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The electric quadrupole moment of $^{49}$Sc was measured by collinear laser spectroscopy at CERN-ISOLDE to be $Q_{\rm s}=-0.159(8)$ $e$b, and a nearly tenfold improvement in precision was reached for the electromagnetic moments of $^{47,49}$Sc. The single-particle behavior and nucleon-nucleon correlations are investigated with the electromagnetic moments of $Z=21$ isotopes and $N=28$ isotones as valence neutrons and protons fill the distinctive $0f_{7/2}$ orbit, respectively, located between magic numbers, 20 and 28. The experimental data are interpreted with shell-model calculations using an effective interaction, and ab-initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group calculations based on chiral interactions. These results highlight the sensitivity of nuclear electromagnetic moments to different types of nucleon-nucleon correlations, and establish an important benchmark for further developments of theoretical calculations., Comment: Accepted by Physics Letters B (2022)

13 pags., 7 figs., 3 tabs., A new β-decaying state in Bi214 has been identified at the ISOLDE Decay Station at the CERN-ISOLDE facility. A preferred Iπ=(8-) assignment was suggested for this state based on the β-decay feeding pattern to levels in Po214 and shell-model calculations. The half-life of the Iπ=(8-) state was deduced to be T1/2=9.39(10) min. The deexcitation of the levels populated in Po214 by the β decay of this state was investigated via γ-γ coincidences and a number of new levels and transitions was identified. Shell-model calculations for excited states in Bi214 and Po214 were performed using two different effective interactions: the H208 and the modified Kuo-Herling particle interaction. Both calculations agree on the interpretation of the new β-decaying state as an Iπ=8- isomer and allow for tentative assignment of shell-model states to several high-spin states in Po214., This work has been supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium), by GOA/2015/010 (BOF KU Leuven), the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme initiated by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BriX network P7/12), by the ENSAR2: European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 654002, by the U.K. Science and Technology Facilities Council, by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (Contract No. APVV-18-0268), by the Slovak grant agency VEGA (Contract No. 1/0651/21), by RFBR according to the research project N 19-02-00005, by the Romanian IFA Grant CERN/ISOLDE, by the Spanish Funding Agency (AEI) under the project PID2019-104390GB-I00, by the German BMBF under Grant No. 05P18PKCIA and by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación grant PID2019-104714GB-C21. M.S. acknowledges funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 771036 (ERC CoG MAIDEN).

Proton radioactivity was discovered exactly 50 years ago. First, this nuclear decay mode sets the limit of existence on the nuclear landscape on the neutron-deficient side. Second, it comprises fundamental aspects of both quantum tunnelling as well as the coupling of (quasi)bound quantum states with the continuum in mesoscopic systems such as the atomic nucleus. Theoretical approaches can start either from bound-state nuclear shell-model theory or from resonance scattering. Thus, proton-radioactivity guides merging these types of theoretical approaches, which is of broader relevance for any few-body quantum system. Here, we report experimental measurements of proton-emission branches from an isomeric state in 54mNi, which were visualized in four dimensions in a newly developed detector. We show that these decays, which carry an unusually high angular momentum, ℓ = 5 and ℓ = 7, respectively, can be approximated theoretically with a potential model for the proton barrier penetration and a shell-model calculation for the overlap of the initial and final wave functions., Proton radioactivity is useful for studying nuclear structure. Here the authors report two proton emission branches from the 10+ state isomer of 54mNi by using a time projection chamber.

Collinear laser spectroscopy of the N=Z=21 self-conjugate nucleus 42Sc has been performed at the JYFL IGISOL IV facility in order to determine the change in nuclear mean-square charge radius between the Iπ=0+ ground state and the Iπ=7+ isomer via the measurement of the 42g,42mSc isomer shift. New multi-configurational Dirac-Fock calculations for the atomic mass shift and field shift factors have enabled a recalibration of the charge radii of the 42−46Sc isotopes which were measured previously. While consistent with the treatment of proton-neutron, proton-proton and neutron-neutron pairing on an equal footing, the reduction in size for the isomer is observed to be of a significantly larger magnitude than that expected from both shell-model and ab-initio calculations. The measured nuclear magnetic dipole moment and electric quadruple moment, on the other hand, are in good agreement with simple empirical estimates and shell-model calculations. Collinear laser spectroscopy of the $N=Z=21$ self-conjugate nucleus $^{42}$Sc has been performed at the JYFL IGISOL IV facility in order to determine the change in nuclear mean-square charge radius between the $I^{\pi}=0^{+}$ ground state and the $I^{\pi}=7^{+}$ isomer via the measurement of the $^{42\mathrm{g},42\mathrm{m}}$Sc isomer shift. New multi-configurational Dirac-Fock calculations for the atomic mass shift and field shift factors have enabled a recalibration of the charge radii of the $^{42-46}$Sc isotopes which were measured previously. While consistent with the treatment of proton-neutron, proton-proton and neutron-neutron pairing on an equal footing, the reduction in size for the isomer is observed to be of a significantly larger magnitude than that expected from both shell model and ab-initio calculations.

