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The fragmentation reactions of neutron-rich unstable nuclei 81Ga and 82Ge at 250 MeV/nucleon have been studied in order to search the optimal mean for the production of very neutron-rich nuclei in the vicinity of 78Ni. The newly measured cross sections were compared with various calculations, showing a good agreement with EPAX3.01. The present work provides experimental insights into the two-step scheme—fragmentation following fission—as a method to produce very neutron-rich nuclei through a combination of ISOL and fragmentation of post-accelerated beams of unstable nuclei. Our results enable an evaluation of the potential of the two-step scheme in the production of very neutron-rich nuclei for the 78Ni region. The two-step scheme using fragmentation of a post-accelerated 81Ga beam could be an option to produce neutron-rich nuclei around 78Ni when the 81Ga beam intensity reaches 1.0×108 pps, compared to the one-step scheme with fission of 238U.

In this work we investigate the two-neutron decay of 13Li and of the excited states of 11Li populated via one-proton removal from 14Be and 12Be, respectively. A phenomenological model is used to describe the decay of 11Li and 13Li. While the first one displays important sequential components, the second one appears dominated by the direct two-neutron decay. A microscopic three-body model is used to extract information on the spatial configuration of the emitted neutrons before the decay and shows that the average distance between the neutrons increases going from 11Li to 13Li.

The calcium isotopes are an ideal system to investigate the evolution of shell structure and magic numbers. Although the properties of surface nucleons in calcium have been well studied, probing the structure of deeply bound nucleons remains a challenge. Here, we report on the first measurement of unbound states in 53Ca and 55Ca, populated from 54,56Ca(p,pn) reactions at a beam energy of around 216 MeV/nucleon at the RIKEN Radioactive Isotopes Beam Factory. The resonance properties, partial cross sections, and momentum distributions of these unbound states were analyzed. Orbital angular momentum l assignments were extracted from momentum distributions based on calculations using the distorted wave impulse approximation (DWIA) reaction model. The resonances at excitation energies of 5516(41)keV in 53Ca and 6000(250)keV in 55Ca indicate a significant l =3 component, providing the first experimental evidence for the ν0f7/2 single-particle strength of unbound hole states in the neutron-rich Ca isotopes. The observed excitation energies and cross-sections point towards extremely localized and well separated strength distributions, with some fragmentation for the ν0f7/2 orbital in 55Ca. These results are in good agreement with predictions from shell-model calculations using the effective GXPF1Bs interaction and ab initio calculations and diverge markedly from the experimental distributions in the nickel isotones at Z=28.

The nuclear structure of 66Se, nucleus beyond the N=Z line on the proton-rich side of the valley of stability, was investigated by the neutron knock-out reaction 67Se(12C,X)66Se using a 12C target. The analysis of the singles spectrum of the γ-rays emitted during the de-excitation of the populated low-lying excited states revealed two previously detected (927(4) keV, 1460(32) keV) and three new (744(6) keV, 1210(17) keV, 1661(23) keV) transitions. The 744-keV, the 1210-keV, and the 1460-keV transitions were found to be in coincidence with the one at 927 keV. The spectrum coincident with the 927-keV transition showed a further possible transition at 299(35) keV, which was obscured by significant atomic background in the singles spectrum. This transition might correspond to a peak previously reported at 273(5) keV that could not be assigned to 66Se unambiguously. Based on a comparison of the experimental data to theoretical calculations, four new excited states are proposed which suggest that 66Se exhibits shape coexistence.

