Search

The emission of the pre-equilibrium particles during nuclear collisions at moderate beam energies is still an open question. This influences the properties of the compound nucleus but also changes the interpretation of the quasi-fission process. A systematic analysis of the data obtained by the FAZIA collaboration during a recent experiment with a neutron rich projectile is presented. The full range of charged particles detected in the experiment is within the limit of isotopic resolution of the FAZIA detector. Quasi-projectile (QP) fragments were detected in majority thanks to the forward angular acceptance of the experimental setup which was confirmed by introducing cuts based on the HIPSE event generator calculations. The main goal was to compare the experimental results with the HIPSE simulations after introducing these cuts to investigate the influence of the n-rich entrance channel on the QP fragment properties. More specifically, the lowering of N/Z of QP fragments with beam energy was found to be present since the initial phase of the reaction. Thus, pre-equilibrium emissions might be a possible candidate to explain such an effect., Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures

A detailed knowledge of the decay properties of the so called Hoyle state in the $^{12}$C nucleus ($E_x=7.654$ MeV, $0^+$) is required to calculate the rate at which carbon is forged in typical red-giant stars. This paper reports on a new almost background-free measurement of the radiative decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state using advanced charged particle coincidence techniques. The exploitation, for the first time in a similar experiment, of a bidimensional map of the coincidence efficiency allows to reach an unitary value and, consequently, to strongly reduce sources of systematic uncertainties. The present results suggest a value of the radiative branching ratio of $\Gamma_{rad}/\Gamma_{tot}=4.2(6)\cdot10^{-4}$. This finding helps to resolve the tension between recent data published in the literature.

An investigation of the quasiprojectile breakup channel in semiperipheral and peripheral collisions of $^{58,64}$Ni+$^{58,64}$Ni at 32 and 52 MeV/nucleon is presented. Data have been acquired in the first experimental campaign of the INDRA-FAZIA apparatus in GANIL. The effect of isospin diffusion between projectile and target in the two asymmetric reactions has been highlighted by means of the isospin transport ratio technique, exploiting the neutron-to-proton ratio of the quasiprojectile reconstructed from the two breakup fragments. We found evidence that, for the same reaction centrality, a higher degree of relaxation of the initial isospin imbalance is achieved in the breakup channel with respect to the more populated binary output, possibly indicating the indirect selection of specific dynamical features. We have proposed an interpretation based on different average projectile-target contact times related to the two exit channels under investigation, with a longer interaction for the breakup channel. The time information has been extracted from AMD simulations of the studied systems coupled to GEMINI++: the model calculations support the hypothesis hereby presented.

Four different reactions, $^{32}$S+$^{12}$C and $^{20}$Ne+$^{12}$C at 25 and 50 MeV/nucleon, have been measured with the FAZIA detector capable of full isotopic identification of most forward emitted reaction products. Fragment multiplicities, angular distributions and energy spectra have been measured and compared with Monte Carlo simulations, i.e. the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics (AMD) and the heavy-ion phase space exploration (HIPSE) models. These models are combined with two different afterburner codes (HF$l$ and SIMON) to describe the decay of the excited primary fragments. In the case of AMD, the effect of including the clustering and inter-clustering processes to form bound particles and fragments is discussed. A clear confirmation of the role of cluster aggregation in the reaction dynamics and particle production for these light systems, for which the importance of the clustering process increases with bombarding energy, is obtained., Comment: 15 pages, 14 PDF figures

An analysis of the asymmetric reactions $^{40,48}$Ca+$^{12}$C at 25 and 40 MeV/nucleon is presented. Data have been collected with six modules of the FAZIA array. The analysis is focused on the breakup channel of sources produced in dissipative collisions, partially corresponding to incomplete fusion processes. The study has been performed both on detected fragments and on some resonances reconstructed by means of particle-fragment correlations, with a focus on the evolution of the breakup channel with the beam energy and the neutron content of the system, looking in particular at the relative velocity between the breakup fragments. Results show that also Carbon fragments reconstructed by means of particle correlations can be in large part interpreted as the light partner of a scission.