The goal of the present paper is twofold. First, a novel expansion many-body method applicable to superfluid open-shell nuclei, the so-called Bogoliubov in-medium similarity renormalization group (BIMSRG) theory, is formulated. This generalization of standard single-reference IMSRG theory for closed-shell systems parallels the recent extensions of coupled cluster, self-consistent Green's function or many-body perturbation theory. Within the realm of IMSRG theories, BIMSRG provides an interesting alternative to the already existing multi-reference IMSRG (MR-IMSRG) method applicable to open-shell nuclei. The algebraic equations for low-order approximations, i.e., BIMSRG(1) and BIMSRG(2), can be derived manually without much difficulty. However, such a methodology becomes already impractical and error prone for the derivation of the BIMSRG(3) equations, which are eventually needed to reach high accuracy. Based on a diagrammatic formulation of BIMSRG theory, the second objective of the present paper is thus to describe the third version (v3.0.0) of the ADG code that automatically (1) generates all valid BIMSRG(n) diagrams and (2) evaluates their algebraic expressions in a matter of seconds. This is achieved in such a way that equations can easily be retrieved for both the flow equation and the Magnus expansion formulations of BIMSRG. Expanding on this work, the first future objective is to numerically implement BIMSRG(2) (eventually BIMSRG(3)) equations and perform ab initio calculations of mid-mass open-shell nuclei., 17 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, source code available at https://github.com/adgproject/adg

The low-lying excited states in the neutron-deficient N = Z + 1 nucleus (87)(43)Tcc(44) have been studied via the fusion-evaporation reaction Fe-54(Ar-36, 2n1p)Tc-87 at the Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL), France. The AGATA spectrometer was used in conjunction with the auxiliary NEDA, Neutron Wall, and DIAMANT detector arrays to measure coincident prompt gamma rays, neutrons, and charged particles emitted in the reaction. A level scheme of Tc-87 from the (9/2(g.s.)(+)) state to the (33/2(1)(+)) state was established based on six mutually coincident gamma-ray transitions. The constructed level structure exhibits a rotational behavior with a sharp backbending at (h) over bar omega approximate to 0.50 MeV. A decrease in alignment frequency and increase in alignment sharpness in the odd-mass isotonic chains around N = 44 is proposed as an effect of the enhanced isoscalar neutron-proton interactions in odd-mass nuclei when approaching the N = Z line. Swedish Research CouncilSwedish Research CouncilEuropean Commission [621-2014-5558, 2019-04880]; EU 7th Framework Programme, Integrating Activities Transnational Access [262010 ENSAR]; UK STFCUK Research & Innovation (UKRI)Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) [T/L005727/1, ST/P003885/1]; Polish National Science Centre [2017/25/B/ST2/01569, COPIN-IN2P3, COPIN-INFN]; National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary [K128947]; European Regional Development FundEuropean Commission [GINOP-2.3.3-15-2016-00034]; Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office -NKFIHNational Research, Development & Innovation Office (NRDIO) - Hungary [PD124717]; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion and Generalitat Valenciana, Spanish [SEV-2014-0398, FPA2017-84756-C4, PROMETEO/2019/005]; EU FEDER fundsEuropean Commission; China Scholarship CouncilChina Scholarship Council [201700260183] This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council under Grants No. 621-2014-5558 and No. 2019-04880, the EU 7th Framework Programme, Integrating Activities Transnational Access, Project No. 262010 ENSAR, the UK STFC under Grants No. ST/L005727/1 and No. ST/P003885/1, the Polish National Science Cen-tre, Grants No. 2017/25/B/ST2/01569, No. COPIN-INFN, No. COPIN-IN2P3, and No. COPIGAL projects, the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary (Project No. K128947), the European Regional Development Fund (Contract No. GINOP-2.3.3-15-2016-00034), the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office -NKFIH, Contract No. PD124717, the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion and Generalitat Valenciana, Spanish, under Grants No. SEV-2014-0398, No. FPA2017-84756-C4, and No. PROMETEO/2019/005 and by the EU FEDER funds. X.L. gratefully acknowledges support from the China Scholarship Council, Grant No. 201700260183 for his stay in Sweden. We thank the GANIL staff for excellent technical support and operation.

