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Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion sources and the production of multiple-charge positive ions with high efficiency in combination with a heavy-ion accelerator have opened the way to an alternative and complementary version of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). A notable strength of positive-ion over traditional AMS is the capability of ultra-high sensitivity detection of radioactive isotopes of noble gases, in particular 37Ar (t1/2 = 35 d) and 39Ar (269 y). The complete dissociation of molecular ions in the ECR and in particular of hydride ions of neighboring stable isotopes results in superior isotopic separation. However, the use of high charge states, necessary for acceleration to high energy, entails the existence of severe transmission degeneracies with stable ions having nearly equal mass-to-charge ratios, in addition to that of stable isobaric ions. Separation or discrimination of these parasitic ions require powerful and sophisticated dispersive systems at detection stage. We review here work performed and in progress at the ATLAS facility of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) where an ECR ion source, a Radio-Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ), a superconducting linear accelerator and a Gas-Filled Magnet (GFM) are used as an AMS setup.

At Argonne we have enhanced the AMS capabilities of the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) to attempt to minimize crosstalk between samples and to quickly move from one (M/Q) setting to another in order to make measurements on a large number of samples provided by the MANTRA (Measurement of Actinide Neutron Transmutation Rates by Accelerator mass spectrometry) project. Those improvements include the use of a picosecond laser to ablate actinide material into the source, a new 20-sample holder that can switch samples within 1–2 min, and a number of accelerator configuration improvements that allow quick and precise switching between species. In principle, AMS can provide production yields of actinide isotopes produced during the irradiation period at a sensitivity exceeding other mass spectrometry techniques. A total of 27 irradiated samples of a variety of actinides have been provided for measurement. We discuss our experience with these facility improvements and how well we have met our performance goals. In addition, we present preliminary results on a number of the irradiated actinide samples with this approach and compare those results to Multi-Collector ICPMS measurements.

This paper describes the production and characterization of a 26Al beam comprised of both, its 5 + ground state, and its 0 + isomeric state. The 26Al beam was produced in-flight via the p (26Mg, 26Al)n reaction. The isomer fraction of the 26Al beam was maximized by choosing a bombarding energy of 158.5 MeV for the 26Mg primary beam. The resulting beam had an energy of 120 MeV, a total intensity of 2 × 10 5 particles/sec, a purity of 98% and an isomer content of 70%. This high-quality 26Al isomeric beam was used to study the 26Al m (d, p)27Al reaction relevant for understanding the nucleosynthesis of 26Al in the Galaxy.

A large number of (α,p)(α,p) and (α,n)(α,n) reactions are known to play a fundamental role in nuclear astrophysics. This work presents a novel technique to study these reactions with the active target system MUSIC whose segmented anode allows the investigation of a large energy range of the excitation function with a single beam energy. In order to verify the method, we performed direct measurements of the previously measured reactions 17O (α,n)(α,n)20Ne, 23Na (α,p)(α,p)26Mg, and 23Na (α,n)(α,n)26Al. These reactions were investigated in inverse kinematics using 4He gas in the detector to study the excitation functions in the energy range of about 2–6 MeV in the center of mass. We found good agreement between the cross sections of the 17O (α,n)(α,n)20Ne reaction measured in this work and previous measurements. Furthermore we have successfully performed a simultaneous measurement of the 23Na (α,p)(α,p)26Mg and 23Na (α,n)(α,n)26Al reactions.

A laser ablation material injection system has been developed at the ATLAS electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source for use in accelerator mass spectrometry experiments. Beam production with laser ablation initially suffered from instabilities due to fluctuations in laser energy and cratering on the sample surface by the laser. However, these instabilities were rectified by applying feedback correction for the laser energy and rastering the laser across the sample surface. An initial experiment successfully produced and accelerated low intensity actinide beams with up to 1000 counts per second. With continued development, laser ablation shows promise as an alternative material injection scheme for ECR ion sources and may help substantially reduce cross talk in the source.

