Low-energy Multi-nucleon Transfer Reactions Research Articles

Production and study of neutron rich heavy nuclei, GALS setup

A new setup for production and investigation of exotic heavy neutron rich nuclei located in the "north-east" region of nuclear map is under construction at Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) of JINR, Dubna. The setup will use the available U-400M cyclotron beams for low energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions. Products of 4.5 to 9 MeV per nucleon heavy-ion collisions, such as 136Xe beam on 208Pb target, will be captured in a gas cell, selectively laser-ionized, transported towards mass separator by electrostatic ion guide extraction system and then to detecting system.

Heavy neutron rich nuclei: production and investigation

For production and investigation of heavy neutron rich nuclei devoted the new setup, which is under construction at Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) - JINR, Dubna now. This setup is planned to exploit available beams from the U-400M cyclotron in low energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions to study exotic neutron-rich nuclei located in the “north-east” region of nuclear map. Products from 4.5 to 9 MeV/nucleon heavy-ion collisions, such as 136Xe on 208Pb, are to be captured in a gas cell and selectively laser-ionized in a sextupole (quadrupole) ion guide extraction system.

Inverse quasifission in the reactions Gd156,160+W186

Background: Low-energy multinucleon transfer reactions may be used for production of new neutron-enriched heavy nuclei.Purpose: Our aim is to investigate the influence of proton ($Z=82$) and neutron ($N=82$, 126) shells as well as orientation effects on the formation of reaction products in the inverse quasifission process in the reactions $^{156,160}\mathrm{Gd}+^{186}\mathrm{W}$.Methods: Mass, energy, and angular distributions of primary binary fragments formed in the reactions $^{156}\mathrm{Gd}+^{186}\mathrm{W}$ at an energy of 878 MeV, and $^{160}\mathrm{Gd}+^{186}\mathrm{W}$ at 860 and 935 MeV, have been measured using the double-arm time-of-flight spectrometer CORSET at the U400 cyclotron of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna.Results: Enhancement in the yield of products with masses 200--215 u has been found for both reactions. The cross sections of the formation of trans-target fragments with masses around 208 u are found to be about 10 \ensuremath{\mu}b at the Coulomb barrier energy and reach the level of 0.5 mb at the energy above the barrier for side-to-side collision.Conclusions: The enhanced yield of products with masses heavier than the target mass confirms the important role of the closed shells at $Z=82$ and $N=82$, 126 in the inverse quasifission process in low-energy damped collisions. The orientation effect caused by the strong deformation of colliding nuclei can result in a gain in the yield of heavy target-like fragments.

Current status of GALS setup in JINR

This is a brief report on the current status of the new GAs cell based Laser ionization Setup (GALS) at the Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna. GALS will exploit available beams from the U-400M cyclotron in low energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions to study exotic neutron-rich nuclei located in the “north-east” region of nuclear map. Products from 4.5 to 9 MeV/nucleon heavy-ion collisions, such as 136Xe on 208Pb, are thermalized and neutralized in a high pressure gas cell and subsequently selectively laser re-ionized. In order to choose the best scheme of ion extraction the results of computer simulations of two different systems are presented. The first off- and online experiment will be performed on osmium atoms that is regarded as a most convenient element for producing isotopes with neutron number in the vicinity of the magic N = 126.

Production and investigation of heavy neutron rich nuclei

A project devoted to the production and study of neutron rich heavy nuclei (GALS - project) is being realized at Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) - JINR. GALS is planned to exploit available beams from the U-400M cyclotron in low energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions to study exotic neutron rich nuclei located in the north-east region of nuclear map. Products from 4.5 to 9 MeV/nucleon heavy-ion collisions, such as 136 Xe on 208 Pb, are to be captured in a gas cell and selectively laser-ionized in a sextupole (quadrupole) ion guide extraction system.

