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The neutron emission in projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies was studied with the Large-Area-Neutron-Detector LAND coupled to the ALADIN forward spectrometer at the GSI Schwerionen-Synchrotron (SIS). Stable 124Sn and radioactive 107Sn and 124La beams with an incident energy of 600 MeV/nucleon were used to explore the N/Z dependence of the identified neutron source. A cluster-recognition algorithm is applied for identifying individual particles within the hit distributions registered with LAND. The obtained momentum distributions are extrapolated over the full phase space occupied by the neutrons from the projectile-spectator source. The mean multiplicities of spectator neutrons reach values of up to about 11 and depend strongly on the isotopic composition of the projectile. An effective source temperature of T \approx 2-5 MeV, monotonically increasing with decreasing impact parameter, is deduced from the transverse momentum distributions. For the interpretation of the data, calculations with the statistical multifragmentation model were performed. The variety of excited projectile spectators assumed to decay statistically is represented by an ensemble of excited sources with parameters determined previously from the fragment production observed in the same experiments. The obtained agreement is very satisfactory for more peripheral collisions where, according to the model, neutrons are mainly emitted during the secondary decays of excited fragments. The neutron multiplicity in more central collisions is underestimated, indicating that other sources besides the modeled statistical breakup contribute to the observed neutron yield. The choice made for the symmetry-term coefficient of the liquid-drop description of produced fragments has a weak effect on the predicted neutron multiplicities., Comment: 22 pages, 24 figures, to appear in Physical Review C

Despite the recent experimental and theoretical progress in the investigation of the nuclear fission process, a complete description still represents a challenge in nuclear physics because it is a very complex dynamical process, whose description involves the coupling between intrinsic and collective degrees of freedom, as well as different quantum-mechanical phenomena. To improve on the existing data on nuclear fission, we produce fission reactions of heavy nuclei in inverse kinematics by using quasi-free (p,2p) scattering, which induce fission through particle-hole excitations that can range from few to ten's of MeV. The measurement of the four-momenta of the two outgoing protons allows to reconstruct the excitation energy of the fissioning compound nucleus and therefore to study the evolution of the fission yields with temperature. The realization of this kind of experiment requires a complex experimental setup, providing full isotopic identification of both fission fragments and an accurate measurement of the momenta of the two outgoing protons. This was realized recently at the GSI/FAIR facility and here some preliminary results are presented., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, FAIRNESS 2022. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2210.04741

In the last decades, measurements of spallation, fragmentation and Coulex induced fission reactions in inverse kinematics have provided valuable data to accurately investigate the fission dynamics and nuclear structure at large deformations of a large variety of stable and non-stable heavy nuclei. To go a step further, we propose now to induce fission by the use of quasi-free (p,2p) scattering reactions in inverse kinematics, which allows us to reconstruct the excitation energy of the compound fissioning system by using the four-momenta of the two outgoing protons. Therefore, this new approach might permit to correlate the excitation energy with the charge and mass distributions of the fission fragments and with the fission probabilities, given for the first time direct access to the simultaneous measurement of the fission yield dependence on temperature and fission barrier heights of exotic heavy nuclei, respectively. The first experiment based on this methodology was realized recently at the GSI/FAIR facility and a detailed description of the experimental setup is given here., Comment: 4 pages, 15th International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology (ND2022)

The proton drip-line nucleus 17Ne is investigated experimentally in order to determine its two-proton halo character. A fully exclusive measurement of the 17Ne(p,2p)16F->15O+p quasi-free one-proton knockout reaction has been performed at GSI at around 500 MeV/nucleon beam energy. All particles resulting from the scattering process have been detected. The relevant reconstructed quantities are the angles of the two protons scattered in quasi-elastic kinematics, the decay of 16F into 15O (including gamma decays from excited states) and a proton, as well as the 15O+p relative-energy spectrum and the 16F momentum distributions. The latter two quantities allow an independent and consistent determination of the ratio of l=0 and l=2 motion of the valence protons in 17Ne. With a resulting relatively small l=0 component of only around 35(3)%, it is concluded that 17Ne exhibits a rather modest halo character only. The quantitative agreement of the two values deduced from the energy spectrum and the momentum distributions supports the theoretical treatment of the calculation of momentum distributions after quasi-free knockout reactions at high energies by taking into account distortions based on the Glauber theory. Moreover, the experimental data allow the separation of valence-proton knockout and knockout from the 15O core. The latter process contributes with 11.8(3.1) mb around 40% to the total proton-knockout cross section of 30.3(2.3) mb, which explains previously reported contradicting conclusions derived from inclusive cross sections., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

Luminosity is a measure of the colliding frequency between beam and target and it is a crucial parameter for the measurement of absolute values, such as reaction cross sections. In this paper, we make use of experimental data from the ESR storage ring to demonstrate that the luminosity can be precisely determined by modelling the measured Rutherford scattering distribution. The obtained results are in good agreement with an independent measurement based on the x-ray normalization method. Our new method provides an alternative way to precisely measure the luminosity in low-energy stored-beam configurations. This can be of great value in particular in dedicated low-energy storage rings where established methods are difficult or impossible to apply., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