A new large-acceptance RF beam sweeper was designed, constructed and put into operation with the goal to remove the energy-degraded primary beams tails from radioactive beams (RIB) produced by in-flight transfer or charge-exchange reactions. The system makes use of the velocity difference between the RIB beam of interest and the remaining tails of the primary beam after momentum selection by a bending magnet. The time-delayed primary beam components are deflected vertically out of the beam path by the RF sweeper, significantly reducing the stable beam background. Beam purity for the in-flight radioactive ion beams as high as 96% has been achieved with this system.

International audience; A multi-step Coulomb excitation measurement with the GRETINA and CHICO2 detector arrays was carried out with a 430-MeV beam of the neutron-rich $^{110}$Ru (t$_{1/2}$= 12 s) isotope produced at the CARIBU facility. This represents the first successful measurement following the post-acceleration of an unstable isotope of a refractory element. The reduced transition probabilities obtained for levels near the ground state provide strong evidence for a triaxial shape; a conclusion confirmed by comparisons with the results of beyond-mean-field and triaxial rotor model calculations.

This paper presents an update of an on-going collaborative INL-ANL-ISU integral reactor physics experiment whose objective is to infer the effective neutron capture cross sections for most of the actinides of importance for reactor physics and fuel cycle studies in both fast and epithermal spectra. Some fission products are also being considered. The principle of the experiment is to irradiate very pure actinide samples in the Advanced Test Reactor at INL and, after a given time, determine the amount of the different transmutation products. The determination of the nuclide densities before and after neutron irradiation together with the neutron fluence will allow inference of effective neutron capture cross-sections in different neutron spectra.

A project to measure neutron capture cross sections of a number of actinides in a reactor environment by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) at the ATLAS facility of Argonne National Laboratory is underway. This project will require the precise and accurate measurement of produced actinide isotopes in many (>30) samples irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory with neutron fluxes having different energy distributions. The AMS technique at ATLAS is based on production of highly-charged positive ions in an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source followed by acceleration in the ATLAS linac and mass-to-charge ( m / q ) measurement at the focus of the Fragment Mass Analyzer. Laser ablation was selected as the method of feeding the actinide material into the ion source because we expect it will have higher efficiency and lower chamber contamination than either the oven or sputtering techniques, because of a much narrower angular distribution of emitted material. In addition, a new multi-sample holder/changer to allow quick change between samples and a computer-controlled routine allowing fast tuning of the accelerator for different beams, are being developed. An initial test run studying backgrounds, detector response, and accelerator scaling repeatability was conducted in December 2010. The project design, schedule, and results of the initial test run to study backgrounds are discussed.

The extinct p-process nuclide 146Sm (t1/2 = 103 ± 5 Myr) is known to have been present in the Early-Solar System and has been proposed as an astrophysical chronometer. 146Sm is also intensely used to date meteorite and planetary differentiation processes, enhancing the importance of an accurate knowledge of the 146Sm half-life. We are engaged in a new determination of the 146Sm half-life in which the 146Sm/147Sm atom ratio is determined by accelerator mass spectrometry at the ATLAS facility of Argonne National Laboratory. In order to reduce systematic errors in the AMS determination of the 146Sm/147Sm ratios (in the range of 10-7-10-9), 146Sm and 147Sm ions were alternately counted in the same detector in the focal plane of a gas-filled magnet, respectively in continuous-wave and attenuated mode. Quantitative attenuation is obtained with the 12 MHz pulsed and ns-bunched ATLAS beam by chopping beam pulses with an RF sweeper in a ratio (digitally determined) down to 1:106. The experiments and preliminary results are discussed. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved., SCOPUS: cp.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) is the world's first superconducting accelerator for projectiles heavier than the electron. This unique system is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national user research facility open to scientists from all over the world. It is located within the Physics Division at Argonne National Laboratory and is one of five large scientific user facilities located at the laboratory.

A particle- γ coincidence technique has been used to measure the fusion cross-section in the system 12C+12C at low beam energies. Based on these results, it should be possible to measure this important fusion cross-section down to the 10 pb level within a week-long run.