Gamma decays were observed in 56Ca and 58Ca following quasi-free one-proton knockout reactions from 57,59Sc beams at ≈200 MeV/nucleon. For 56Ca, a γ ray transition was measured to be 1456(12) keV, while for 58Ca an indication for a transition was observed at 1115(34) keV. Both transitions were tentatively assigned as the 21+→0gs+ decays, and were compared to results from ab initio and conventional shell-model approaches. A shell-model calculation in a wide model space with a marginally modified effective nucleon-nucleon interaction depicts excellent agreement with experiment for 21+ level energies, two-neutron separation energies, and reaction cross sections, corroborating the formation of a new nuclear shell above the N = 34 shell. Its constituents, the 0f5/2 and 0g9/2 orbitals, are almost degenerate. This degeneracy precludes the possibility for a doubly magic 60Ca and potentially drives the dripline of Ca isotopes to 70Ca or even beyond.

The dineutron correlation is systematically studied in three different Borromean nuclei near the neutron dripline, 11Li, 14Be and 17B, via the (p,pn) knockout reaction measured at the RIBF facility in RIKEN. For the three nuclei, the correlation angle between the valence neutrons is found to be largest in the same range of intrinsic momenta, which can be associated to the nuclear surface. This result reinforces the prediction that the formation of the dineutron is universal in environments with low neutron density, such as the surface of neutron-rich Borromean nuclei.

Unbound states in C17 were investigated via one-neutron removal from a C18 beam at an energy of 245 MeV/nucleon on a carbon target. The energy spectrum of C17, above the single-neutron decay threshold, was reconstructed using invariant mass spectroscopy from the measured momenta of the C16 fragment and neutron, and was found to exhibit resonances at Er=0.52(2), 0.77(2), 1.36(1), 1.91(1), 2.22(3) and 3.20(1) MeV. The resonance at Er=0.77(2) MeV [Ex=1.51(3) MeV] was provisionally assigned as the second 5/2+ state. The two resonances at Er=1.91(1) and 3.20(1) MeV [Ex=2.65(2) and 3.94(2) MeV] were identified, through comparison of the energies, cross sections and momentum distributions with shell-model and eikonal reaction calculations, as p-shell hole states with spin-parities 1/21− and 3/21−, respectively. A detailed comparison was made with the results obtained using a range of shell-model interactions. The YSOX shell-model Hamiltonian, the cross-shell part of which is based on the monopole-based universal interaction, was found to provide a very good description of the present results and those for the neighbouring odd-A carbon isotopes – in particular for the negative parity cross-shell states.

States in the N=35 and 37 isotopes 55,57Ca have been populated by direct proton-induced nucleon removal reactions from 56,58Sc and 56Ca beams at the RIBF. In addition, the (p,2p) quasi-free single-proton removal reaction from 56Ca was studied. Excited states in 55K, 55Ca, and 57Ca were established for the first time via in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy. Results for the proton and neutron removal reactions from 56Ca to states in 55K and 55Ca for the level energies, excited state lifetimes, and exclusive cross sections agree well with state-of-the-art theoretical calculations using different approaches. The observation of a short-lived state in 57Ca suggests a transition in the calcium isotopic chain from single-particle dominated states at N=35 to collective excitations at N=37.

Inclusive one- and multi-nucleon removal cross sections have been measured for several Sn, Sb and Te isotopes just beyond the N=82 neutron shell closure. The beams were produced in the projectile fission of a 238U beam at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. The experimental cross sections are compared to predictions from the most recent version of the Liege intranuclear cascade model. Although the overall agreement is good, severe discrepancies are observed for the cases of one- and two-neutron removal from 134Sn and 135Sb projectiles and one-proton knockout from all measured N=84 isotones. These discrepancies, as well as the relevance of quasi-elastic reaction channels to the one-neutron removal cross sections, are discussed. In addition, the measured inclusive one-proton knockout cross section for the semi-magic 134Sn projectile is compared to eikonal direct reaction theory calculations to assess if the suppression factors to these calculated cross sections, deduced from data on reactions of lighter projectile nuclei, are also applicable to heavy nuclei. Keywords: Inclusive knockout cross sections, Intranuclear cascade model, Eikonal reaction theory