An investigation of the isospin equilibration process in the reactions $^{58,64}$Ni+$^{58,64}$Ni at two bombarding energies in the Fermi regime ($32\,$MeV/nucleon and $52\,$MeV/nucleon) is presented. Data have been acquired during the first experimental campaign of the coupled INDRA-FAZIA apparatus in GANIL. Selecting from peripheral to semi-central collisions, both the neutron content of the quasiprojectile residue and that of the light ejectiles coming from the quasiprojectile evaporation have been used as probes of the dynamical process of isospin diffusion between projectile and target for the asymmetric systems. The isospin transport ratio technique has been employed. The relaxation of the initial isospin imbalance with increasing centrality has been clearly evidenced. The isospin equilibration appears stronger for the reactions at $32\,$MeV/nucleon, as expected due to the longer projectile-target interaction time than at $52\,$MeV/nucleon. Coherent indications of isospin equilibration come from the quasiprojectile residue characteristics and from particles ascribed to the quasiprojectile decay.

A study of medium-mass heavy-ion reactions leading to two fragments in the exit channel from barrier to 18A MeV is proposed. A special focus is made on fission and quasi-fission for events with two fragments ($Z\geq10$) in the exit channel selected. Reactions induced by $^{129}Xe$ projectiles on $^{nat}Sn$ and on $^{197}Au$ at energies ranging from $8A$ MeV to $18A$ MeV were analyzed. Using the fragment ($Z\geq10$) multiplicity equal to 2, fission and quasi-fission events were studied for the lowest beam energies using the fission fragment charge distributions, the total kinetic energy distribution (TKE) and its standard deviation $\sigma_{TKE}$. For the lighter system it is still possible to observe fission events from incomplete fusion. At variance, for the heavier system, Xenon on gold target only quasi-fission is evidenced. The study of the events characterized by two fragments in the final channel shows that fission, related to fusion in the entrance channel, disappears around 20A MeV for both systems. At lower energies (8A, 12A and 15A MeV) for the Sn target, an evolution with increasing energies towards an asymmetric fission mode is displayed in the fragment charge distributions. This trend can be attributed to the increasing angular momentum as indicated by the out-of-plane angular distribution for light charged particles. The same effect is also observed in the case of the gold target at 15A MeV. However, for this heavier system, a strong memory of the entrance channel leading to quasi-fission is evidenced. A comparison with the Viola systematics, moreover, shows a deviation, greater for the heavier system than for $^{129}Xe+^{nat}Sn$ system. A complete understanding of the above results would certainly require precise model calculations at these energies., Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, submitted to PRC

The neutron-proton equilibration process in 48 Ca+ 40 Ca at 35 MeV/nucleon bombarding energy has been experimentally estimated by means of the isospin transport ratio. Experimental data have been collected with a subset of the FAZIA telescope array, which permitted to determine Z and N of detected fragments. For the first time, the QP evaporative channel has been compared with the QP break-up one in a homogeneous and consistent way, pointing out to a comparable n-p equilibration which suggests close interaction time between projectile and target independently of the exit channel. Moreover, in the QP evaporative channel n-p equilibration has been compared with the prediction of the Antisymmetrized Molecular Dynamics (AMD) model coupled to the GEMINI statistical model as an afterburner, showing a larger probability of proton and neutron transfers in the simulation with respect to the experimental data.

We present a model-independent method to reconstruct the impact parameter distributions of experimental data for intermediate energy heavy ion collisions, adapted from a recently proposed approach for ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. The method takes into account the fluctuations which are inherent to the relationship between any experimental observable and the impact parameter in this energy range. We apply the method to the very large dataset on heavy ion collisions in the energy range 20-100 MeV/nucleon obtained with the INDRA multidetector since 1993, for two observables which are the most commonly used for the estimation of impact parameters in this energy range. The mean impact parameters deduced with this new method for "central" collisions selected using typical observable cuts are shown to be significantly larger than those found when fluctuations are neglected, and as expected the difference increases as bombarding energy decreases. In addition, we will show that this new approach may provide previously inaccessible experimental constraints for transport models, such as an estimation of the extrapolated mean value of experimental observables for b = 0 collisions. The ability to give more realistic, model-independent, estimations of the impact parameters associated to different experimental datasets should improve the pertinence of comparisons with transport model calculations which are essential to better constrain the equation of state of nuclear matter., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Revised version accepted for publication in Physical Review C