The first application of 39Ar Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) at the ATLAS facility of Argonne National Laboratory was to date ocean water samples relevant to oceanographic studies using the gas-filled magnet technique to separate the 39K–39Ar isobars. In particular the use of a quartz liner in the plasma chamber of the electron cyclotron resonance ion source enabled a 39K reduction of a factor ∼130 compared to previous runs without liners, and allowed us to reach a detection sensitivity of 39Ar/Ar = 4 × 10−17. In order to improve this sensitivity and allow the measurement of lower ratios, higher ion source currents and a lower overall 39K background are necessary. This paper summarizes our efforts to investigate new methods combining low level potassium cleaning techniques with the use of ultra-pure aluminum liners in the plasma chamber of the ion source. The aim of the study was to improve by 1–2 orders of magnitude the 39Ar detection sensitivity required in the selection of ultra-pure materials for detectors used in weakly interacting massive particle dark matter searches.

The use of the gas-filled magnet technique for the detection of intermediate mass ( A ∼ 20–40) recoil nuclei produced in (p, α ) reactions in inverse kinematics has been investigated. Through a series of calibration measurements with 27 Al, 28,29 Si and 33 S beams the optimum parameterization for calculating the average charge-state distribution in a gas-filled magnet has been determined. By measuring the magnetic rigidity, the time-of-flight and the differential energy loss of the particles at the focal plane of a gas-filled Enge Split Pole spectrograph it was possible to separate and identify the (p, α ) reaction products from elastically scattered particles at very small scattering angles. This technique was then tested by measuring the p( 33 S, 30 P) α and p( 37 K, 34 Cl) α reactions.

In this paper we discuss the properties of gas cell targets used for the production of radioactive beams via the in-flight technique as well as gas cell targets used for studies of nuclear reactions in inverse kinematics at the ATLAS heavy ion accelerator.

The Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) to the ATLAS superconducting linac facility is currently being commissioned. It provides low-energy and re-accelerated beams of neutron-rich isotopes obtained from 252Cf fission. The fission products from a 252Cf source are stopped in a large high-intensity gas catcher, thermalized and extracted through an RFQ cooler, accelerated to 50 kV and mass separated in a high-resolution separator before being sent to either an ECR charge breeder for post-acceleration through the ATLAS linac or to a low-energy experimental area. This approach gives access to beams of very neutron-rich isotopes, many of which have not been available at low or Coulomb barrier energies previously. These beams provide unique opportunities for measurements along the r-process path. To take advantage of these unique possibility, the reaccelerated beams from CARIBU will be made available at the experimental stations of ATLAS to serve equipment such as Gammasphere, HELIOS and the reaction spectrometers. In addition, the Canadian Penning Trap (CPT) mass spectrometer has been moved to the CARIBU low-energy experimental area and a new injection line has been built. The new injection line consists of a RFQ buncher sitting on a 50 kV high-voltage platform that will accumulate the mass separated 50 kV radioactive beams, cool and extract them as a pulsed beam of 3 keV. This beam can be sent either to a tape station for diagnostics and tuning, or a cryogenic linear trap for preparation before transfer to the high-precision Penning trap where the mass measurements will take place. Initial CARIBU commissioning is proceeding with a 2 mCi source that will be replaced by a 100 mCi source as the commissioning proceeds. Final operation will use a 1 Ci source and attain yield in excess of 107 ions/sec for the most intense beams at low energy, an order of magnitude less for reaccelerated beams.

The near-term radioactive beam capabilities of ATLAS include radioactive beams produced in flight in a gas cell, or starting in the fall of 2009, re-accelerated beams of 252 Cf fission fragments provided by the new CARIBU injector. The availability of such exotic beams will allow for detailed studies of the single-particle aspects of nuclear structure in neutron-rich nuclei reaching out to the astrophysical r-process path by employing light-ion reactions in inverse kinematics. The HELIOS spectrometer is based on a new concept that is especially well suited for such studies. This concept was recently demonstrated using the reactions D (28 Si , p )29 Si with a (stable) 168 MeV 28 Si beam. Since then D (12 B , p )13 B , D (17 O , p )18 O , and D (15 C , p )16 C have been studied successfully. The combination of neutron-rich beams from CARIBU and the HELIOS spectrometer opens a fertile research area of precision studies of the single particle strengths and collective excitations in exotic nuclei, and is likely to have applications in other reactions as well.