The evolution of the traditional nuclear magic numbers away from the valley of stability is an active field of research. Experimental efforts focus on providing key spectroscopic information that will shed light into the structure of exotic nuclei and understanding the driving mechanism behind the shell evolution. In this work, we investigate the Z = 6 spin-orbit shell gap towards the neutron dripline. To do so, we employed $^{A}$N(p,2p)$^{A-1}$C quasi-free scattering reactions to measure the proton component of the 2$^+_1$ state of $^{16,18,20}$C. The experimental findings support the notion of a moderate reduction of the proton 1p$_{1/2}$-1p$_{3/2}$ spin-orbit splitting, at variance to recent claims for a prevalent Z = 6 magic number towards the neutron dripline., Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Physics Letter B

An experiment addressing electron capture (EC) decay of hydrogen-like $^{142}$Pm$^{60+}$ ions has been conducted at the experimental storage ring (ESR) at GSI. The decay appears to be purely exponential and no modulations were observed. Decay times for about 9000 individual EC decays have been measured by applying the single-ion decay spectroscopy method. Both visually and automatically analysed data can be described by a single exponential decay with decay constants of 0.0126(7) s$^{-1}$ for automatic analysis and 0.0141(7) s$^{-1}$ for manual analysis. If a modulation superimposed on the exponential decay curve is assumed, the best fit gives a modulation amplitude of merely 0.019(15), which is compatible with zero and by 4.9 standard deviations smaller than in the original observation which had an amplitude of 0.23(4).

We report the first measurement of low-energy proton-capture cross sections of $^{124}$Xe in a heavy ion storage ring. $^{124}$Xe$^{54+}$ ions of five different beam energies between 5.5 AMeV and 8 AMeV were stored to collide with a windowless hydrogen target. The $^{125}$Cs reaction products were directly detected. The interaction energies are located on the high energy tail of the Gamow window for hot, explosive scenarios such as supernovae and X-ray binaries. The results serve as an important test of predicted astrophysical reaction rates in this mass range. Good agreement in the prediction of the astrophysically important proton width at low energy is found, with only a 30% difference between measurement and theory. Larger deviations are found above the neutron emission threshold, where also neutron- and ${\gamma}$-widths significantly impact the cross sections. The newly established experimental method is a very powerful tool to investigate nuclear reactions on rare ion beams at low center-of-mass energies.

The emission of neutron pairs from the neutron-rich $N\!=\!12$ isotones $^{18}$C and $^{20}$O has been studied by high-energy nucleon knockout from $^{19}$N and $^{21}$O secondary beams, populating unbound states of the two isotones up to 15~MeV above their two-neutron emission thresholds. The analysis of triple fragment-$n$-$n$ correlations shows that the decay $^{19}$N$(-1p)^{18}$C$^*\!\rightarrow^{16}$C+$n$+$n$ is clearly dominated by direct pair emission. The two-neutron correlation strength, the largest ever observed, suggests the predominance of a $^{14}$C core surrounded by four valence neutrons arranged in strongly correlated pairs. On the other hand, a significant competition of a sequential branch is found in the decay $^{21}$O$(-1n)^{20}$O$^*\!\rightarrow^{18}$O+$n$+$n$, attributed to its formation through the knockout of a deeply-bound neutron that breaks the $^{16}$O core and reduces the number of pairs., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett

Background: Odd-odd nuclei, around doubly closed shells, have been extensively used to study proton-neutron interactions. However, the evolution of these interactions as a function of the binding energy, ultimately when nuclei become unbound, is poorly known. The $^{26}$F nucleus, composed of a deeply bound $\pi0d\_{5/2}$ proton and an unbound $\nu0d\_{3/2}$ neutron on top of an $^{24}$O core, is particularly adapted for this purpose. The coupling of this proton and neutron results in a $J^{\pi} = 1^{+}\_1 - 4^{+}\_1$ multiplet, whose energies must be determined to study the influence of the proximity of the continuum on the corresponding proton-neutron interaction. The $J^{\pi} = 1^{+}\_1, 2^{+}\_1,4^{+}\_1$ bound states have been determined, and only a clear identification of the $J^{\pi} =3^{+}\_1$ is missing.Purpose: We wish to complete the study of the $J^{\pi} = 1^{+}\_1 - 4^{+}\_1$ multiplet in $^{26}$F, by studying the energy and width of the $J^{\pi} =3^{+}\_1$ unbound state. The method was firstly validated by the study of unbound states in $^{25}$F, for which resonances were already observed in a previous experiment.Method: Radioactive beams of $^{26}$Ne and $^{27}$Ne, produced at about $440A$\,MeV by the FRagment Separator at the GSI facility, were used to populate unbound states in $^{25}$F and $^{26}$F via one-proton knockout reactions on a CH$\_2$ target, located at the object focal point of the R$^3$B/LAND setup. The detection of emitted $\gamma$-rays and neutrons, added to the reconstruction of the momentum vector of the $A-1$ nuclei, allowed the determination of the energy of three unbound states in $^{25}$F and two in $^{26}$F. Results: Based on its width and decay properties, the first unbound state in $^{25}$F is proposed to be a $J^{\pi} = 1/2^-$ arising from a $p\_{1/2}$ proton-hole state. In $^{26}$F, the first resonance at 323(33)~keV is proposed to be the $J^{\pi} =3^{+}\_1$ member of the $J^{\pi} = 1^{+}\_1 - 4^{+}\_1$ multiplet. Energies of observed states in $^{25,26}$F have been compared to calculations using the independent-particle shell model, a phenomenological shell-model, and the ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group method.Conclusions: The deduced effective proton-neutron interaction is weakened by about 30-40\% in comparison to the models, pointing to the need of implementing the role of the continuum in theoretical descriptions, or to a wrong determination of the atomic mass of $^{26}$F., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, submitted to PRC

