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The probabilities for gamma-ray and particle emission as a function of the excitation energy of a decaying nucleus are valuable observables for constraining the ingredients of the models that describe the de-excitation of nuclei near the particle emission threshold. These models are essential in nuclear astrophysics and applications. In this work, we have for the first time simultaneously measured the gamma-ray and neutron emission probabilities of 208Pb. The measurement was performed in inverse kinematics at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) of the GSI/FAIR facility, where a 208Pb beam interacted through the 208Pb(p,p') reaction with a hydrogen gas jet target. Instead of detecting the gamma-rays and neutrons emitted by 208Pb, we detected the heavy beam-like residues produced after gamma and neutron emission. These heavy residues were fully separated by a dipole magnet of the ESR and were detected with outstanding efficiencies. The comparison of the measured probabilities with model calculations has allowed us to test and select different descriptions of the gamma-ray strength function and the nuclear level density available in the literature., Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures

Neutron-induced reaction cross sections of short-lived nuclei are imperative to understand the origin of heavy elements in stellar nucleosynthesis and for societal applications, but their measurement is extremely complicated due to the radioactivity of the targets involved. One way of overcoming this issue is to combine surrogate reactions with the unique possibilities offered by heavy-ion storage rings. In this work, we describe the first surrogate-reaction experiment in inverse kinematics, which we successfully conducted at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) of the GSI/FAIR facility, using the 208Pb(p,p') reaction as a surrogate for neutron capture on 207Pb. Thanks to the outstanding detection efficiencies possible at the ESR, we were able to measure for the first time the neutron-emission probability as a function of the excitation energy of 208Pb. We have used this probability to select different descriptions of the gamma-ray strength function and nuclear level density, and provide reliable results for the neutron-induced radiative capture cross section of 207Pb at energies for which no experimental data exist., Comment: 10 pages and 5 figures

A prototype of ion beam transport module has been developed at the Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC) and used as a test bed to investigate key issues related to the efficient transport of ion beams. This includes the reduction of the beam losses, the increase of the acceptance, and the definition of the instrumentation necessary to evaluate the performances. An experiment was performed on a full-scale beam line and following a standard beam analysis, steering, and focusing procedure. After a review of the developments carried out for some demanding facilities and for the design of the quadrupoles implemented in the transport module, the paper highlights the challenge of measuring the preservation of transverse phase-space distributions with large acceptance conditions, i.e. with the highest ratio of beam filling to quadrupole aperture. Then, the tolerance to the errors and mitigation of the risks are discussed, in particular by considering the electric stability of the transport module, beam trips, behavior of the tail and the halo, and misalignment errors., Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2211.09611

Due to increasing environmental and economic constraints, optimization of ion beam transport and equipment design becomes essential. The future should be equipped with planet-friendly facilities, that is, solutions that reduce environmental impact and improve economic competitiveness. The tendency to increase the intensity of the current and the power of the beams obliges us and brings us to new challenges. Installations tend to have larger dimensions with increased areas, volumes, weights and costs. A new ion beam transport prototype was developed and used as a test bed to identify key issues to reduce beam losses and preserve transverse phase-space distributions with large acceptance conditions.

2D and 4D transverse phase-space of a low-energy ion-beam is measured with two of the most common emittance scanners. The article covers the description of the installation, the setup, the settings, the experiment and the benchmark of the two emittance meters. We compare the results from three series of measurements and present the advantages and drawbacks of the two systems. Coupling between phase-space planes, correlations and mitigation of deleterious effects are discussed. The influence of background noise and aberrations of trace-space figures on emittance measurements and RMS calculations is highlighted, especially for low density beams and halos. A new data analysis method using noise reduction, filtering, and reconstruction of the emittance figure is described. Finally, some basic concepts of phase-space theory and application to beam transport are recalled.

Many nuclear reactions used to create radioactive isotopes for nuclear research produce, in addition to the isotope of interest, many contaminants, which are often produced in much larger amounts than the isotope of interest. Many installations using the ISOL approach are therefore equipped with high-resolution mass separators to remove at least isotopes with a different mass number. In the present paper, we present the results of the commissioning of the DESIR HRS presently under development at LP2I Bordeaux (formerly CENBG). Optical aberrations are corrected up to 3rd order and a mass resolution of M/$\Delta$M of 25000 is reached with a transmission of about 70% for a 133Cs+ beam at 25 keV.

The proposed method exploits charged particles confined as a storage ring beam (proton, deuteron, possibly $^3$He) to search for an intrinsic electric dipole moment (EDM) aligned along the particle spin axis. Statistical sensitivities could approach 10$^{-29}$ e$\cdot$cm. The challenge will be to reduce systematic errors to similar levels. The ring will be adjusted to preserve the spin polarisation, initially parallel to the particle velocity, for times in excess of 15 minutes. Large radial electric fields, acting through the EDM, will rotate the polarisation from the longitudinal to the vertical direction. The slow rise in the vertical polarisation component, detected through scattering from a target, signals the EDM. The project strategy is outlined. A stepwise plan is foreseen, starting with ongoing COSY activities that demonstrate technical feasibility. Achievements to date include reduced polarization measurement errors, long horizontal plane polarization lifetimes, and control of the polarization direction through feedback from scattering measurements. The project continues with a proof-of-capability measurement (precursor experiment; first direct deuteron EDM measurement), an intermediate prototype ring (proof-of-principle; demonstrator for key technologies), and finally a high-precision electric-field storage ring., Comment: 243 pages

This project exploits charged particles confined as a storage ring beam (proton, deuteron, possibly $^3$He) to search for an intrinsic electric dipole moment (EDM, $\vec d$) aligned along the particle spin axis. Statistical sensitivities can approach $10^{-29}$~e$\cdot$cm. The challenge will be to reduce systematic errors to similar levels. The ring will be adjusted to preserve the spin polarization, initially parallel to the particle velocity, for times in excess of 15 minutes. Large radial electric fields, acting through the EDM, will rotate the polarization ($\vec d \times\vec E$). The slow rise in the vertical polarization component, detected through scattering from a target, signals the EDM. The project strategy is outlined. It foresees a step-wise plan, starting with ongoing COSY activities that demonstrate technical feasibility. Achievements to date include reduced polarization measurement errors, long horizontal-plane polarization lifetimes, and control of the polarization direction through feedback from the scattering measurements. The project continues with a proof-of-capability measurement (precursor experiment; first direct deuteron EDM measurement), an intermediate prototype ring (proof-of-principle; demonstrator for key technologies), and finally the high precision electric-field storage ring.

Understanding the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy is one of the most pressing issues in cosmology and fundamental physics. The purpose of the DUNE (Dark UNiverse Explorer) mission is to study these two cosmological components with high precision, using a space-based weak lensing survey as its primary science driver. Weak lensing provides a measure of the distribution of dark matter in the universe and of the impact of dark energy on the growth of structures. DUNE will also include a complementary supernovae survey to measure the expansion history of the universe, thus giving independent additional constraints on dark energy. The baseline concept consists of a 1.2m telescope with a 0.5 square degree optical CCD camera. It is designed to be fast with reduced risks and costs, and to take advantage of the synergy between ground-based and space observations. Stringent requirements for weak lensing systematics were shown to be achievable with the baseline concept. This will allow DUNE to place strong constraints on cosmological parameters, including the equation of state parameter of the dark energy and its evolution from redshift 0 to 1. DUNE is the subject of an ongoing study led by the French Space Agency (CNES), and is being proposed for ESA's Cosmic Vision programme., Comment: 12 latex pages, including 7 figures and 2 tables. Procs. of SPIE symposium "Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation", Orlando, may 2006