By using freeze-out properties of multifragmenting hot nuclei produced in quasifusion central $^{129}$Xe+$^{nat}$Sn collisions at different beam energies (32, 39, 45 and 50 AMeV) which were estimated by means of a simulation based on experimental data collected by the $4\pi$ INDRA multidetector, heat capacity in the thermal excitation energy range 4 - 12.5 AMeV was calculated from total kinetic energies and multiplicities at freeze-out. The microcanonical formulation was employed. Negative heat capacity which signs a first order phase transition for finite systems is observed and confirms previous results using a different method., Comment: 6 pages,5 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1903.02881

Experimental results concerning the dynamical fission of quasiprojectiles in semiperipheral collisions for the system 80 Kr+ 48 Ca at 35 MeV/nucleon are presented. Data have been collected with four blocks of the FAZIA setup in the first physics experiment of the FAZIA Collaboration. The degree of isospin equilibration between the two fission fragments and its dependence on their charge asymmetry is investigated. The data are compared with the results of the AMD model coupled to GEMINI as an afterburner, in order to get hints about the timescale of the process.

Isospin transport ratio is a powerful method to estimate the neutron-proton (n-p) equilibration in heavy-ion collisions, and extensively used to obtain information on the asy-stiffness of the nuclear Equation of State. In fact such a ratio is expected to bypass any perturbations introducing a linear transformation of the chosen observable. In particular, it is supposed to overcome contributions due to emission, either of dynamical or statistical nature, from the primary fragments formed during the collisions. In this paper we explore the validity of this assumption, looking at the quasi-projectile n-p ratio ($N/Z$) in peripheral and semi-peripheral events for Ca+Ca reactions at 35\amev{}, simulated via the Antisymmetrized Molecular Dynamics transport model, coupled to different statistical decay codes. The statistical de-excitation of the primary fragments introduces a linear transformation at relatively high excitation energies (above 2\amev{}) when the residue approaches the Evaporation Attractor Line, while some effect is produced at lower excitation energies due to the occurrence of some non-linearities. As for fast emissions after the end of the projectile-target interaction it is shown that they introduce a non-linear transformation too.

Equilibrium constants for Hydrogen and Helium isotopes as a function of density and temperature are measured in the framework of the study made by Qin et al. [Qin L et al 2012 Phys. Rev. Lett. 108 172701]. We review and comment on all stages of the analysis and conclude that our measurements are not inconsistent with Qin et al. results. Improvements are being made to the initial analysis and we raise the issue of the binding energies which has to be clarified., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures

Method: To examine signatures of this alpha-condensation, a compound nucleus reaction using 160, 280, and 400 MeV 16O beams impinging on a carbon target was used to investigate the 12C(16O,7a) reaction. This permits a search for near-threshold states in the alpha-conjugate nuclei up to 24Mg. Results: Events up to an alpha-particle multiplicity of 7 were measured and the results were compared to both an Extended Hauser-Feshbach calculation and the Fermi break-up model. The measured multiplicity distribution exceeded that predicted from a sequential decay mechanism and had a better agreement with the multi-particle Fermi break-up model. Examination of how these 7 alpha final states could be reconstructed to form 8Be and 12C(0_2+) showed a quantitative difference in which decay modes were dominant compared to the Fermi break-up model. No new states were observed in 16O, 20Ne, and 24Mg due to the effect of the N-alpha penetrability suppressing the total alpha-particle dissociation decay mode. Conclusion: The reaction mechanism for a high energy compound nucleus reaction can only be described by a hybrid of sequential decay and multi-particle breakup. Highly alpha-clustered states were seen which did not originate from simple binary reaction processes. Direct investigations of near-threshold states in N-alpha systems are inherently impeded by the Coulomb barrier prohibiting the observation of states in the N-alpha decay channel. No evidence of a highly clustered 15.1 MeV state in 16O was observed from (28Si*,12C(0_2+))16O(0_6+) when reconstructing the Hoyle state from 3 alpha-particles. Therefore, no experimental signatures for alpha-condensation were observed.