Ab initio calculations of bulk nuclear properties (ground-state energies, root mean square charge radii and charge density distributions) are presented for seven complete isotopic chains around calcium, from argon to chromium. Calculations are performed within the Gorkov self-consistent Green's function approach at second order and make use of two state-of-the-art two- plus three-nucleon Hamiltonians, $NN$+$3N\text{(lnl)}$ and NNLO$_{\text{sat}}$. An overall good agreement with available experimental data is found, in particular for differential energies (charge radii) when the former (latter) interaction is employed. Remarkably, neutron magic numbers $N=28,32,34$ emerge and evolve following experimental trends. In contrast, pairing gaps are systematically underestimated. General features of the isotopic dependence of charge radii are also reproduced, as well as charge density distributions. A deterioration of the theoretical description is observed for certain nuclei and ascribed to the inefficient account of (static) quadrupole correlation in the present many-body truncation scheme. In order to resolve these limitations, we advocate the extension of the formalism towards incorporating breaking of rotational symmetry or, alternatively, performing a stochastic sampling of the self-energy., 17 pages, 14 figures

AGATA Collaboration, New physics opportunities are opening up by the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array, AGATA, as it evolves to the full 4π instrument. AGATA is a high-resolution γ-ray spectrometer, solely built from highly segmented high-purity Ge detectors, capable of measuring γ rays from a few tens of keV to beyond 10 MeV, with unprecedented efficiency, excellent position resolution for individual γ-ray interactions, and very high count-rate capability. As a travelling detector AGATA will be employed at all major current and near-future European research facilities delivering stable and radioactive ion beams., The AGATA project has been supported by the European Structural Funds FSE FEDER, the Academy of Finland FIRI program, Finland, the Direction de Recherches Fondamentales of CEA, France, the Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules (IN2P3) of CNRS, France, the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Germany, the Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (ATOMKI), Hungary, the IstitutoNazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Italy, theNational Science Center (NCN), Poland, the Knut and AliceWallenberg foundation (Sweden), the Swedish Research Council, the Conselleria d’Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport, Generalitat Valenciana and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain, the Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Ara¸stirma Kurumu (TÜBITAK), Turkey, and the United Kingdom Research and Innovation – Science and Technology Facilities Council (UKRI-STFC).

International audience; We report on the first γ -ray spectroscopy of 51,53 K produced via the 52,54 Ca( p ,2 p ) reactions at ∼250 MeV/nucleon. Unambiguous final-state angular-momentum assignments were achieved for beam intensities down to few particles per second by using a new technique based on reaction vertex tracking combined with a thick liquid-hydrogen target. Through γ -ray spectroscopy and exclusive parallel momentum distribution analysis, 3/2 + ground states and 1/2 + first excited states in 51,53 K were established quantifying the natural ordering of the 1d3/2 and 2s1/2 proton-hole states that are restored at N = 32 and 34. State-of-the-art ab initio calculations and shell-model calculations with improved phenomenological effective interactions reproduce the present data and predict consistently the increase of the E (1/2 1+ ) - E (3/2 1+ ) energy differences towards N = 40.

Isomeric states in 128In and 130In have been studied with the JYFLTRAP Penning trap at the IGISOL facility. By employing state-of-the-art ion manipulation techniques, three different beta-decaying states in 128In and 130In have been separated and their masses measured. JYFLTRAP was also used to select the ions of interest for identification at a post-trap decay spectroscopy station. A new beta-decaying high-spin isomer feeding the isomer in 128Sn has been discovered in 128In at 1797.6(20) keV. Shell-model calculations employing a CD-Bonn potential re-normalized with the perturbative G-matrix approach suggest this new isomer to be a 16⁺ spin-trap isomer. In 130In, the lowest-lying (10⁻) isomeric state at 58.6(82) keV was resolved for the first time using the phase-imaging ion cyclotron resonance technique. The energy difference between the 10⁻ and 1⁻ states in 130In, stemming from parallel/antiparallel coupling of (π0g-19/2) ⊗ (v0h-111/2), has been found to be around 200 keV lower than predicted by the shell model. Precise information on the energies of the excited states determined in this work is crucial for producing new improved effective interactions for the nuclear shell model description of nuclei near 132Sn.