The cross section of the $^{23}$Na($n, \gamma$)$^{24}$Na reaction has been measured via the activation method at the Karlsruhe 3.7 MV Van de Graaff accelerator. NaCl samples were exposed to quasistellar neutron spectra at $kT=5.1$ and 25 keV produced via the $^{18}$O($p, n$)$^{18}$F and $^{7}$Li($p, n$)$^{7}$Be reactions, respectively. The derived capture cross sections $\langle\sigma\rangle_{\rm kT=5 keV}=9.1\pm0.3$ mb and $\langle\sigma\rangle_{\rm kT=25 keV}=2.03 \pm 0.05$ mb are significantly lower than reported in literature. These results were used to substantially revise the radiative width of the first $^{23}$Na resonance and to establish an improved set of Maxwellian average cross sections. The implications of the lower capture cross section for current models of $s$-process nucleosynthesis are discussed.

$Background:$ Previous measurements of $\beta$-delayed neutron emitters comprise around 230 nuclei, spanning from the $^{8}$He up to $^{150}$La. Apart from $^{210}$Tl, with a minuscule branching ratio of 0.007\%, no other neutron emitter is measured yet beyond $A=150$. Therefore new data are needed, particularly in the heavy mass region around N=126, in order to guide theoretical models and to understand the formation of the third r-process peak at $A\sim195$. $Purpose:$ To measure both, $\beta$-decay half-lives and neutron branching ratios of several neutron-rich Au, Hg, Tl, Pb and Bi isotopes beyond $N=126$. $Method:$ Ions of interest are produced by fragmentation of a $^{238}$U beam, selected and identified via the GSI-FRS fragment separator. A stack of segmented silicon detectors (SIMBA) is used to measure ion-implants and $\beta$-decays. An array of 30 $^3$He tubes embedded in a polyethylene matrix (BELEN) is used to detect neutrons with high efficiency and selectivity. A self-triggered digital system is employed to acquire data and to enable time-correlations. The latter are analyzed with an analytical model and results for the half-lives and neutron-branching ratios are derived using the binned Maximum-Likelihood method. $Results:$ Twenty new $\beta$-decay half-lives are reported for $^{204-206}$Au, $^{208-211}$Hg,$^{211-216}$Tl,$^{215-218}$Pb and $^{218-220}$Bi, nine of them for the first time. Neutron emission probabilities are reported for $^{210,211}$Hg and $^{211-216}$Tl. $Conclusions:$ The new $\beta$-decay half-lives are in good agreement with previous measurements in this region. The measured neutron emission probabilities are comparable or smaller than values predicted by global models like RHB+RQRPA., Comment: 17 pages, 21 figures, will be submitted at PRC

Directed and elliptic flows of neutrons and light charged particles were measured for the reaction 197Au+197Au at 400 MeV/nucleon incident energy within the ASY-EOS experimental campaign at the GSI laboratory. The detection system consisted of the Large Area Neutron Detector LAND, combined with parts of the CHIMERA multidetector, of the ALADIN Time-of-flight Wall, and of the Washington-University Microball detector. The latter three arrays were used for the event characterization and reaction-plane reconstruction. In addition, an array of triple telescopes, KRATTA, was used for complementary measurements of the isotopic composition and flows of light charged particles. From the comparison of the elliptic flow ratio of neutrons with respect to charged particles with UrQMD predictions, a value \gamma = 0.72 \pm 0.19 is obtained for the power-law coefficient describing the density dependence of the potential part in the parametrization of the symmetry energy. It represents a new and more stringent constraint for the regime of supra-saturation density and confirms, with a considerably smaller uncertainty, the moderately soft to linear density dependence deduced from the earlier FOPI-LAND data. The densities probed are shown to reach beyond twice saturation., Comment: 25 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review C

With the R$^{3}$B-LAND setup at GSI we have measured exclusive relative-energy spectra of the Coulomb dissociation of $^{18}$C at a projectile energy around 425~AMeV on a lead target, which are needed to determine the radiative neutron-capture cross sections of $^{17}$C into the ground state of $^{18}$C. Those data have been used to constrain theoretical calculations for transitions populating excited states in $^{18}$C. This allowed to derive the astrophysical cross section $\sigma^{*}_{\mathrm{n}\gamma}$ accounting for the thermal population of $^{17}$C target states in astrophysical scenarios. The experimentally verified capture rate is significantly lower than those of previously obtained Hauser-Feshbach estimations at temperatures $T_{9}\leq{}1$~GK. Network simulations with updated neutron-capture rates and hydrodynamics according to the neutrino-driven wind model as well as the neutron-star merger scenario reveal no pronounced influence of neutron capture of $^{17}$C on the production of second- and third-peak elements in contrast to earlier sensitivity studies.