The light output produced by light ions (Z<=4) in CsI(Tl) crystals is studied over a wide range of detected energies (E<=300 MeV). Energy-light calibration data sets are obtained with the 10 cm crystals in the recently upgraded High-Resolution Array (HiRA10). We use proton recoil data from 40,48Ca + CH2 at 28 MeV/u, 56.6 MeV/u, 39 MeV/u and 139.8 MeV/u and data from a dedicated experiment with direct low-energy beams. We also use the punch through points of p, d, and t particles from 40,48Ca + 58,64Ni, 112,124Sn collisions reactions at 139.8 MeV/u. Non-linearities, arising in particular from Tl doping and light collection efficiency in the CsI crystals, are found to significantly affect the light output and therefore the calibration of the detector response for light charged particles, especially the hydrogen isotopes. A new empirical parametrization of the hydrogen light output, L(E,Z=1,A), is proposed to account for the observed effects. Results are found to be consistent for all 48 CsI(Tl) crystals in a cluster of 12 HiRA10 telescopes.

Nuclear astrophysics, the union of nuclear physics and astronomy, went through an impressive expansion during the last twenty years. This could be achieved thanks to milestone improvements in astronomical observations, cross section measurements, powerful computer simulations and much refined stellar models. Italian groups are giving quite important contributions to every domain of nuclear astrophysics, sometimes being the leaders of worldwide unique experiments. In this paper we will discuss the astrophysical scenarios where nuclear astrophysics plays a key role and we will provide detailed descriptions of the present and future of the experiments on nuclear astrophysics which belong to the scientific programme of INFN (the National Institute for Nuclear Physics in Italy)., Comment: Added paragraphs 5.6 and 7.2. Paragraph 7.3 (former 7.2) revised. Accepted for publication in La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento

In this paper the technological aspects of the FAZIA array will be explored. After a productive commissioning phase, FAZIA blocks started to measure and give very useful data to explore the physics of Fermi energy heavy-ion reactions. This was possible thanks to many technical measures and innovations developed in the commissioning phase and tuned during the first experimental campaigns. This paper gives a detailed description of the present status of the FAZIA setup from the electronic and mechanical point of view, trying also to trace a path for new improvements and refinements of the apparatus., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures

An abnormal production of events with almost equal-sized fragments was theoretically proposed as a signature of spinodal instabilities responsible for nuclear multifragmentation in the Fermi energy domain. On the other hand finite size effects are predicted to strongly reduce this abnormal production. High statistics quasifusion hot nuclei produced in central collisions between Xe and Sn isotopes at 32 and 45 AMeV incident energies have been used to definitively establish, through the experimental measurement of charge correlations, the presence of spinodal instabilities. N/Z influence was also studied., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures

In nuclear thermodynamics, the determination of the excitation energy of hot nuclei is a fundamental experimental problem. Instrumental physicists have been trying to solve this problem for several years by building the most exhaustive 4Pi detector arrays and perfecting their calorimetry techniques. In a recent paper, a proposal for a new calorimetry, called "3D calorimetry", was made. It tries to optimize the separation between the particles and fragments emitted by the Quasi-Projectile and the other possible contributions. This can be achieved by determining the experimental probability for a given nucleus of a nuclear reaction to be emitted by the Quasi-Projectile. It has been developed for the INDRA data. In the present work, we wanted to dissect and validate this new method of characterization of a hot Quasi-Projectile. So we tried to understand and control it completely to determine these limits. Using the HIPSE event generator and a software simulating the functioning of INDRA, we were able to achieve this goal and provide a quantitative estimation of the quality of the QP characterization.

The Intermediate Mass Fragments emission probability from Projectile-Like Fragment break-up in semi-peripheral reactions has been measured in collisions of $^{124}$Xe projectiles with two different targets of $^{64}$Ni and $^{64}$Zn at the laboratory energy of 35 \amev. The two colliding systems differ only for the target atomic number Z and, consequently, for the Isospin $N/Z$ ratio. An enhancement of Intermediate Mass Fragments production for the neutron rich $^{64}$Ni target, with respect to the $^{64}$Zn, is found. In the case of one Intermediate Mass Fragment emission, the contributions of the dynamical and statistical emissions have been evaluated, showing that the increase of the effect above is due to an enhancement of the dynamical emission probability, especially for heavy IMFs (Z$\gtrsim$ 7). This proves an influence of the target Isospin on inducing the dynamical fragment production from Projectile-Like Fragment break-up. In addition, a comparison of the Xe+Ni,Zn results with the previously studied $^{112,124}Sn+^{58,64}Ni$ systems is discussed in order to investigate the influence of the projectile Isospin alone and to disentangle between Isospin effects against system-size effects on the emission probability. These comparisons suggest that the prompt-dynamical emission is mainly ruled by the $N/Z$ content of, both, projectile and target; for the cases here investigated, the influence of the system size on the dynamical emission probability can be excluded.