The proton-rich isotope 68Br was discovered in secondary fragmentation reactions of fast radioactive beams. Proton-rich secondary beams of 70,71,72Kr and 70Br, produced at the RIKEN Nishina Center and identified by the BigRIPS fragment separator, impinged on a secondary 9Be target. Unambiguous particle identification behind the secondary target was achieved with the ZeroDegree spectrometer. Based on the expected direct production cross sections from neighboring isotopes, the lifetime of the ground or long-lived isomeric state of 68Br was estimated. The results suggest that secondary fragmentation reactions, where relatively few nucleons are removed from the projectile, offer an alternative way to search for new isotopes, as these reactions populate preferentially low-lying states. Keywords: Radioactive beams, New isotope, Direct reaction

The Borromean halo nucleus 6He has been studied by a kinematically complete measurement of Coulomb and nuclear breakup into α + 2n on Pb and C targets at 70 MeV/nucleon. Fully quantum-mechanical four-body breakup calculations reproduce the energy and angular differential cross sections below Erel∼1 MeV for both targets. The model used here reproduces the 6He ground-state properties as well as α-n and n-n scattering data and predicts an average opening angle 〈θnn〉 of 68∘ between the two halo neutrons. However, the model underestimates the breakup cross sections for higher Erel, indicating a possible contribution from the inelastic breakup. Alternatively, we examine the empirically modified calculations that reproduce the energy-differential cross sections for a wide range of scattering angles for both targets. The extracted B(E1) peaks at Erel∼1.4 MeV and amounts to 1.6(2) e2fm2 for Erel ≤ 20 MeV, resulting 〈θnn〉 = 56−10+9 degrees. In either interpretation, the current results show evidence of the dineutron spatial correlation in 6He.

The nuclear structure of 51Ar, an uncharted territory so far, was studied by the (p,2p) reaction using γ-ray spectroscopy for the bound states and the invariant mass method for the unbound states. Two peaks were detected in the γ-ray spectrum and six peaks were observed in the 50Ar+n relative energy spectrum. Comparing the results to our shell-model calculations, two bound and six unbound states were established. Three of the unbound states could only be placed tentatively due to the low number of counts in the relative energy spectrum of events associated with the decay through the first excited state of 50Ar. The low cross sections populating the two bound states of 51Ar could be interpreted as a clear signature for the presence of significant subshell closures at neutron numbers 32 and 34 in argon isotopes. It was also revealed that due to the two valence holes, unbound collective states coexist with individual-particle states in 51Ar.

We report on the first γ-ray spectroscopy of 51,53K produced via the 52,54Ca(p,2p) reactions at ∼250 MeV/nucleon. Unambiguous final-state angular-momentum assignments were achieved for beam intensities down to few particles per second by using a new technique based on reaction vertex tracking combined with a thick liquid-hydrogen target. Through γ-ray spectroscopy and exclusive parallel momentum distribution analysis, 3/2+ ground states and 1/2+ first excited states in 51,53K were established quantifying the natural ordering of the 1d3/2 and 2s1/2 proton-hole states that are restored at N = 32 and 34. State-of-the-art ab initio calculations and shell-model calculations with improved phenomenological effective interactions reproduce the present data and predict consistently the increase of the E(1/21+) - E(3/21+) energy differences towards N = 40. Keywords: Spectroscopy, Shell evolution, 51K, 53K

Excited states in the N=40 isotone 62Ti were populated via the 63V(p,2p)62Ti reaction at ∼200 MeV/nucleon at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory and studied using γ-ray spectroscopy. The energies of the 21+→0gs+ and 41+→21+ transitions, observed here for the first time, indicate a deformed 62Ti ground state. These energies are increased compared to the neighboring 64Cr and 66Fe isotones, suggesting a small decrease of quadrupole collectivity. The present measurement is well reproduced by large-scale shell-model calculations based on effective interactions, while ab initio and beyond mean-field calculations do not yet reproduce our findings. The shell-model calculations for 62Ti show a dominant configuration with four neutrons excited across the N=40 gap. Likewise, they indicate that the N=40 island of inversion extends down to Z=20, disfavoring a possible doubly magic character of the elusive 60Ca. Keywords: Shell evolution, Radioactive beams, Gamma-ray spectroscopy