Gas catchers allow the transformation of radioactive recoils from various sources into a good optical quality low-energy radioactive beam that is then available for experiments at low-energy or for further acceleration. The CARIBU project uses such a large gas catcher to create beams of neutron-rich isotopes from a Californium source for post-acceleration through the ATLAS superconducting linac to open new research opportunities for nuclear structure physics and astrophysics. The RF gas catcher developed at Argonne has now demonstrated operation at the high intensity required for this application.

The Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) for the ATLAS facility is under construction. The facility will use 252Cf fission fragments thermalized and collected into a low-energy particle beam by a helium gas catcher. In order to reaccelerate these beams an existing ATLAS ECR ion source is being reconfigured as a charge breeder source. A 1Ci 252Cf source will provide sufficient yield to deliver beams of up to ∼106 far-from-stability ions per second on target. The facility design, expected performance and the project status will be presented in this paper.

A detection technique for high-efficiency measurements of fusion reactions with low-intensity radioactive beams was developed. The technique is based on a Multi-Sampling Ionization Chamber (MUSIC) operating as an active target and detection system, where the ionization gas acts as both target and counting gas. In this way, we can sample an excitation function in an energy range determined by the gas pressure, without changing the beam energy. The detector provides internal normalization to the incident beam and drastically reduces the measuring time. In a first experiment we tested the performance of the technique by measuring the 10,13,15C+12C fusion reactions at energies around the Coulomb barrier. Fil: Carnelli, Patricio Francisco Florencio. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Almaraz Calderón, S.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Rehm, K. E.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Albers, M.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Alcorta, M.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Bertone, P. F.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Digiovine, B.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Esbensen, H.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Fernandez Niello, Jorge Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes). Proyecto Tandar; Argentina Fil: Henderson, D.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Jiang, C. L.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Lai, J.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Marley, S. T.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Nusair, O.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Palchan Hazan, T.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Pardo, R.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Paul, M.. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Israel Fil: Ugalde, C.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos

The excitation function for the fusion–evaporation reaction Si 28 + Ni 64 has been measured down to a cross section of 25 nb. This is the first observation of fusion hindrance at extreme sub-barrier energies for a system with a small, negative Q-value ( − 1.78 MeV ). This result is further proof that heavy-ion fusion hindrance, reported earlier only for systems with large, negative Q-values, is a general phenomenon. The measured behavior can be reproduced by coupled-channels calculations with a modified ion–ion potential incorporating the effects of nuclear incompressibility.

The $(d,\ensuremath{\alpha})$ reaction is highly selective, favoring final states in which the removed neutron and proton are completely aligned in a $J=2j$ configuration. We have studied the $^{14,15}\mathrm{C}(d,\ensuremath{\alpha})^{12,13}\mathrm{B}$ reactions in inverse kinematics using the Helical Orbit Spectrometer (HELIOS) at Argonne National Laboratory. In $^{12}\mathrm{B}$, the reaction strongly favors the population of a known ${3}^{+}$ state at 5.61 MeV, and for $^{13}\mathrm{B}$, we observe a possible unreported doublet of states at high excitation energy, probably corresponding to the $^{12}\mathrm{B}({3}^{+})$ state coupled to the $1{s}_{1/2}$ neutron from the $^{15}\mathrm{C}$ ground state. In contrast to single-nucleon transfer, deuteron-transfer reactions have not been widely studied with exotic nuclei.

A new focal-plane detector system has been designed and constructed for measuring very small heavy-ion induced fusion-evaporation cross sections with the Fragment Mass Analyzer (FMA) at Argonne National Laboratory. The system has been tested and successfully used in a fusion-evaporation excitation function measurement for 64 Ni + 100 Mo down to the 5 nb level. The design and performance of the detector system are described in detail with some examples from the latest data. Besides excellent tracking capabilities for each event measured in the detector, suppression of scattered beam background of the order of 4 × 10 - 17 has been demonstrated.

