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The radiative branching ratio of the Hoyle state is crucial to estimate the triple-$\alpha$ reaction rate in stellar environments at medium temperatures. Knowledge of the $\gamma$-decay channel is critical as this is the dominant radiative decay channel for the Hoyle state. A recent study by Kib\'edi et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 182701 (2020)] has challenged our understanding of this astrophysically significant branching ratio and its constraints. The objective of this work was to perform a new measurement of the $\gamma$-decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state to deduce the radiative branching ratio of the Hoyle state. An additional objective was to independently verify aspects of the aforementioned measurement conducted by Kib\'edi et al. For the main experiment of this work, the Hoyle state was populated by the $^{12}\textrm{C}(p,p')$ reaction at 10.8 MeV at the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory. The $\gamma$-decay branching ratio was deduced through triple-coincidence events, each consisting of a proton ejectile corresponding to the Hoyle state, and the subsequent $\gamma$-ray cascade. In the main experiment of this work, a $\gamma$-decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state of $\Gamma_{\gamma}/\Gamma=4.0(4)\times 10^{-4}$ was determined, yielding a corresponding radiative branching ratio of $\Gamma_{\textrm{rad}}/\Gamma=4.1(4) \times 10^{-4}$, which is in agreement with several recent studies, as well as the previously adopted ENSDF average of $\Gamma_{\textrm{rad}}/\Gamma=4.16(11)\times 10^{-4}$. Aspects of the analysis performed by Kib\'edi et al. were verified in this work and the source of discrepancy between the results of this work and that of Kib\'edi et al. could not be determined. Further independent and innovative studies for the radiative width of the Hoyle state will substantiate whether the discrepant result by Kib\'edi et al. should be excluded from future evaluations.

The $g$ factors of $11/2^-$ isomers in semimagic $^{109}$Sn and $^{111}$Sn (isomeric lifetimes $\tau = 2.9(3)$ ns and $\tau = 14.4(7)$ ns, respectively) were measured by an extension of the Time Differential Perturbed Angular Distribution technique, which uses \LaBr detectors and the hyperfine fields of a gadolinium host to achieve precise measurements in a new regime of short-lived isomers. The results, $g(11/2^-; {^{109}\textrm{Sn}}) = -0.186(8)$ and $g(11/2^-; {^{111}\textrm{Sn}}) = -0.214(4)$, are significantly lower in magnitude than those of the $11/2^-$ isomers in the heavier isotopes and depart from the value expected for a near pure neutron $h_{11/2}$ configuration. Broken-symmetry density functional theory calculations applied to the sequence of $11/2^-$ states reproduce the magnitude and location of this deviation. The $g(11/2^-)$ values are affected by shape core polarization; the odd $0h_{11/2}$ neutron couples to $J^{\pi}=2^+,4^+,6^+...$ configurations in the weakly-deformed effective core, causing a decrease in the $g$-factor magnitudes., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Accepted in Physics Letters B

The only proposed observation of a discrete, hexacontatetrapole ($E6$) transition in nature occurs from the T$_{1/2}$ = 2.54(2)-minute decay of $^{53m}$Fe. However, there are conflicting claims concerning its $\gamma$-decay branching ratio, and a rigorous interrogation of $\gamma$-ray sum contributions is lacking. Experiments performed at the Australian Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility were used to study the decay of $^{53m}$Fe. For the first time, sum-coincidence contributions to the weak $E6$ and $M5$ decay branches have been firmly quantified using complementary experimental and computational methods. Agreement across the different approaches confirms the existence of the real $E6$ transition; the $M5$ branching ratio and transition rate have also been revised. Shell model calculations performed in the full $pf$ model space suggest that the effective proton charge for high-multipole, $E4$ and $E6$, transitions is quenched to approximately two-thirds of the collective $E2$ value. Correlations between nucleons may offer an explanation of this unexpected phenomenon, which is in stark contrast to the collective nature of lower-multipole, electric transitions observed in atomic nuclei., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Physical Review Letters

Isomers in $^{66}$Ga, $^{67}$Ge, and $^{69}$Ge were recoil-implanted into ferromagnetic hosts of iron and gadolinium at $\approx 6$~K, and the hyperfine magnetic fields were determined by Time Differential Perturbed Angular Distribution (TDPAD) measurements. The hyperfine field strengths at $\approx 6$~K are compared to the results of previous higher-temperature measurements and the amplitudes of the $R(t)$ functions are compared to empirical expectations. The results show that gadolinium can be a suitable host for high-precision in-beam $g$-factor measurements. The results of new $g$-factor measurements for isomers in $^{66}$Ga and $^{67}$Ge are $g(^{66}$Ga$,7^{-}) = +0.126(4)$, supporting a $[\pi_{f5/2} \otimes \nu g_{9/2}]_{7^-}$ configuration assignment, and $g(^{67}$Ge$,\frac{9}{2}^{+})=-0.1932(22)$, derived from a new measurement of the ratio $g(^{67}\mathrm{Ge})/g(^{69}\mathrm{Ge}) = 0.869(9)$. These values are in agreement with previous results. The $R(t)$ amplitudes indicate that the nuclear alignment produced in the isomeric states was significantly lower than the empirically expected $\sigma/I \approx 0.35$., Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures

The scintillation mechanism in NaI:Tl crystals produces different pulse shapes that are dependent on the incoming particle type. The time distribution of scintillation light from nuclear recoil events decays faster than for electron recoil events and this difference can be categorised using various Pulse Shape Discrimination (PSD) techniques. In this study, we measured nuclear and electron recoils in a NaI:Tl crystal, with electron equivalent energies between 2 and 40 keV. We report on a new PSD approach, based on an event-type likelihood; this outperforms the charge-weighted mean-time, which is the conventional metric for PSD in NaI:Tl. Furthermore, we show that a linear combination of the two methods improves the discrimination power at these energies., Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, 1 table

The electric monopole ($E0$) transition strength $\rho^2$ for the transition connecting the third 0$^+$ level, a "superdeformed" band head, to the "spherical" 0$^+$ ground state in doubly magic $^{40}$Ca has been determined via $e^+e^-$ pair-conversion spectroscopy. The measured value, $\rho^2(E0; 0^+_3 \to 0^+_1)~=~2.3(5)\times10^{-3}$, is the smallest $\rho^2(E0; 0^+ \to 0^+)$ found in $A<50$ nuclei. In contrast, the $E0$ transition strength to the ground state observed from the second 0$^+$ state, a band head of "normal" deformation, is an order of magnitude larger, $\rho^2(E0; 0^+_2 \to 0^+_1)~=~25.9(16)\times~10^{-3}$, which shows significant mixing between these two states. Large-Scale Shell Model (LSSM) calculations were performed to understand the microscopic structure of the excited states, and the configuration mixing between them; experimental $\rho^2$ values in $^{40}$Ca and neighboring isotopes were well reproduced by the LSSM calculations. The unusually small $\rho^2(E0; 0^+_3 \to 0^+_1)$ value is due to destructive interference in the mixing of shape-coexisting structures, which are based on several different multiparticle-multihole excitations. This observation goes beyond the usual treatment of $E0$ strengths, where two-state shape mixing cannot result in destructive interference.

We have performed measurements of sodium nuclear recoils in NaI:Tl crystals, following scattering by neutrons produced in a $^{7}$Li(p,n)$^{7}$Be reaction. Understanding the light output from such recoils, which is reduced relative to electrons of equivalent energy by the quenching factor, is critical to interpret dark matter experiments that search for nuclear scattering interactions. We have developed a spectrum-fitting methodology to extract the quenching factor from our measurements, and report quenching factors for nuclear recoil energies between 36 and 401 keV. Our results agree with other recent quenching factor measurements that use quasi-monoenergetic neutron sources. The new method will be applied in the future to the NaI:Tl crystals used in the SABRE experiment.

Stellar carbon synthesis occurs exclusively via the $3\alpha$ process, in which three $\alpha$ particles fuse to form $^{12}$C in the excited Hoyle state, followed by electromagnetic decay to the ground state. The Hoyle state is above the $\alpha$ threshold, and the rate of stellar carbon production depends on the radiative width of this state. The radiative width cannot be measured directly, and must instead be deduced by combining three separately measured quantities. One of these quantities is the $E0$ decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state, and the current $10$\% uncertainty on the radiative width stems mainly from the uncertainty on this ratio. The $E0$ branching ratio was deduced from a series of pair conversion measurements of the $E0$ and $E2$ transitions depopulating the $0^+_2$ Hoyle state and $2^+_1$ state in $^{12}$C, respectively. The excited states were populated by the $^{12}$C$(p,p^\prime)$ reaction at 10.5 MeV beam energy, and the pairs were detected with the electron-positron pair spectrometer, Super-e, at the Australian National University. The deduced branching ratio required knowledge of the proton population of the two states, as well as the alignment of the $2^+_1$ state in the reaction. For this purpose, proton scattering and $\gamma$-ray angular distribution experiments were also performed. An $E0$ branching ratio of $\Gamma^{E0}_{\pi}/\Gamma=8.2(5)\times10^{-6}$ was deduced in the current work, and an adopted value of $\Gamma^{E0}_{\pi}/\Gamma=7.6(4)\times10^{-6}$ is recommended based on a weighted average of previous literature values and the new result. The new recommended value for the $E0$ branching ratio is about 14% larger than the previous adopted value of $\Gamma^{E0}_{\pi}/\Gamma=6.7(6)\times10^{-6}$, while the uncertainty has been reduced from 9% to 5%., Comment: Accepted for publication as a Regular Article in Phys. Rev. C on July 29 2020

A new tabulation of electronic factors is reported for electron conversion for elements of Z from 5 to 126 and electronic factors for electron-positron pair conversion for elements of even Z from 4 to 100. The electronic factors for electron conversion, ${\Omega}_{CE}$(E0), were calculated using a modified version of the CATAR program developed by Pauli and Raff with a relativistic-Hartree-Fock-Slater approach (Pauli and Raff, 1975). The electronic factors for electron-positron pair conversion, ${\Omega}_{IPF}$(E0), were calculated using the model developed by Wilkinson (1969). The data tables presented here cover all atomic shells up to R2 and transition energies from 1 keV to 6000 keV and from 1100 keV to 8000 keV for pair conversion. A comparison with previous electronic factor tabulations is presented. Ratios of experimental {\Omega}(E0) values for 83 E0 transitions in 8$\leq$Z$\leq$98 are compared to this tabulation. Two examples of how to use the tabulation to extract E0 strengths are also included.