Excited states in the Tz=−1 nucleus 70Kr have been populated using inelastic scattering of a radioactive 70Kr beam as well as one- and two-neutron removal reactions from 71,72Kr at intermediate beam energies. The level scheme of 70Kr was constructed from the observed γ-ray transitions and coincidences. Tentative spin and parity assignments were made based on comparison with the mirror nucleus 70Se. A second 2+ state and a candidate for the corresponding 42+ state suggest shape coexistence in 70Kr. Keywords: Radioactive beams, Gamma-ray spectroscopy, Mirror symmetry, Shape coexistence

Excited states in 63,65,67Mn were studied via in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy following knockout reactions from 68Fe. Similar level schemes, consisting of the 11/2−, 9/2−, 7/2− and 5/2g.s.− level sequence, connected by I→I−1 transitions, were established, the first time for 65,67Mn. Their level structures show features consistent with strongly-coupled rotational bands with K=5/2. State-of-the-art shell-model calculations with the modified LNPS effective interaction reproduce the observed levels remarkably well and suggest the dominance of 4-particle-4-hole neutron configurations for all the states. The data on the low-lying excited states of odd-mass 53−67Mn provide a textbook example of nuclear structure evolution from weak coupling through decoupling to strong coupling along a single isotopic chain on the n-rich side of the β stability line. These results help to deepen our understanding of the N=40 “island of inversion”. Keywords: In-beam γ-ray spectroscopy, “Island of inversion” around N=40, Strong coupling, Structure evolution

Excited states of 77Cu have been investigated by use of single proton knock-out reaction at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory in RIKEN in order to reveal the main components of the proton single-particle states. Three excited states were observed at 271, 902 and 2068 keV in 77Cu. The lowest-energy excited state follows the trend predicted for the crossing of the 3/21− and 5/21− states. Comparing the excitation energies of the 3/2−, 5/2− and 7/2− levels from 69Cu to 77Cu one can see that the Z=28 shell gap between the p3/2 and f7/2 states is rather stable, while the f5/2−f7/2 spin–orbit splitting decreases by ∼1.5 MeV in agreement with shell model calculations using the tensor force.

We report on the measurement of new low-lying states in the neutron-rich 81,82,83,84Zn nuclei via in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy. These include the 41+→21+ transition in 82Zn, the 21+→0g.s.+ and 41+→21+ transitions in 84Zn, and low-lying states in 81,83Zn were observed for the first time. The reduced E(21+) energies and increased E(41+)/E(2+1) ratios at N=52, 54 compared to those in 80Zn attest that the magicity is confined to the neutron number N=50 only. The deduced level schemes are compared to three state-of-the-art shell model calculations and a good agreement is observed with all three calculations. The newly observed 2+ and 4+ levels in 84Zn suggest the onset of deformation towards heavier Zn isotopes, which has been incorporated by taking into account the upper sdg orbitals in the Ni78-II and the PFSDG-U models.

The low-lying unbound level structure of the halo nucleus 19C has been investigated using single-neutron knockout from 20C on a carbon target at 280 MeV/nucleon. The invariant mass spectrum, derived from the momenta of the forward going beam velocity 18C fragment and neutrons, was found to be dominated by a very narrow near threshold (Erel=0.036(1) MeV) peak. Two less strongly populated resonance-like features were also observed at Erel=0.84(4) and 2.31(3) MeV, both of which exhibit characteristics consistent with neutron p-shell hole states. Comparisons of the energies, measured cross sections and parallel momentum distributions to the results of shell-model and eikonal reaction calculations lead to spin-parity assignments of 5/21+ and 1/21− for the levels at Ex=0.62(9) and 2.89(10) MeV with Sn=0.58(9) MeV. Spectroscopic factors were also deduced and found to be in reasonable accord with shell-model calculations. The valence neutron configuration of the 20C ground state is thus seen to include, in addition to the known 1s1/22 component, a significant 0d5/22 contribution. The level scheme of 19C, including significantly the 1/21− cross-shell state, is well accounted for by the YSOX shell-model interaction developed from the monopole-based universal interaction.