GALS - setup for production and study of multinucleon transfer reaction products: present status

This is a brief report on the current status of the new GAs cell based Laser ionization Setup (GALS) at Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) - JINR, Dubna. GALS is planned to exploit available beams from the U-400M cyclotron in low energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions to study exotic neutron-rich nuclei located in the "north-east" region of nuclear map. Products from 4.5 to 9 MeV/nucleon heavy-ion collisions, such as 136Xe on 208Pb, are to be captured in a gas cell and selectively laser-ionized in a sextupole (quadrupole) ion guide extraction system.

Production of Neutron-rich Nuclei in Low-energy Multinucleon Transfer Reactions

Production of Neutron-rich Nuclei in Low-energy Multinucleon Transfer Reactions

GALS – setup for production and study of heavy neutron rich nuclei

The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are very close to stability while the unexplored area of heavy neutron-rich nuclides along the neutron closed shell N = 126 below 208 Pb is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleosynthesis. This area of the nuclear map can be reached neither in fusion–fission reactions nor in fragmentation processes widely used nowadays for the production of exotic nuclei. A new way was recently proposed for the production of these nuclei via low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions. The estimated yields of neutron-rich nuclei are found to be significantly high in such reactions and several tens of new nuclides can be produced, for example, in the near-barrier collision of 136 Xe with 208 Pb. A new setup is proposed to produce and study heavy neutron-rich nuclei located along the neutron closed shell N =126.

Multi-nucleon transfer reactions for production and study of heavy neutron rich nuclei

The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are very close to stability while the unexplored area of heavy neutron-rich nuclides along the neutron closed shell N = 126 is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleosynthesis. A new way was recently proposed for the production of these nuclei via low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions. The estimated yields of neutron-rich nuclei are found to be rather high in such reactions and several tens of new nuclides can be produced, for example, in the near-barrier collision of 136Xe with 208Pb. A new setup is proposed to produce and investigate heavy neutron-rich nuclei located along the neutron closed shell N=126.

Formation of light exotic nuclei in low-energy multinucleon transfer reactions

Low-energy multinucleon transfer reactions are shown to comprise a very effective tool for the production and spectroscopic study of light exotic nuclei. The corresponding cross sections are found to be significantly larger as compared with high-energy fragmentation reactions. Several optimal reactions for the production of extremely neutron-rich isotopes of elements with $Z=6--14$ are proposed.

Gas-cell-based setup for the production and study of neutron rich heavy nuclei

The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are very close to stability while the unexplored area of heavy neutron-rich nuclides along the neutron closed shell N = 126 is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleosynthesis. This area of the nuclear map can be reached neither in fusion–fission reactions nor in fragmentation processes widely used nowadays for the production of exotic nuclei. A new way was recently proposed for the production of these nuclei via low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions. The estimated yields of neutron-rich nuclei are found to be significantly high in such reactions and several tens of new nuclides can be produced, for example, in the near-barrier collision of 136Xe with 208Pb. A new setup is proposed to produce and study heavy neutron-rich nuclei located along the neutron closed shell N = 126.

Production and study of heavy neutron rich nuclei formed in multi-nucleon transfer reactions

A new setup is proposed to produce and investigate heavy neutron-rich nuclei located along the neutron closed shell N = 126. This “blank spot” of the nuclear map can be reached neither in fusion–fission reactions nor in fragmentation processes widely used nowadays for the production of exotic nuclei. The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are very close to stability while the unexplored area of heavy neutron-rich nuclides along the neutron closed shell N = 126 is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleosynthesis. A new way was recently proposed for the production of these nuclei via low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions. The estimated yields of neutron-rich nuclei are found to be rather high in such reactions and several tens of new nuclides can be produced, for example, in the near-barrier collision of 136Xe with 208Pb. This setup could definitely open a new opportunity in the studies at heavy-ion facilities and will have significant impact on future experiments.