Background: Models describing nuclear fragmentation and fragmentation-fission deliver important input for planning nuclear physics experiments and future radioactive ion beam facilities. These models are usually benchmarked against data from stable beam experiments. In the future, two-step fragmentation reactions with exotic nuclei as stepping stones are a promising tool to reach the most neutron-rich nuclei, creating a need for models to describe also these reactions. Purpose: We want to extend the presently available data on fragmentation reactions towards the light exotic region on the nuclear chart. Furthermore, we want to improve the understanding of projectile fragmentation especially for unstable isotopes. Method: We have measured projectile fragments from 10,12-18C and 10-15B isotopes colliding with a carbon target. These measurements were all performed within one experiment, which gives rise to a very consistent dataset. We compare our data to model calculations. Results: One-proton removal cross sections with different final neutron numbers (1pxn) for relativistic 10,12-18C and 10-15B isotopes impinging on a carbon target. Comparing model calculations to the data, we find that EPAX is not able to describe the data satisfactorily. Using ABRABLA07 on the other hand, we find that the average excitation energy per abraded nucleon needs to be decreased from 27 MeV to 8.1 MeV. With that decrease ABRABLA07 describes the data surprisingly well. Conclusions: Extending the available data towards light unstable nuclei with a consistent set of new data have allowed for a systematic investigation of the role of the excitation energy induced in projectile fragmentation. Most striking is the apparent mass dependence of the average excitation energy per abraded nucleon. Nevertheless, this parameter, which has been related to final-state interactions, requires further study.

The $\beta$-delayed neutron emission probabilities of neutron rich Hg and Tl nuclei have been measured together with $\beta$-decay half-lives for 20 isotopes of Au, Hg, Tl, Pb and Bi in the mass region N$\gtrsim$126. These are the heaviest species where neutron emission has been observed so far. These measurements provide key information to evaluate the performance of nuclear microscopic and phenomenological models in reproducing the high-energy part of the $\beta$-decay strength distribution. In doing so, it provides important constraints to global theoretical models currently used in $r$-process nucleosynthesis., Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett

Background:The design of new nuclear reactors and transmutation devices requires to reduce the present neutron cross section uncertainties of minor actinides. Purpose: Reduce the $^{243}$Am(n,$\gamma$) cross section uncertainty. Method: The $^{243}$Am(n,$\gamma$) cross section has been measured at the n_TOF facility at CERN with a BaF$_{2}$ Total Absorption Calorimeter, in the energy range between 0.7 eV and 2.5 keV. Results: The $^{243}$Am(n,$\gamma$) cross section has been successfully measured in the mentioned energy range. The resolved resonance region has been extended from 250 eV up to 400 eV. In the unresolved resonance region our results are compatible with one of the two incompatible capture data sets available below 2.5 keV. The data available in EXFOR and in the literature has been used to perform a simple analysis above 2.5 keV. Conclusions: The results of this measurement contribute to reduce the $^{243}$Am(n,$\gamma$) cross section uncertainty and suggest that this cross section is underestimated up to 25% in the neutron energy range between 50 eV and a few keV in the present evaluated data libraries.

Composite detectors made of stainless steel converters and multigap resistive plate chambers have been irradiated with quasi-monoenergetic neutrons with a peak energy of 175MeV. The neutron detection efficiency has been determined using two different methods. The data are in agreement with the output of Monte Carlo simulations. The simulations are then extended to study the response of a hypothetical array made of these detectors to energetic neutrons from a radioactive ion beam experiment., Comment: Submitted to Eur.Phys.J. A; upgraded version correcting some typos and updating ref. 6

The cross section of the $^{62}$Ni($n,\gamma$) reaction was measured with the time-of-flight technique at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN. Capture kernels of 42 resonances were analyzed up to 200~keV neutron energy and Maxwellian averaged cross sections (MACS) from $kT=5-100$ keV were calculated. With a total uncertainty of 4.5%, the stellar cross section is in excellent agreement with the the KADoNiS compilation at $kT=30$ keV, while being systematically lower up to a factor of 1.6 at higher stellar temperatures. The cross section of the $^{63}$Ni($n,\gamma$) reaction was measured for the first time at n_TOF. We determined unresolved cross sections from 10 to 270 keV with a systematic uncertainty of 17%. These results provide fundamental constraints on $s$-process production of heavier species, especially the production of Cu in massive stars, which serve as the dominant source of Cu in the solar system.

In the last two decades a number of nuclear structure and astrophysics experiments were performed at heavy-ion storage rings employing unique experimental conditions offered by such machines. Furthermore, building on the experience gained at the two facilities presently in operation, several new storage ring projects were launched worldwide. This contribution is intended to provide a brief review of the fast growing field of nuclear structure and astrophysics research at storage rings., Comment: XVIth International Conference on Electro-Magnetic Isotope Separators and Techniques Related to their Applications, December 2--7, 2012 at Matsue, Japan

The quest for improved neutron capture cross sections for advanced reactor concepts, transmutation of radioactive wastes as well as for astrophysical scenarios of neutron capture nucleosynthesis has motivated new experimental efforts based on modern techniques. Recent measurements in the keV region have shown that a 4p BaF2 detector represents an accurate and versatile instrument for such studies. The present work deals with the potential of such a 4p BaF2 detector in combination with spallation neutron sources, which offer large neutron fluxes over a wide energy range. Detailed Monte Carlo simulations with the GEANT package have been performed to investigate the critical backgrounds at a spallation facility, to optimize the detector design, and to discuss alternative solutions.