The isospin characters of low-energy dipole excitations in neutron-rich unstable nucleus 20O were investigated, for the first time in unstable nuclei. Two spectra obtained from a dominant isovector probe (O20+Au) and a dominant isoscalar probe (O20+α) were compared and analyzed by the distorted-wave Born approximation to extract independently the isovector and isoscalar dipole strengths. Two known 1− states with large isovector dipole strengths at energies of 5.36(5) MeV (11−) and 6.84(7) MeV (12−) were also excited by the isoscalar probe. These two states were found to have different isoscalar dipole strengths, 2.70(32)% (11−) and 0.67(12)% (12−), respectively, in exhaustion of the isoscalar dipole-energy-weighted sum rule. The difference in isoscalar strength indicated that they have different underlying structures.

We report on the first detailed study of intruder configurations in the ground state of 30Ne by means of the 12C(30Ne, 29Ne+γ)X one-neutron knockout reaction at 228 MeV/nucleon. Using a combined analysis of individual parallel momentum distributions and partial cross sections we find: (a) comparable p- and d-wave removal strength to 29Ne final states with excitation energies below 200 keV, and (b) significant p-wave removal strength to the 620 keV state of 29Ne, and (c) no evidence for f-wave intruder strength leading to bound 29Ne final states. The SDPF-U-MIX shell model calculation in the sd–pf model space provides a better overall agreement with the measured energy levels of 29Ne and the fp-intruder amplitudes in 30Ne than the SDPF-M prediction, suggesting that the refinement of the sd–pf cross shell interaction and extension of the model space to include the 2p1/2 and 1f5/2 levels are important for understanding the island of inversion.

We present an investigation of the structure of 13Be obtained via a kinematically complete measurement of the (p,pn) reaction in inverse kinematics at 265 MeV/nucleon. The relative energy spectrum of 13Be is compared to Transfer-to-the-Continuum calculations which use as structure inputs the overlaps of the 14Be ground-state wave function, computed in a three-body model, with the unbound states of the 13Be residual nucleus. The key role of neutron p-wave orbital in the interpretation of the low-relative-energy part of the spectrum is discussed. Keywords: Quasi-free scattering, Borromean nuclei, Three-body model, Resonances

The interaction cross sections (σI) of the very neutron-rich carbon isotopes 19C, 20C and 22C have been measured on a carbon target at 307, 280, and 235 MeV/nucleon, respectively. A σI of 1.280±0.023 b was obtained for 22C, significantly larger than for 19,20C, supporting the halo character of 22C. A 22C root-mean-squared matter radius of 3.44±0.08 fm was deduced using a four-body Glauber reaction model. This value is smaller than an earlier estimate (of 5.4±0.9 fm) derived from a σI measurement on a hydrogen target at 40 MeV/nucleon. These new, higher-precision σI data provide stronger constraints for assessing the consistency of theories describing weakly bound nuclei.

Two-proton relative momentum (qpp) and opening angle (θpp) distributions from the three-body decay of two excited proton-rich nuclei, namely Al23→p+p+Na21 and Mg22→p+p+Ne20, have been measured with the projectile fragment separator (RIPS) at the RIKEN RI Beam Factory. An evident peak at qpp∼20 MeV/c as well as a peak in θpp around 30° are seen in the two-proton break-up channel from a highly-excited 22Mg. In contrast, such peaks are absent for the 23Al case. It is concluded that the two-proton emission mechanism of excited 22Mg is quite different from the 23Al case, with the former having a favorable diproton emission component at a highly excited state and the latter dominated by the sequential decay process.