Transient-field $g$-factor measurements in inverse kinematics were performed for the first-excited states of the stable, even isotopes of Ge and Se. The $g$ factors of $^{74}$Ge and $^{74}$Se were measured simultaneously using a cocktail beam, which eliminates most possible sources of systematic error in a relative $g$-factor measurement. The results are $g(^{74}{\rm Se})/g(^{74}{\rm Ge})=1.34(7)$, $g(^{70}{\rm Ge})/g(^{74}{\rm Ge}) = 1.16(15)$, $g(^{72}{\rm Ge})/g(^{74}{\rm Ge})=0.92(13)$, $g(^{76}{\rm Ge})/g(^{74}{\rm Ge})=0.88(5)$, $g(^{76}{\rm Se})/g(^{74}{\rm Se})=0.96(7)$, $g(^{78}{\rm Se})/g(^{74}{\rm Se})=0.82(5)$, $g(^{80}{\rm Se})/g(^{74}{\rm Se})=0.99(7)$ and $g(^{82}{\rm Se})/g(^{74}{\rm Se})=1.19(6)$. The measured $g$-factor ratios are in agreement with ratios from previous measurements, despite considerable variation in previous reported absolute values. The absolute values of the $g$ factors remain uncertain, however the Rutgers parametrization was used to set the transient-field strength and then compare the experimental $g$ factors with shell-model calculations based on the JUN45 and jj44b interactions. Modest agreement was found between experiment and theory for both interactions. The shell model calculations indicate that the $g(2^+_1)$ values and trends are determined largely by the balance of the spin carried by orbital motion of the protons., Comment: 13 pages; 12 figures. Published as Phys. Rev. C 100, 044317 (2019). URL: https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevC.100.044317

The conversion electrons from the decay of the 35.5-keV excited state of 125Te following the electron capture decay of 125I have been investigated at high resolution using an electrostatic spectrometer. The penetration parameter lambda = -1.2(6) and mixing ratio |delta| = 0.015(2) were deduced by fitting to literature values and present data. The shake probability of the conversion electrons is estimated to be 0.5, more than two times larger than the predicted value of 0.2., Comment: Accepted for Physical Review C, 11 pages, 5 figures

The even cadmium isotopes near the neutron midshell have long been considered good examples of vibrational nuclei. However, the vibrational nature of these nuclei has been questioned based on E2 transition rates that are not consistent with vibrational excitations. In the neighbouring odd-mass nuclei, the g factors of the low-excitation collective states have been shown to be more consistent with a deformed rotational core than a vibrational core. Beyond the comparison of vibrational versus rotational models, recent advances in computational power have made shell-model calculations feasible for Cd isotopes, which may give insights into the emergence and nature of collectivity in the Cd isotopes. Collective excitations in the A ~ 100 region were studied through magnetic moments and electromagnetic transitions in 111Cd. The spectroscopy of 111Cd has been studied following Coulomb excitation. Angular correlation measurements, transient-field g-factor measurements and lifetime measurements by the Doppler-broadened line shape method were performed. The structure of the nucleus was explored in relation to particle-vibration versus particle-rotor interpretations. Large-scale shell-model calculations were performed with the SR88MHJM Hamiltonian. Excited-state g factors have been measured, spin assignments examined and lifetimes determined. Attention was given to the reported $5/2^{+}$ 753-keV and $3/2^{+}$ 755-keV states. The $3/2^{+}$ 755-keV level was not observed; evidence is presented that the reported $3/2^+$ state was a misidentification of the $5/2^{+}$ 753-keV state. It is shown that the g factors and level structure of 111Cd are not readily explained by the particle-vibration model. A particle-rotor approach has both successes and limitations. The shell-model approach successfully reproduces much of the known low-excitation structure in 111Cd.

The Time Differential Perturbed Angular Distribution technique with LaBr$_3$ detectors has been applied to the $I^\pi = \frac{11}{2}^-$ isomeric state ($E_x = 846$ keV, $\tau=107$~ns) in $^{107}$Cd, which was populated and recoil-implanted into a gadolinium host following the $^{98}$Mo($^{12}$C, $3n$)$^{107}$Cd reaction. The static hyperfine field strength of Cd recoil implanted into gadolinium was thus measured, together with the fraction of nuclei implanted into field-free sites, under similar conditions as pertained for a previous implantation perturbed angular distribution $g$-factor measurement on the $I^\pi = 10^+$ state in $^{110}$Cd. The $^{110}$Cd $g(10^+)$ value was thereby re-evaluated, bringing it into agreement with the value expected for a seniority-two $\nu h_{\frac{11}{2}}$ configuration.