The r-process nuclide 244Pu (t1/2 = 80.8 Myr) was extant in the Early Solar System and is presently considered as extinct. However, fresh 244Pu produced in the Galaxy, may reach the Solar System and Earth through influx of interstellar dust or as direct ejecta from supernovae. Detection of such traces requires high sensitivity, discrimination power and efficiency. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), despite low efficiency, is the method of choice. We report on the successful detection of 244Pu by AMS, using highly-charged positive ions produced in an Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion source and accelerated with the superconducting heavy-ion linear accelerator ATLAS at Argonne National Laboratory. 244Pu34+,35+,36+ ions with a final energy of 0.7 MeV/u were dispersed in m/q using the Argonne Fragment Mass Analyzer (FMA) and are well discriminated from parasitic ions. A count rate of 0.7 244Pu counts/min was observed for a sample containing 2.7 × 108 244Pu atoms/mg. The technique described here is presently used, with improved setup and accelerator conditions, for the measurement of neutron capture cross sections in the actinide region.

The (8)B(alpha,p)(11)C reaction is part of the network that can bypass the triple a process leading to the production of (12)C. We have measured the astrophysical reaction rate for this reaction by studying the inverse (11)C(p,alpha)(8)B process. The radioactive (11)C beam was produced via the p((11)B,(11)C)n reaction using the in-flight facility at the ATLAS accelerator. The astrophysical reaction rate obtained from the excitation function measured in the energy range E(x)=8.8-10 MeV was found to be a factor of 10-50 higher than previous estimates.

We have studied the elastic scattering of the exotic 17 F nuclei from 208 Pb at Coulomb barrier energies. For the measurement we used a new detector array with pixel structure and a large solid angle. Optical potential analysis shows that 17 F has an imaginary potential much less deep than 19 F. Information on the exclusive 17 F breakup cross section has been deduced too.

Initial experiments at the ATLAS facility [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B 92 (1994) 241] resulted in a clear detection of cosmogenic Ar-39 signal at the natural level. The present paper summarizes the recent developments of Ar-39 AMS measurements at ATLAS: the use of an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) positive ion source equipped with a special quartz liner to reduce K-39 background, the development of a gas handling system for small volume argon samples, the acceleration of Ar-39(8+) ions to 232 MeV, and the final separation of Ar-39 from K-39 in a gas-filled spectrograph. The first successful AXIS measurements of Ar-39 in ocean water samples from the Southern Atlantic ventilation experiment (SAVE) are reported. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The manuscript describes the design, commissioning and performance of a new device for the measurement of bunch time structure of heavy-ion beams. The Bunch Length Detector (BLD) has been developed, constructed and installed at the Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerating System, a superconducting linac. The BLD is a wire scanning detector based on the analysis of secondary electrons produced by the primary beam hitting a target wire. The device provides measuring of bunch phase spectrum for ion beams in a wide range of energies, intensities and species in cw mode with up to 20 ps resolution.

The arbitrary-order map beam optics code COSY Infinity has recently been adapted to calculate accurate high-order ion-optical maps for electrostatic and radio-frequency accelerating structures. The beam dynamics of the superconducting low-velocity positive-ion injector linac for the ATLAS accelerator at Argonne National Lab is used to demonstrate some advantages of the new simulation capability. The injector linac involves four different types of superconducting accelerating structures and has a total of 18 resonators. The detailed geometry for each of the accelerating cavities is included, allowing an accurate representation of the on- and off-axis electric fields. The fields are obtained within the code from a Poisson-solver for cylindrically symmetric electrodes of arbitrary geometry. The transverse focusing is done with superconducting solenoids. A detailed comparison of the transverse and longitudinal phase space is made with the conventional ray-tracing code LINRAY. The two codes are evaluated for ease of optimization, with particular attention to higher-order effects, and future applications are discussed.

We report on the progress towards measuring the charge radius of 6 He and 8 He nuclei by performing laser spectroscopy on these helium atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). First tests to produce neutral 6 He atoms via the 12 C( 7 Li, 6 He) 13 N reaction at the ATLAS accelerator have been successfully conducted. The MOT apparatus including the laser system and the discharge source to populate the metastable level are currently being set up.