In the domain of Fermi energy, it is extremely complex to isolate experimentally fragments and particles issued from the cooling of a hot nucleus produced during a heavy ion collision. This paper presents a new method to characterize more precisely hot Quasi-Projectiles. It tries to take into account as accurately as possible the distortions generated by all the other potential participants in the nuclear reaction. It is quantitatively shown that this method is a major improvement respect to classic calorimetries used with a 4$\pi$ detector array. By detailing and deconvolving the different steps of the reconstitution of the hot nucleus, this study shows also the respective role played by the experimental device and the event selection criteria on the quality of the determination of QP characteristics., Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, will be submitted to PRC

The thermonuclear $^{19}$F($p$,$\alpha_0$)$^{16}$O reaction rate in a temperature region of 0.007--10 GK has been derived by re-evaluating the available experimental data, together with the low-energy theoretical $R$-matrix extrapolations. Our new rate deviates up to about 30\% compared to the previous ones, although all rates are consistent within the uncertainties. At very low temperature (e.g. 0.01 GK) our reaction rate is about 20\% smaller than the most recently published rate, because of a difference in the low energy extrapolated $S$-factor and a more accurate estimate of the reduced mass entering in the calculation of the reaction rate. At temperatures above $\sim$1 GK, our rate is smaller, for instance, by about 20\% around 1.75 GK, because we have re-evaluated in a meticulous way the previous data (Isoya et al., Nucl. Phys. 7, 116 (1958)). The present interpretation is supported by the direct experimental data. The uncertainties of the present evaluated rate are estimated to be about 20\% in the temperature region below 0.2 GK, which are mainly caused by the lack of low-energy experimental data and the large uncertainties of the existing data. The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star evolves at temperatures below 0.2 GK, where the $^{19}$F($p$,$\alpha$)$^{16}$O reaction may play a very important role. However, the current accuracy of the reaction rate is insufficient to help to describe, in a careful way, for the fluorine overabundances phenomenon observed in AGB stars. Precise cross section (or $S$ factor) data in the low energy region are therefore mandatory for astrophysical nucleosynthesis studies., Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures

Profiting from previous works done with the \emph{INDRA} multidetector on the description of the light response $\mathcal L$ of the CsI(\emph{Tl}) crystals to different impinging nuclei, we propose an improved $\Delta E - \mathcal L$ identification-calibration procedure for Silicon-Cesium Iodide (Si-CsI) telescopes, namely an Advanced Mass Estimate (\emph{AME}) method. \emph{AME} is compared to the usual, %$"\Delta E - E"$ simple visual analysis of the corresponding two-dimensional map of $\Delta E - E$ type, by using \emph{INDRA} experimental data from nuclear reactions induced by heavy ions in the Fermi energy regime. We show that the capability of such telescopes to identify both the atomic $Z$ and the mass $A$ numbers of light and heavy reaction products, can be quantitatively improved thanks to the proposed approach. This conclusion opens new possibilities to use \emph{INDRA} for studying these reactions especially with radioactive beams. Indeed, the determination of the mass for charged reaction products becomes of paramount importance to shed light on the role of the isospin degree of freedom in the nuclear equation of state., Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, submitted to NIM A

In the domain of Fermi energy, the hot nucleus temperature can be determined by using the energy spectra of evaporated light charged particles. But this method of measurement is not without difficulties both theoretical and experimental. The presented study aims to disentangle the respective influences of different factors on the quality of this measurement : the physics, the detection (a 4? detector array as INDRA) and the experimental procedure. This analysis demonstrates the possibility of determining from an energy spectrum, with an accuracy of about 10 %, the true apparent temperature felt by a given type of particle emitted by a hot nucleus. Three conditions are however necessary : have a perfect detector of particles, an important statistics and very few secondary emissions. According to the GEMINI event generator, for hot nuclei of intermediate mass, only deuterons and tritons could fill these conditions. This temperature can allow to trace back to the initial temperature by using an appropriate method. This determination may be better than 15 %. With a real experimental device, an insufficient angular resolution and topological distortions caused by the detection can damage spectra to the point to make very difficult a correct determination of the apparent temperature. The experimental reconstruction of the frame of the hot nucleus may also be responsible for this deterioration, Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures submitted to PRC