Production of heavy trans-target nuclei in multinucleon transfer reactions

Problems of production and study of new neutron-enriched heavy nuclei are discussed. Low-energy multinucleon transfer reactions are shown to be quite appropriate for this purpose. Reactions with actinide beams and targets are of special interest for synthesis of new neutron-enriched transfermium nuclei and not-yet-known nuclei with closed neutron shell $N=126$ having the largest impact on the astrophysical r-process. The estimated cross sections for the production of these nuclei look very promising for planning such experiments at currently available accelerators. These experiments, however, are rather expensive and difficult to perform because of low intensities of the massive projectile beams and problems of separating and detecting the heavy reaction products. Thus, realistic predictions of the corresponding cross sections for different projectile-target combinations are definitely required. Some uncertainty still remains in the values of several parameters used for describing the low-energy nuclear dynamics. This uncertainty does not allow one to perform very accurate predictions for the productions of new heavier-than-target (trans-target) nuclei in multinucleon transfer reactions. Most of these parameters (nucleon transfer rate, nuclear viscosity, and fission barriers) are fundamental characteristics of low-energy nuclear dynamics. Determination of the values of these parameters (as well as their temperature dependence) is of significance in its own right. The available experimental data on the production of heavy nuclei in low-energy multinucleon transfer reactions are still insufficient and fragmentary. Several new experiments are proposed, these include those in which the role of shell effects in reaction dynamics can be better clarified.

Production and study of new neutron rich heavy nuclei in multinucleon transfer reactions

Problems of production and study of new neutron-enriched heavy nuclei are discussed. Low-energy multinucleon transfer reactions are shown to be quite appropriate for this purpose. Reactions with actinide beams and targets are of special interest for synthesis of new neutron-enriched transfermium nuclei and not-yet-known nuclei with closed neutron shell N = 126 having the largest impact on the astrophysical r-process. The estimated cross sections for the production of these nuclei look very promising for planning such experiments at currently available accelerators. These experiments, however, are rather expensive and difficult to perform because of low intensities of the massive projectile beams and problems of separating and detecting the heavy reaction products. Thus, realistic predictions of the corresponding cross sections for different projectile-target combinations are definitely required. Some uncertainty still remains in the values of several parameters used for describing the low-energy nuclear dynamics. This uncertainty does not allow one to perform very accurate predictions for the productions of new heavier-than-target (trans-target) nuclei in multinucle on transfer reactions. Nevertheless these predictions are rather promising (large cross sections) to start such experiments at available accelerators if the problem of separation of heavy transfer reaction products would be solved.

New ideas on the production of heavy and superheavy neutron rich nuclei

A new way is proposed to discover and examine unknown neutron-rich heavy and superheavy (SH) nuclei at the “north-east” part of the nuclear map. These nuclei can be produced neither in fusion reactions nor in fragmentation processes widely used nowadays for production of new nuclei. The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are very close to stability while the unexplored area of heavy neutron-rich nuclides to the east of the stability line (also those located along the neutron closed shell N = 126 ) is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleo-genesis. A novel idea is proposed for the production of these nuclei via low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions using a gain given by the shell effects. The estimated yields of neutron-rich nuclei are found to be rather high in such reactions and several tens of new nuclides can be produced, for example, in near-barrier collision of 136Xe with 208Pb. This finding may spur new studies at heavy ion facilities and should have significant impact for future experiments.

New way for the production of heavy neutron-rich nuclei

A new way is found to discover and examine unknown neutron-rich heavy nuclei at the ‘north-east’ part of the nuclear map. This ‘blank spot’ of the nuclear map can be reached neither in fusion–fission reactions nor in fragmentation processes widely used nowadays for the production of new nuclei. The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are very close to stability while the unexplored area of heavy neutron-rich nuclides along the neutron closed shell N = 126 (to the east of the stability line) is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleogenesis. A novel idea is proposed for the production of these nuclei via low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions. The estimated yields of neutron-rich nuclei are found to be rather high in such reactions and several tens of new nuclides can be produced, for example, in the near-barrier collision of 136Xe with 208Pb. This finding may spur new studies at heavy-ion facilities and should have significant impact on future experiments.