Among the many production and destruction nuclear reactions that bear on the net 44 Ti yield in the supernova environment, recently highlighted by γ-ray astronomy observations, the α capture on 40 Ca stands out in the α-rich freezeout phase conjectured by astrophysical models. We activate a He-gas target with a 40 Ca beam and implant recoiling 44 Ti nuclei (∼10 6 ) in a Cu catcher. The 44 Ti atoms chemicallyextracted with a nat Ti carrier are counted by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The measurement of the 44 Ti/Ti ratio, together with the amount of Ti carrier added, determine the number of 44 Ti nuclei produced in the activation, independent of chemical yield or transmission efficiency. The resonance strength (7.4±2.5 eV) at E cm ∼1.1 MeV/n determined for two close-by levels of 44 Ti is in excellent agreement with previous prompt-γ measurements. We plan to extend our experiments to the lower energy range.

The 15 O(α,γ) 19 Ne reaction is an important pathway from the hot CNO cycle to the rp process that leads to the synthesis of heavier nuclei. At lower temperatures, the reaction rate is dominated by the transition to the 4.033 MeV 3/2 + state in 19 Ne, the first level above the 15 O(α,γ) threshold at 3.534 MeV. We have performed an indirect measurement of the ratio Λ α Λ γ by populating the 3/2 + state via the 3 He( 20 Ne,α) 19 Ne reaction in inverse kinematics. The α particles were detected in a double-sided Si strip detector telescope while the heavy reaction products, 19 Ne and 15 O, were identified in the focal plane of a magnetic spectrograph. For the 4.033 MeV state in 19 Ne an upper limit Λ α Λ γ of ≤ 7×10 −4 has been obtained.

The Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) project was conceived to provide neutron rich beams originating from the 3% fission decay branch of a 252Cf source to be accelerated by the Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System (ATLAS). This 1Ci 252Cf source will be housed in a movable shielded cask, from which it can be directly transferred into a large helium gas stopper cell. Within the gas stopper, the CARIBU 252Cf source is positioned behind an aluminum degrader foil where the radioactive recoils of interest lose most of their energy before being stopped in the helium gas. To stop recoils over the full fission mass range effectively, three degraders of increasing thickness are required, one to cover the light fission peak and two for the isotopes in the heavy fission peak. The geometry of the source within the gas cell would ideally require a hemispherically shaped degrader foil for uniform energy loss of the fission products. The fabrication of a thin foil of such a shape proved to be exceedingly difficult and, therefore, a compromise “top hat” arrangement was designed. In addition, the ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment necessary for the gas cell to function properly prevented the use of any epoxy due to vacuum outgassing. Handling, assembling of the foils and mounting must be done under clean room conditions. Details of early attempts at producing these foils as well as handling and mounting will be discussed.

Understanding the fate of heavy-metal contaminants in the environment is of fundamental importance in the development and evaluation of effective remediation and sequestration strategies. Among the factors influencing the transport of these contaminants are their chemical speciation and the chemical and physical attributes of the surrounding medium. Bacteria and the extracellular material associated with them are thought to play a key role in determining a contaminant's speciation and thus its mobility in the environment. In addition, the microenvironment at and adjacent to actively metabolizing cell surfaces can be significantly different from the bulk environment. Thus, the spatial distribution and chemical speciation of contaminants and elements that are key to biological processes must be characterized at micron and submicron resolution in order to understand the microscopic physical, geological, chemical, and biological interfaces that determine a contaminant's macroscopic fate. Hard x-ray microimaging is a powerful technique for the element-specific investigation of complex environmental samples at the needed micron and submicron resolution. An important advantage of this technique results from the large penetration depth of hard X-rays in water. This advantage minimizes the requirements for sample preparation and allows the detailed study of hydrated samples. This paper presents results of studies of themore » spatial distribution of naturally occurring metals and a heavy-metal contaminant (Cr) in and near hydrated bacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens) in the early stages of biofilm development performed at the Advanced Photon Source Sector 2 X-ray microscopy beamline.« less

A technique for producing a high-quality radioactive 56 Ni (T 1/2 =6.1 d ) beam via the two-accelerator method has been developed. Beam intensities of 2×107 56Ni/s were extracted from the ion source and 2×104 56Ni/s were delivered to the target. For a study of neutron transfer reactions in inverse kinematics, a high-efficiency detection system was built consisting of a large solid angle (2.8 sr), high-granularity Si detector array for measuring the outgoing protons in coincidence with the heavy reaction products identified with respect to mass A and nuclear charge Z in the focal plane of a recoil mass separator.