Inelastic scattering cross sections to individual bound excited states of 104Sn were measured at 150 MeV/u beam energy and analyzed to evaluate the contribution of neutron and proton collectivity. State-of-the-art Quasi-Particle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA) with the D1M Gogny interaction reproduces the experimental proton collectivity and our inelastic scattering cross sections once used as input for a reaction calculation together with the Jeukenne–Lejeune–Mahaux (JLM) potentials. Experimental inelastic scattering cross section decreases by 40(24)% from 112Sn to 104Sn. The present work shows that (i) proton and neutron collectivities are proportional over a large range of tin isotopes (including 104Sn), as is typical for isoscalar excitations, and (ii) the neutron collectivity dominates. It suggests that the plateau in the mass range A=106–112 displayed by E2 transition probabilities is driven by neutron collectivity. Keywords: Collectivity, Inelastic scattering, Gamma spectroscopy

One-neutron knockout from 24O leading to the first excited state in 23O has been measured for a proton target at a beam energy of 62 MeV/nucleon. The decay energy spectrum of the neutron unbound state of 23O was reconstructed from the measured four momenta of the 22O fragment and emitted neutron. A sharp peak was found at Edecay=50±3 keV, corresponding to an excited state in 23O at 2.78±0.11 MeV, as observed in previous measurements. The longitudinal momentum distribution for this state was consistent with d-wave neutron knockout, providing support for a Jπ assignment of 5/2+. The associated spectroscopic factor was deduced to be C2S(0d5/2)=4.1±0.4 by comparing the measured cross section (σ−1nexp=61±6 mb) with a distorted wave impulse approximation calculation. Such a large occupancy for the neutron 0d5/2 orbital is in line with the N=16 shell closure in 24O.

The effectiveness of two kinds of magnesium oxide (MgO) materials, commercial MgO (2250 kg ha(-1)) and a material derived from MgO and magnesium silicate minerals named 'MgO-SH-A' (2250 and 4500 kg ha(-1)1), in suppression of uptake and accumulation of cadmium (Cd) into grain of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Ayahikari) was examined in a Cd-contaminated alluvial paddy field under annual rice-wheat rotational system. The MgO materials were mixed into the plough-layer soil only once prior to the preceding rice cultivation. Cadmium concentration in wheat grain produced from the non-amendment control exceeded the maximum limit of Cd in wheat grain adopted by FAO/WHO (0.2 mg kg(-1)). All of the treatments with the MgO materials significantly lowered plant available Cd fraction in the plough-layer soil. However, only the treatment with the commercial MgO at 2250 kg ha(-1) produced wheat grain whose Cd concentration was not only significantly lower than that from the control but also less than 0.2 mg kg(-1). It is suggested that the significant suppressive effect of the commercial MgO on Cd accumulation in wheat grain would be mainly attributed to its high soil neutralizing capacity as compared to that of MgO-SH-A.

The objective of this study is to assess the applicability of a commercial magnesium oxide (MgO) and a composite material containing MgO and natural minerals ('MgO-SH-A') as the soil amendments for suppression of cadmium (Cd) uptake and accumulation into rice grains. A cultivation experiment of rice plants (Oryza sativa L. cv. Kinuhikari) was conducted in an actual Cd-contaminated alluvial paddy field to evaluate the effectiveness of these materials. The 'plant available' fractions of Cd in the paddy soil significantly decreased by application of commercial MgO at 2250 kg ha(-1) or MgO-SH-A at 4500 kg ha(-1). These decreases would be primarily attributed to the increase in soil pH due to applications of the MgO materials because these soil Cd fractions were significantly negatively correlated with the soil pH. Even under a suppressive condition for Cd uptake by rice plants, i.e., continuous flooding of the paddy field around the heading stage, applications of these materials further reduced Cd concentration in brown rice as compared to that from the control. It was concluded that the two MgO materials examined would be effective in preventing Cd contamination of rice grains grown in Cd-polluted paddy fields.