The decay path of the Hoyle state in $^{12}$C ($E_x=7.654\textrm{MeV}$) has been studied with the $^{14}\textrm{N}(\textrm{d},\alpha_2)^{12}\textrm{C}(7.654)$ reaction induced at $10.5\textrm{MeV}$. High resolution invariant mass spectroscopy techniques have allowed to unambiguously disentangle direct and sequential decays of the state passing through the ground state of $^{8}$Be. Thanks to the almost total absence of background and the attained resolution, a fully sequential decay contribution to the width of the state has been observed. The direct decay width is negligible, with an upper limit of $0.043\%$ ($95\%$ C.L.). The precision of this result is about a factor $5$ higher than previous studies. This has significant implications on nuclear structure, as it provides constraints to $3$-$\alpha$ cluster model calculations, where higher precision limits are needed.

Nuclear particle production from peripheral to central events is presented. N/Z gradient between projectile and target is studied using the fact that two reactions have the same projectile+target N/Z and so the same neutron to proton ratio for the combined system. Inclusive data study in the forward part of the center of mass indicates that N/Z equilibration between the projectile-like and the target-like is achieved for central collisions. Particles are also produced from mid-rapidity region. 3He mean pre-equilibrium character is evidenced and 6He production at mid-rapidity implies a neutron enrichment phenomenon of the projectile target interacting zone., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures

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

\item[Background]Heavy-ion reactions from barrier up to Fermi energy. \item[Purpose]Reaction and fusion cross sections determination. Fusion reactions induced by $^{129}Xe$ projectiles on $^{nat}Sn$ targets for energies ranging from $8$ A.MeV to $35$ A.MeV were measured with the INDRA $4\pi$-array.\\ The evaluation of the fusion/incomplete fusion cross sections for the incident energies from 8 to 35 A.MeV is the main purpose of this paper. \item[Method] The reaction cross sections are evaluated for each beam energy thanks to INDRA $4\pi$-array. The events are also sorted in order to focus the study on a selected sample of events, in such a way that the fusion/fusion incomplete cross section is estimated. \item[Results] The excitation function of reaction and fusion cross sections were measured for the heavy and nearly symmetric system $^{129}Xe + ^{nat}Sn$ from 8 to 35 A.MeV. \item[Conclusions] The fusion-like cross-sections evaluated show a good agrement with a recent systematics for beam energies greater than 20 A.MeV. For low beam energies the cross-section values are lower than the expected ones. A probable reason for these low values is in the fusion hindrance at energies above/close the barrier., Comment: 10 pages, 16 figures, submitted to PRC

The fragmentation of quasi-projectiles from the nuclear reaction $^{40}$Ca+$^{12}$C at 25 MeV per nucleon bombarding energy was used to produce $\alpha$-emission sources. From a careful selection of these sources provided by a complete detection and from comparisons with models of sequential and simultaneous decays, evidence in favor of $\alpha$-particle clustering from excited $^{16}O$, $^{20}Ne$ and $^{24}Mg$ is reported., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, accepted in Physics Letters B

The fragmentation of quasi-projectiles from the nuclear reaction 40Ca + 12C at 25 MeV/nucleon was used to produce alpha-emission sources. From a careful selection of these sources provided by a complete detection and from comparisons with models of sequential and simultaneous decays, strong indications in favour of $\alpha$-particle clustering in excited 16O, 20Ne and 24}Mg are reported., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 12th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus collisions (NN2015), 21-26 June 2015, Catania, Italy

Data from the experiment on the 197Au + 197Au reaction at 23 AMeV are analyzed with an aim to find signatures of exotic nuclear configurations such as toroid-shaped objects. The experimental data are compared with predictions of the ETNA code dedicated to look for such configurations and with the QMD model. A novel criterion of selecting events possibly resulting from the formation of exotic freeze-out configurations, "the efficiency factor", is tested. Comparison between experimental data and model predictions may indicate for the formation of flat/toroidal nuclear systems.