The Coulomb Dissociation (CD) cross sections of the stable isotopes 92,94,100Mo and of the unstable isotope 93Mo were measured at the LAND/R3B setup at GSI Helmholtzzentrum f\"ur Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany. Experimental data on these isotopes may help to explain the problem of the underproduction of 92,94Mo and 96,98Ru in the models of p-process nucleosynthesis. The CD cross sections obtained for the stable Mo isotopes are in good agreement with experiments performed with real photons, thus validating the method of Coulomb Dissociation. The result for the reaction 93Mo(g,n) is especially important since the corresponding cross section has not been measured before. A preliminary integral Coulomb Dissociation cross section of the 94Mo(g,n) reaction is presented. Further analysis will complete the experimental database for the (g,n) production chain of the p-isotopes of molybdenum., Comment: Talk given at the Conference Nuclear Physice in Astrophysics VI (NPA6), Lisbon, Portugal, May 19-24 2013. To appear in the NPA6 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS). 6 pages, 6 figures

The neutron-capture cross sections of 64Zn, 68Zn, and 70Zn have been measured with the activation technique in a quasistellar neutron spectrum corresponding to a thermal energy of kT = 25 keV. By a series of repeated irradiations with different experimental conditions, an uncertainty of 3% could be achieved for the 64Zn(n,g)65Zn cross section and for the partial cross section 68Zn(n,g)69Zn-m feeding the isomeric state in 69Zn. For the partial cross sections 70Zn(n,g)71Zn-m and 70Zn(n,g)71Zn-g, which had not been measured so far, uncertainties of only 16% and 6% could be reached because of limited counting statistics and decay intensities. Compared to previous measurements on 64,68Zn, the uncertainties could be significantly improved, while the 70Zn cross section was found to be two times smaller than existing model calculations. From these results Maxwellian average cross sections were determined between 5 and 100 keV. Additionally, the beta-decay half-life of 71Zn-m could be determined with significantly improved accuracy. The consequences of these data have been studied by network calculations for convective core He burning and convective shell C burning in massive stars.

The 7Li(p,n) reaction in combination with a 3.7 MV Van de Graaff accelerator was routinely used at FZK to perform activation as well as time-of-flight measurements with neutrons in the keV-region. Planned new setups with much higher proton currents like SARAF and FRANZ and the availability of liquid-lithium target technology will trigger a renaissance of this method. A detailed understanding of the neutron spectrum is not only important during the planning phase of an experiment, but also during for the analysis of activation experiments. Therefore, the Monte-Carlo based program PINO (Protons In Neutrons Out) was developed, which allows the simulation of neutron spectra considering the geometry of the setup and the proton-energy distribution.

The nucleosynthesis of elements beyond iron is dominated by neutron captures in the s and r processes. However, 32 stable, proton-rich isotopes cannot be formed during those processes, because they are shielded from the s-process flow and r-process beta-decay chains. These nuclei are attributed to the p and rp process. For all those processes, current research in nuclear astrophysics addresses the need for more precise reaction data involving radioactive isotopes. Depending on the particular reaction, direct or inverse kinematics, forward or time-reversed direction are investigated to determine or at least to constrain the desired reaction cross sections. The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) will offer unique, unprecedented opportunities to investigate many of the important reactions. The high yield of radioactive isotopes, even far away from the valley of stability, allows the investigation of isotopes involved in processes as exotic as the r or rp processes., Comment: Invited Talk given at the Conference Nuclear Physice in Astrophysics VI (NPA6), Lisbon, Portugal, May 19-24 2013. To appear in the NPA6 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)

The rapid neutron nucleosynthesis process involves an enormous amount of very exotic neutron-rich nuclei, which represent a theoretical and experimental challenge. Two of the main decay properties that affect the final abundance distribution the most are half-lives and neutron branching ratios. Using fragmentation of a primary $^{238}$U beam at GSI we were able to measure such properties for several neutron-rich nuclei from $^{208}$Hg to $^{218}$Pb. This contribution provides a short update on the status of the data analysis of this experiment, together with a compilation of the latest results published in this mass region, both experimental and theoretical. The impact of the uncertainties connected with the beta-decay rates and with beta-delayed neutron emission is illustrated on the basis of $r$-process network calculations. In order to obtain a reasonable reproduction of the third $r$-process peak, it is expected that both half-lives and neutron branching ratios are substantially smaller, than those based on FRDM+QRPA, commonly used in $r$-process model calculations. Further measurements around $N\sim126$ are required for a reliable modelling of the underlying nuclear structure, and for performing more realistic $r$-process abundance calculations., Comment: Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics VI, Lisbon 2013, Conference Proceedings

Storage-ring mass spectrometry was applied to neutron-rich $^{197}$Au projectile fragments. Masses of $^{181,183}$Lu, $^{185,186}$Hf, $^{187,188}$Ta, $^{191}$W, and $^{192,193}$Re nuclei were measured for the first time. The uncertainty of previously known masses of $^{189,190}$W and $^{195}$Os nuclei was improved. Observed irregularities on the smooth two-neutron separation energies for Hf and W isotopes are linked to the collectivity phenomena in the corresponding nuclei., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables

