratios of the four dissociation channels by using the extreme ultraviolet laser pump and UV laser probe, delay-time-curve, and velocity map imaging methods. The channel-resolved fragment angular distributions and fragment yield spectra show that various Rydberg states (superexcited states) contribute to the absorption cross sections, including the [A2Σ+]4pσ, [A2Σ+]4pπ, [A2Σ+]3dσ, [A2Σ+]3dπ, and [A2Σ+]5sσ states. Most of the H(2s) + Cl(2P1/2) channels correlate with the 1Σ+ states, while the other channels correlate with mixing excitations of the 1Σ+ and 1,3Π states. The channel branching ratios are dependent on the excitation energies. When the four channels are open, the channel branching ratios of H(2s) + Cl(2P3/2) and H(2p) + Cl(2P1/2) are small. Based on the recent ab initio potential energy curves, the Rydberg states converging to the ion-core A2Σ+ are proposed to be predissociated by the nuclear vibrational continua of the Rydberg states converging to the ion-core X2Π.

Angular Distributions and Anisotropy of Fragments from the Neutron-Induced Fission of 237Np in the Energy Range of 1–200 MeV: Measurement Data and Model Calculations

The experimental data on the angular distributions of fragments from the fission of 237Np nuclei induced by 1–200 MeV neutrons have been presented. Such measurements for neutron energies above 16 MeV have been performed for the first time. These distributions have been analyzed and the angular anisotropy in the center-of-mass of fragments has been determined in the entire energy range under study. A method involvng the complex dynamics of the formation and decay of highly excited nuclei and based on the TALYS program has been proposed to calculate the angular distributions of fission fragments in a wide energy range for the collision of nuclei with neutrons. It has been shown that the developed model describes well the main features of the energy dependence of the angular anisotropy for the 237Np target nuclei and can be used to extract new information on the reaction and fission process.