A technique for separating and identifying reaction products from radiative capture reactions induced by radioactive ion beams has been developed. The {sup 18}F(p,{gamma}){sup 19}Ne and {sup 18}O(p,{gamma}){sup 19}F reactions have been measured in inverse kinematics by identifying the {sup 19}F and {sup 19}Ne reaction products with respect to mass and charge at forward angles in the Fragment Mass Analyzer. A total detection efficiency of 30% and a suppression factor for the incident beam relative to the (p,{gamma}) reaction products of better than 10{sup 12}:1 was achieved. Details of the detection technique, the beam monitoring procedure as well as experience in the use of polypropylene targets in experiments with radioactive beams are discussed.

The low intensity of the RIBS presently available at the first generation production facilities (10(5)-10(6) pps) and the necessity to reconstruct the event kinematics in RIB measurements require detection systems having both a large solid-angle coverage and a high granularity. The EXODET (EXOtic DETector) apparatus has been accomplished to respond to these requirements and the first experiment has been successfully performed studying the F-17 scattering on Pb-208 at 90.4 MeV.

The contribution of the 18 F(p,γ) reaction to the production of 19 Ne which is the crucial isotope for the breakout from the hot CNO cycle into the rp process, has been investigated in experiments with 18 F beams. Measurements of the cross sections for the 18 F(p,α) 15 O and the 18 F(p,γ) 19 Ne reactions indicate that the contribution from the (p,γ) route to the formation of 19 Ne is small.

We present the first AMS measurement of the 81Kr concentration in atmospheric krypton. The measurement was performed by combining positive-ion production in an electron cyclotron resonance source with acceleration to high energy in a cyclotron and subsequent full stripping for 81Br81Kr separation. The result, 81 Kr Kr = (5.3 ± 1.2) × 10 −13 , agrees well with two previous low-level decay counting measurements.

An upper limit to the production of ${}^{19}\mathrm{Ne}$ through the ${}^{18}\mathrm{F}(p,\ensuremath{\gamma})$ reaction at the recently discovered $s$-wave resonance has been determined. The limit implies that in a hot stellar environment ${(T}_{9}g0.5)$ this reaction is not a significant gateway from the hot CNO cycle towards the production of heavier elements in stars.

States in ${}^{18}$N have been populated in the neutron-adding $(d,p)$ reaction on the short-lived ${}^{17}$N beam. Previously observed levels, found in this work at excitation energies of 0.12(1) MeV and 0.74(1) MeV, have been identified as those expected from a proton $0{p}_{1/2}$ hole coupled to the ${}^{19}$O $5/{2}^{+}$ ground state. A new state at 1.17(2) MeV is consistent with the coupling of the $1/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ proton-hole state to the excited $1/{2}^{+}$ state in ${}^{19}$O. Orbital angular momentum assignments and spectroscopic factors were determined from the measured angular distributions through a distorted wave Born approximation analysis. Systematics for the ${(0{d}_{5/2}1{s}_{1/2})}^{3}$ neutron configurations in the $N=11$ isotones, ${}^{17}$C, ${}^{18}$N, and ${}^{19}$O are discussed and comparisons to $p$-$sd$ shell-model calculations are made.