The elliptic-flow ratio of neutrons with respect to protons in reactions of neutron rich heavy-ions systems at intermediate energies has been proposed as an observable sensitive to the strength of the symmetry term in the nuclear Equation Of State (EOS) at supra-saturation densities. The recent results obtained from the existing FOPI/LAND data for $^{197}$Au+$^{197}$Au collisions at 400 MeV/nucleon in comparison with the UrQMD model allowed a first estimate of the symmetry term of the EOS but suffer from a considerable statistical uncertainty. In order to obtain an improved data set for Au+Au collisions and to extend the study to other systems, a new experiment was carried out at the GSI laboratory by the ASY-EOS collaboration in May 2011., Comment: Talk given by P. Russotto at the 11th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2012), San Antonio, Texas, USA, May 27-June 1, 2012. To appear in the NN2012 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)

Exotic Ni isotopes have been measured at the R3B-LAND setup at GSI in Darmstadt, using Coulomb excitation in inverse kinematics at beam energies around 500 MeV/u. As the experimental setup allows kinematically complete measurements, the excitation energy was reconstructed using the invariant mass method. The GDR and additional low-lying strength have been observed in 68Ni, the latter exhausting 4.1(1.9)% of the E1 energy-weighted sum rule. Also, the branching ratio for the non-statistical decay of the excited 68Ni nuclei was measured and amounts to 24(4)%., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures. Invited Talk given at the 11th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2012), San Antonio, Texas, USA, May 27-June 1, 2012. To appear in the NN2012 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)

The very neutron-rich oxygen isotopes 25O and 26O are investigated experimentally and theoret- ically. In this first R3B-LAND experiment, the unbound states are populated at GSI via proton- knockout reactions from 26F and 27F at relativistic energies around 450 MeV/nucleon. From the kinematically complete measurement of the decay into 24O plus one or two neutrons, the 25O ground- state energy and lifetime are determined, and upper limits for the 26O ground state are extracted. In addition, the results provide evidence for an excited state in 26O at around 4 MeV. The ex- perimental findings are compared to theoretical shell-model calculations based on chiral two- and three-nucleon (3N) forces, including for the first time residual 3N forces, which are shown to be amplified as valence neutrons are added.

The gamma-decay of the anti-analog of the giant dipole resonance (AGDR) has been measured to the isobaric analog state excited in the p(124Sn,n) reaction at a beam energy of 600 MeV/nucleon. The energy of the transition was also calculated with state-of-the-art self-consistent random-phase approximation (RPA) and turned out to be very sensitive to the neutron-skin thickness (\DeltaR_(pn)). By comparing the theoretical results with the measured one, the \DeltaR_(pn) value for 124Sn was deduced to be 0.175 \pm 0.048 fm, which agrees well with the previous results. The energy of the AGDR measured previously for ^(208)Pb was also used to determine the \DeltaR_(pn) for ^(208)Pb. In this way a very precise \DeltaR_(pn) = 0.181 \pm 0.031 neutron-skin thickness has been obtained for 208Pb. The present method offers new possibilities for measuring the neutron-skin thicknesses of very exotic isotopes., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

The recently claimed observations of non-negligible amounts of 6Li in old halo stars have renewed interest in the Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) of 6Li. One important ingredient in the predicted BBN abundance of 6Li is the low-energy 2H(alpha,gamma)6Li cross section. Up to now, the only available experimental result for this cross section showed an almost constant astrophysical S-factor below 400 keV, contrary to theoretical expectations. We report on a new measurement of the 2H(alpha,gamma)6Li reaction using the break-up of 6Li at 150 A MeV. Even though we cannot separate experimentally the Coulomb contribution from the nuclear one, we find clear evidence for Coulomb-nuclear interference by analyzing the scattering-angular distributions. This is in-line with our theoretical description which indicates a drop of the S_24-factor at low energies as predicted also by most other models. Consequently, we find even lower upper limits for the calculated primordial 6Li abundance than before., Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, LaTeX, submitted to Phy. Rev. C

In past decades a lot of progress has been made towards understanding the main s-process component that takes place in thermally pulsing Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars. During this process about half of the heavy elements, mainly between 90<=A<=209 are synthesized. Improvements were made in stellar modeling as well as in measuring relevant nuclear data for a better description of the main s process. The weak s process, which contributes to the production of lighter nuclei in the mass range 56<=A<=90 operates in massive stars (M>=8Msolar) and is much less understood. A better characterization of the weak s component would help disentangle the various contributions to element production in this region. For this purpose, a series of measurements of neutron-capture cross sections have been performed on medium-mass nuclei at the 3.7-MV Van de Graaff accelerator at FZK using the activation method. Also, neutron captures on abundant light elements with A<56 play an important role for s-process nucleosynthesis, since they act as neutron poisons and affect the stellar neutron balance. New results are presented for the (n,g) cross sections of 41K and 45Sc, and revisions are reported for a number of cross sections based on improved spectroscopic information.

The neutron capture cross section of 14C is of relevance for several nucleosynthesis scenarios such as inhomogeneous Big Bang models, neutron induced CNO cycles, and neutrino driven wind models for the r process. The 14C(n,g) reaction is also important for the validation of the Coulomb dissociation method, where the (n,g) cross section can be indirectly obtained via the time-reversed process. So far, the example of 14C is the only case with neutrons where both, direct measurement and indirect Coulomb dissociation, have been applied. Unfortunately, the interpretation is obscured by discrepancies between several experiments and theory. Therefore, we report on new direct measurements of the 14C(n,g) reaction with neutron energies ranging from 20 to 800 keV.