Background: In heavy ion collision at the Fermi energies Isospin equilibration processes occur- ring when nuclei with different charge/mass asymmetries interacts have been investigated to get information on the nucleon-nucleon Iso-vectorial effective interaction. Purpose: In this paper, for the system 48Ca +27 Al at 40 MeV/nucleon, we investigate on this process by means of an observable tightly linked to isospin equilibration processes and sensitive in exclusive way to the dynamical stage of the collision. From the comparison with dynamical model calculations we want also to obtain information on the Iso-vectorial effective microscopic interaction. Method: The average time derivative of the total dipole associated to the relative motion of all emitted charged particles and fragments has been determined from the measured charges and velocities by using the 4? multi-detector CHIMERA. The average has been determined for semi- peripheral collisions and for different charges Zb of the biggest produced fragment. Experimental evidences collected for the systems 27Al+48Ca and 27Al+40Ca at 40 MeV/nucleon used to support this novel method of investigation are also discussed., Comment: Submitted for publication on Phys. Rev. C. 0n 24-oct-2014

We report experimental signals of Bose-Einstein condensation in the decay of hot Ca projectile-like sources produced in mid-peripheral collisions at sub-Fermi energies. The experimental setup, constituted by the coupling of the INDRA 4$\pi$ detector array to the forward angle VAMOS magnetic spectrometer, allowed us to reconstruct the mass, charge and excitation energy of the decaying hot projectile-like sources. Furthermore, by means of quantum fluctuation analysis techniques, temperatures and mean volumes per particle "as seen by" bosons and fermions separately are correlated to the excitation energy of the reconstructed system. The obtained results are consistent with the production of dilute mixed (bosons/fermions) systems, where bosons experience a smaller volume as compared to the surrounding fermionic gas. Our findings recall similar phenomena observed in the study of boson condensates in atomic traps., Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. (december 2014)

An analysis of experimental data from the inverse-kinematics ISODEC experiment on 78Kr+40Ca reaction at a bombarding energy of 10 AMeV has revealed signatures of a hitherto unknown reaction mechanism, intermediate between the classical damped binary collisions and fusion-fission, but also substantially different from what is being termed in the literature as fast fission or quasi fission. These signatures point to a scenario where the system fuses transiently while virtually equilibrating mass asymmetry and energy and, yet, keeping part of the energy stored in a collective shock-imparted and, possibly, angular momentum bearing form of excitation. Subsequently the system fissions dynamically along the collision or shock axis with the emerging fragments featuring a broad mass spectrum centered around symmetric fission, relative velocities somewhat higher along the fission axis than in transverse direction, and virtually no intrinsic spin. The class of massasymmetric fission events shows a distinct preference for the more massive fragments to proceed along the beam direction, a characteristic reminiscent of that reported earlier for dynamic fragmentation of projectile-like fragments alone and pointing to the memory of the initial mass and velocity distribution., Comment: 5 PAGES, 6 FIGURES

In 129 Xe+ nat Sn central collisions from 8 to 25 MeV/A, the three-fragment exit channel occurs with a significant cross section. We show that these fragments arise from two successive binary splittings of a heavy composite system. The sequence of fragment production is determined. Strong Coulomb proximity effects are observed in the three-fragment final state. A comparison with Coulomb trajec-tory calculations shows that the time scale between the consecutive break-ups decreases with increasing bombarding energy, becoming quasi-simultaneous above excitation energy E * = 4.0$\pm$0.5 MeV/A. This transition from sequential to simultaneous break-up was interpreted as the signature of the onset of multifragmentation for the three-fragment exit channel in this system., Comment: 12 pages; 13 Figures; 4 Table; Accepted for publication in Physical Review C

A new method to extract high resolution angular distributions from kinematical coincidence measurements in binary reactions is presented. Kinematic is used to extract the center of mass angular distribution from the measured energy spectrum of light particles. Results obtained in the case of 10Be+p-->9Be+d reaction measured with the CHIMERA detector are shown. An angular resolution of few degrees in the center of mass is obtained., Comment: 6 Page 10 Figures submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods A