We have used the ${}^{13}$B($d,p$)${}^{14}$B reaction in inverse kinematics to study the properties of states in ${}^{14}$B, the lightest particle-bound $N=9$ isotone. The spectroscopic information, including spins, parities, and spectroscopic factors for the states observed in ${}^{14}$B are used to deduce the wave functions for the low-lying negative parity $\ensuremath{\nu}(\mathit{sd})$ levels, as well as provide information about the evolution of the effective neutron $1{s}_{1/2}\ensuremath{-}0{d}_{5/2}$ single-particle energies. The data confirm that the ground and first-excited states are predominantly $s$ wave in character and are single-neutron halo states. The effective single-particle energies are found to match the trends set by other $N=9$ isotones.

The Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System (ATLAS) has been operating on a 24 hour, seven days a week schedule since the beginning of Fiscal Year 1994. Twenty-six different ion species ran during this period in 71 separate experiments. During the past year, there have been many projects undertaken to improve operation efficiency and upgrade various accelerator systems. There is also a new ECR ion source construction project underway. This paper covers, linac operation and new tuning techniques, the second generation ECR source construction project, the refrigerator system upgrade, an upgrade to the control system. Also described is a future expansion of ATLAS as an Exotic Beam Facility. (ATLAS is a world class heavy ion accelerator with an estimated value of approximately $80 million.) A concept that would utilize ATLAS as the foundation for a facility to generate and accelerate radioactive beams is briefly discussed.

An excitation function for the {sup 18}F({ital p},{alpha}){sup 15}O reaction has been measured in the energy range {ital E}{sub c.m.}=600{endash}800 keV using a radioactive {sup 18}F beam. A resonant state with a spin value of 3/2{sup +} has been found at an energy of 652 keV above threshold. This {ital l}{sub {ital p}}=0 resonance is found to dominate the astrophysical reaction rate at temperatures {ital T}{sub 9}{approx_gt}0.5. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}

A detection system has been developed for experiments with radioactive beams which have considerable contamination from a stable isobar. The system uses the gas-filled magnet technique and identifies reaction products according to nuclear charge and mass with good resolution even at energies below 1 MeV/u. In a first experiment the device has been used to measure cross sections for the 18F(p, α)15O reaction in the energy range between 650 and 840 keV/u.

A two-stage method for generating a radioactive 18F ion beam has been developed. 18F is produced with a medical cyclotron by 11 MeV proton activation of [18O]water, then chemically processed off-line for use in a tandem accelerator ion source. Azeotropic distillation reduces the 18O component by 105, with a resulting 18O to 18F beam ratio of about 103. The average 18F− beam intensity per synthesis is 1 ppA over 120 min from a cesium vapor, sputter negative ion source (SNICS), with a peak intensity of 4.5 ppA.

For the first time the $^{18}\mathrm{F}$(p,\ensuremath{\alpha}${)}^{15}$O reaction has been studied with a $^{18}\mathrm{F}$ beam at energies which are of interest to explosive nucleosynthesis. Utilizing the gas-filled magnet technique a clean identification of the reaction products was achieved. A resonance with spin 3/${2}^{+}$ at an equivalent c.m. energy of 660 keV dominates the yield.

The neutrino spectrum from the decay of 8 B is a crucial ingredient in interpreting recent data from solar neutrino detectors. The β + decay of 8 B proceeds to a broad state in 8 Be, and the shape of the neutrino spectrum may be obtained from a measurement of the α spectrum following the β + decay. A new technique has been used at the ATLAS accelerator to measure this spectrum by implanting 8 B particles into the mid-plane of a 91 μm thick Si detector. The advantage of this method is that both α particles are detected and systematic effects due to energy loss in catcher foils and dead layers of the detector are eliminated. To calibrate the detector, α's from the decay of 20 Na ions produced and implanted with the same technique were used.

The neutrino spectrum from the decay of 8 B is a crucial ingredient in interpreting recent data from solar neutrino detectors. Since 8 B decays to a broad state in 8 Be, the shape of the neutrino spectrum is best obtained from a measurement of the α spectrum following the β + decay. A new technique has been used at the ATLAS accelerator to measure this spectrum by implanting 8 B particles into the mid-plane of a 91 μm thick Si detector. The advantage of this method is that both α particles are detected and systematic effects due to energy loss in catcher foils and dead layers of the detector are eliminated. To calibrate the detector, α's from the decay of 20 Na ions produced and implanted with the same technique were used.