The "Frankfurter Neutronenquelle am Stern-Gerlach-Zentrum" (FRANZ), which is currently under development, will be the strongest neutron source in the astrophysically interesting energy region in the world. It will be about three orders of magnitude more intense than the well-established neutron source at the Research Center Karlsruhe (FZK).

The stellar (n,gamma) cross section of 40Ca at kT=25 keV has been measured with a combination of the activation technique and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). This combination is required when direct off-line counting of the produced activity is compromised by the long half-life and/or missing gamma-ray transitions. The neutron activations were performed at the Karlsruhe Van de Graaff accelerator using the quasistellar neutron spectrum of kT=25 keV produced by the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction. The subsequent AMS measurements were carried out at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) with a 3 MV tandem accelerator. The doubly magic 40Ca is a bottle-neck isotope in incomplete silicon burning, and its neutron capture cross section determines the amount of leakage, thus impacting on the eventual production of iron group elements. Because of its high abundance, 40Ca can also play a secondary role as "neutron poison" for the s-process. Previous determinations of this value at stellar energies were based on time-of-flight measurements. Our method uses an independent approach, and yields for the Maxwellian-averaged cross section at kT=30 keV a value of 30 keV= 5.73+/-0.34 mb., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures

Although $^{79}$Se represents an important branching in the weak s process, the stellar neutron capture cross sections to this isotope have not yet been measured experimentally. In this case, experimental data is essential for evaluating the important branching in the s-process reaction path at $^{79}$Se. The total cross section of $^{78}$Se at a stellar energy of kT = 25 keV has been investigated with a combination of the activation technique and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), since offline decay counting is prohibitive due to the long terrestrial half life of $^{79}$Se (2.80$\pm$0.36 $\times10^5$ y) as well as the absence of suitable $\gamma$-ray transitions. The preliminary result for the total Maxwellian averaged cross section is $<\sigma>_{30 keV}$= 60.1$\pm$9.6 mbarn, significantly lower than the previous recommended value. In a second measurement, also the partial cross section to the 3.92 min-isomer was determined via $\gamma$-spectroscopy and yielded $<\sigma>_{30 keV}$(part.)= 42.0$\pm$2.0 mbarn., Comment: Proceedings "Nuclei in the Cosmos" NIC- IX, June 25-30 2006, CERN, Geneva/ Switzerland, published with Proccedings of Science, PoS(NIC-IX)089

Since April 2005 a regularly updated stellar neutron cross section compilation is available online at http://nuclear-astrophysics.fzk.de/kadonis. This online-database is called the "Karlsruhe Astrophysical Database of Nucleosynthesis in Stars" project and is based on the previous Bao et al. compilation from the year 2000. The present version \textsc{KADoNiS} v0.2 (January 2007) includes recommended cross sections for 280 isotopes between $^{1}$H and $^{210}$Po and 75 semi-empirical estimates for isotopes without experimental information. Concerning stellar $(n,\gamma)$ cross sections of the 32 stable, proton-rich isotopes produced by the $p$ process experimental information is only available for 20 isotopes, but 9 of them have rather large uncertainties of $\geq$9%. The first part of a systematic study of stellar $(n,\gamma)$ cross sections of the $p$-process isotopes $^{74}$Se, $^{84}$Sr, $^{102}$Pd, $^{120}$Te, $^{130}$Ba, $^{132}$Ba, $^{156}$Dy, and $^{174}$Hf is presented. In another application \textsc{KADoNiS} v0.2 was used for an modification of a reaction library of Basel university. With this modified library $p$-process network calculations were carried out and compared to previous results., Comment: Proceedings "International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology 2007", Nice/ France

The "Karlsruhe Astrophysical Database of Nucleosynthesis in Stars" (KADoNiS) project is an online database for experimental cross sections relevant to the $s$ process and $p$ process. It is available under \http://nuclear-astrophysics.fzk.de/kadonis and consists of two parts. Part 1 is an updated sequel to the well-known Bao et al. compilations from 1987 and 2000, which is online since April 2005. An extension of this $s$-process database to $(n,p)$ and $(n,\alpha)$ cross sections at $kT$= 30 keV, as in the first version of the Bao compilation, is planned. The second part of KADoNiS is a $p$-process library, which includes all available experimental data from $(p,\gamma)$, $(p,n)$, $(\alpha,\gamma)$, $(\alpha,n)$, $(\alpha,\alpha)$, $(n,\alpha)$ and $(\gamma,n)$ reactions in or close to the respective Gamow window. Despite the great number of reactions required for a $p$-process reaction network, experimental data is still scarce and up to now restricted to stable targets. Given here is a short overview about the present status of the KADoNiS database., Comment: Proceedings "Nuclei in the Cosmos" NIC-IX, June 25-30 2006, CERN, Geneva/ Switzerland, published in "Proceedings of Science", PoS(NIC-IX)090