We show new data from the $^{64}$Ni+$^{124}$Sn and $^{58}$Ni+$^{112}$Sn reactions studied in direct kinematics with the CHIMERA detector at INFN-LNS and compared with the reverse kinematics reactions at the same incident beam energy (35 A MeV). Analyzing the data with the method of relative velocity correlations, fragments coming from statistical decay of an excited projectile-like (PLF) or target-like (TLF) fragments are discriminated from the ones coming from dynamical emission in the early stages of the reaction. By comparing data of the reverse kinematics experiment with a stochastic mean field (SMF) + GEMINI calculations our results show that observables from neck fragmentation mechanism add valuable constraints on the density dependence of symmetry energy. An indication is found for a moderately stiff symmetry energy potential term of EOS., Comment: Talk given by E. De Filippo 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 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)

We present a new experimental method to correlate the isotopic composition of intermediate mass fragments (IMF) emitted at mid-rapidity in semi-peripheral collisions with the emission timescale: IMFs emitted in the early stage of the reaction show larger values of $<$N/Z$>$ isospin asymmetry, stronger angular anisotropies and reduced odd-even staggering effects in neutron to proton ratio $<$N/Z$>$ distributions than those produced in sequential statistical emission. All these effects support the concept of isospin "migration", that is sensitive to the density gradient between participant and quasi-spectator nuclear matter, in the so called neck fragmentation mechanism. By comparing the data to a Stochastic Mean Field (SMF) simulation we show that this method gives valuable constraints on the symmetry energy term of nuclear equation of state at subsaturation densities. An indication emerges for a linear density dependence of the symmetry energy., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures; submitted to Physical Rev. C

The fragmentation of quasi-projectiles from the nuclear reaction $^{40}$Ca+$^{12}$C at 25 MeV/nucleon was used to produce excited states candidates to $\alpha$-particle condensation. Complete kinematic characterization of individual decay events, made possible by a high-granularity 4$\pi$ charged particle multi-detector, reveals that 7.5$\pm$4.0% of the particle decays of the Hoyle state correspond to direct decays in three equal-energy $\alpha$-particles., Comment: Phys. Lett. B, in press

The fragmentation of quasi-projectiles from the nuclear reaction $^{40}Ca$ + $^{12}C$ at 25 MeV/nucleon was used to produce excited states candidates to $\alpha$-particle condensation. The experiment was performed at LNS-Catania using the CHIMERA multidetector. Accepting the emission simultaneity and equality among the $\alpha$-particle kinetic energies as experimental criteria for deciding in favor of the condensate nature of an excited state, we analyze the $0_2^+$ and $2_2^+$ states of $^{12}$C and the $0_6^+$ state of $^{16}$O. A sub-class of events corresponding to the direct 3-$\alpha$ decay of the Hoyle state is isolated., Comment: contribution to the 2nd Workshop on "State of the Art in Nuclear Cluster Physics" (SOTANCP2), Universite Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), May 25-28, 2010, to be published in the International Journal of Modern Physics E

The fragmentation of quasi-projectiles from the nuclear reaction $^{40}Ca$+$^{12}C$ at 25 MeV/nucleon was used to produce excited states candidates to $\alpha$-particle condensation. The methodology relies on high granularity 4$\pi$ detection coupled to correlation function techniques. Under the assumption that the equality among the kinetic energies of the emitted $\alpha$-particles and the emission simultaneity constitutes a reliable fingerprint of $\alpha$ condensation, we identify several tens of events corresponding to the deexcitation of the Hoyle state of $^{12}$C which fulfill the condition., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

40Ca+40,48Ca,46Ti reactions at 25 MeV/A have been studied using the 4p CHIMERA detector. An isospin effect on the competition between incomplete fusion and dissipative binary reaction mechanisms has been observed. The probability of producing a compound system is observed to be lower in the case of N=Z colliding systems as compared to the case of reactions induced on the more neutron rich 48Ca target. Predictions based on CoMD-II calculations show that the competition between fusion-like and dissipative reactions, for the selected centrality, can strongly constraint the parameterization of symmetry energy and its density dependence in the nuclear equation of state., Comment: 4 pages 3 figures submitted to phys.rew.Lett