The nucleosynthesis of elements beyond iron is dominated by the s and r processes. However, a small amount of stable isotopes on the proton-rich side cannot be made by neutron capture and are thought to be produced by photodisintegration reactions on existing seed nuclei in the so-called "p process". So far most of the p-process reactions are not yet accessible by experimental techniques and have to be inferred from statistical Hauser-Feshbach model calculations. The parametrization of these models has to be constrained by measurements on stable proton-rich nuclei. A series of (n,$\gamma$) activation measurements on p nuclei, related by detailed balance to the respective photodisintegrations, were carried out at the Karlsruhe Van de Graaff accelerator using the $^7$Li(p,n)$^7$Be source for simulating a Maxwellian neutron distribution of kT= 25 keV. We present here preliminary results of our extended measuring program in the mass range between A=74 and A=132, including first experimental (n,$\gamma$) cross sections of $^{74}$Se, $^{84}$Sr, $^{120}$Te and $^{132}$Ba, and an improved value for $^{130}$Ba. In all cases we find perfect agreement with the recommended MACS predictions from the Bao et al. compilation., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure Proceeding "Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics- NPA-II", Debrecen/ Hungary (2005)

The "Karlsruhe Astrophysical Database of Nucleosynthesis in Stars" (KADoNiS) project is an online database for experimental cross sections relevant to the s process and p process. It is available under http://nuclear-astrophysics.fzk.de/kadonis and consists of two parts. Part 1 is an updated sequel to the previous Bao et al. compilations from 1987 and 2000 for (n,$\gamma$) cross sections relevant to the big bang and s-process nucleosynthesis. The second part will be an experimental p-process database, which is expected to be launched in winter 2005/06. The KADoNiS project started in April 2005, and a first partial update is online since August 2005. In this paper we present a short overview of the first update of the s-process database, as well as an overview of the status of stellar (n,$\gamma$) cross sections of all 32 p isotopes., Comment: 5 pages Conference Proccedings "CGS12", Notre Dame/ USA (4.-9. Sep. 2005)

We have performed $p$-process simulations with the most recent stellar $(n,\gamma)$ cross sections from the "Karlsruhe Astrophysical Database of Nucleosynthesis in Stars" project (version v0.2, http://nuclear-astrophysics.fzk.de/kadonis). The simulations were carried out with a parametrized supernova type II shock front model (``$\gamma$ process'') of a 25 solar mass star and compared to recently published results. A decrease in the normalized overproduction factor could be attributed to lower cross sections of a significant fraction of seed nuclei located in the Bi and Pb region around the $N$=126 shell closure., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure Proceedings "Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics NPA-III", Dresden/Germany (2007)

The nucleosynthesis of elements beyond iron is dominated by the s and r processes. However, a small amount of stable isotopes on the proton-rich side cannot be made by neutron capture and are thought to be produced by photodisintegration reactions on existing seed nuclei in the so-called "p process". So far most of the p-process reactions are not yet accessible by experimental techniques and have to be inferred from statistical Hauser-Feshbach model calculations. The parametrization of these models has to be constrained by measurements on stable proton-rich nuclei. A series of (n,$\gamma$) activation measurements, related by detailed balance to the respective photodisintegrations, were carried out at the Karlsruhe Van de Graaff accelerator using the $^7$Li(p,n)$^7$Be source for simulating a Maxwellian neutron distribution of kT= 25 keV. First results for the experimental (n,$\gamma$) cross sections of the light p nuclei $^{74}$Se and $^{84}$Sr are reported. These experimental values were used for an extrapolation to the Maxwellian averaged cross section at 30 keV, $<\sigma>_{30}$, yielding 271$\pm$15 mb for $^{74}$Se, and 300$\pm$17 mb for the total capture cross section of $^{84}$Sr. The partial cross section to the isomer in $^{85}$Sr was found to be 190$\pm$10 mb., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

The 62Ni(n,gamma)63Ni(t_1/2=100+-2 yrs) reaction plays an important role in the control of the flow path of the slow neutron-capture (s-) nucleosynthesis process. We have measured for the first time the total cross section of this reaction for a quasi-Maxwellian (kT = 25 keV) neutron flux. The measurement was performed by fast-neutron activation, combined with accelerator mass spectrometry to detect directly the 63Ni product nuclei. The experimental value of 28.4+-2.8 mb, fairly consistent with a recent theoretical estimate, affects the calculated net yield of 62Ni itself and the whole distribution of nuclei with 62

The goal of this research project is to give quantitative information useful for the design of a g-ray detector to investigate neutron capture (n, g) reactions on radioactive nuclei at the Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center (MLNSC) moderated neutron source at LANSCE. Data for neutron energies from thermal up to approximately 500 keV are desired. The radioactive nuclei can have half-lives as short as a few months. With the sample sizes foreseen, typically 1 mg, the radioactive decay rate can exceed tens of Curies (Ci)., Comment: 50 pages, 41 figures, LANL report

Neutron capture cross sections of unstable isotopes are important for neutron induced nucleosynthesis as well as for technological applications. The Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) or comparable facilities will be able to produce radioactive ion beams up to 10**12 particles/s and would therefore be a suitable place for (n,g) studies on radioactive isotopes with half-lives between days and months. We propose a facility for measurements of (n,g) cross sections of unstable isotopes in the keV range suited for minimal sample masses down to 10**15 atoms, corresponding to minimum half-lives of only 10 d., Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in NIM A