The structure of Si-34 was studied through gamma spectroscopy separately in the beta(-) decays of Mg-34 and Al-34 at the ISOLDE facility of CERN. Different configurations in Si-34 were populated independently from the two recently identified beta-decaying states in Al-34 having spin-parity assignments J(pi) = 4(-) dominated by the normal configuration pi(d(5/2))(-1) circle times nu(f(7/2)) and J(pi) = 1(+) by the intruder configuration pi(d(5/2))(-1) circle times nu(d(3/2))(-1) (f(7/2))(2). The paper reports on spectroscopic properties of Si-34 such as an extended level scheme, spin and parity assignments based on log(ft) values and gamma-ray branching ratios, absolute beta feeding intensities, and neutron emission probabilities. A total of 11 newly identified levels and 26 transitions were added to the previously known level scheme of Si-34. Large scale shell-model calculations using the SDPF-U-MIX interaction, able to treat higher order intruder configurations, are compared with the new results and conclusions are drawn concerning the predictive power of SDPF-U-MIX, the N = 20 shell gap, the level of mixing between normal and intruder configurations for the 0(1)(+), 0(2)(+), and 2(1)(+) states, and the absence of triaxial deformation in Si-3(4).

The first 2(+) and 3(-) states of the doubly magic nucleus Sn-132 are populated via safe Coulomb excitation employing the recently commissioned HIE-ISOLDE accelerator at CERN in conjunction with the highly efficient MINIBALL array. The Sn-132 ions are accelerated to an energy of 5.49 MeV/nucleon and impinged on a Pb-206 target. Deexciting gamma rays from the low-lying excited states of the target and the projectile are recorded in coincidence with scattered particles. The reduced transition strengths are determined for the transitions 0(g.s)(+) -> 2(1)(+), 0(g.s)(+) -> 3(1)(-), and 2(1)(+) -> 3(1)(-) in Sn-132. The results on these states provide crucial information on cross-shell configurations which are determined within large-scale shell-model and Monte Carlo shell-model calculations as well as from random-phase approximation and relativistic random-phase approximation. The locally enhanced B(E2; 0(g.s)(+) -> 2(1)(+)) strength is consistent with the microscopic description of the structure of the respective states within all theoretical approaches. The presented results of experiment and theory can be considered to be the first direct verification of the sphericity and double magicity of Sn-132.

We studied the temporal evolution of fractality for geomagnetic activity, by calculating fractal dimensions from the Dst data and from a magnetohydrodynamic shell model for turbulent magnetized plasma, which may be a useful model to study geomagnetic activity under solar wind forcing. We show that the shell model is able to reproduce the relationship between the fractal dimension and the occurrence of dissipative events, but only in a certain region of viscosity and resistivity values. We also present preliminary results of the application of these ideas to the study of the magnetic field time series in the solar wind during magnetic clouds, which suggest that it is possible, by means of the fractal dimension, to characterize the complexity of the magnetic cloud structure.

First results are reported on the ground state configurations of the neutron-rich $^{29,30}$Na isotopes, obtained via Coulomb dissociation (CD) measurements as a method of the direct probe. The invariant mass spectra of those nuclei have been obtained through measurement of the four-momentum of all decay products after Coulomb excitation on a $^{208}Pb$ target at energies of 400-430 MeV/nucleon using FRS-ALADIN-LAND setup at GSI, Darmstadt. Integrated Coulomb-dissociation cross-sections (CD) of 89 $(7)$ mb and 167 $(13)$ mb up to excitation energy of 10 MeV for one neutron removal from $^{29}$Na and $^{30}$Na respectively, have been extracted. The major part of one neutron removal, CD cross-sections of those nuclei populate core, in its' ground state. A comparison with the direct breakup model, suggests the predominant occupation of the valence neutron in the ground state of $^{29}$Na${(3/2^+)}$ and $^{30}$Na${(2^+)}$ is the $d$ orbital with small contribution in the $s$-orbital which are coupled with ground state of the core. The ground state configurations of these nuclei are as $^{28}$Na$_{gs (1^+)\otimes\nu_{s,d}$ and $^{29}$Na$_{gs}(3/2^+)\otimes\nu_{ s,d}$, respectively. The ground state spin and parity of these nuclei, obtained from this experiment are in agreement with earlier reported values. The spectroscopic factors for the valence neutron occupying the $s$ and $d$ orbitals for these nuclei in the ground state have been extracted and reported for the first time. A comparison of the experimental findings with the shell model calculation using MCSM suggests a lower limit of around 4.3 MeV of the sd-pf shell gap in $^{30}$Na., Comment: Modified version of the manuscript is accepted for publication in Journal of Physics G, Jan., 2017

P. J. Davies et al. -- 6 pags., 4 figs., 3 tabs.-- Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 4.0, The first evidence for β-delayed proton emission from the 16 spin gap isomer in Cd is presented. The data were obtained from the Rare Isotope Beam Factory, at the RIKEN Nishina Center, using the BigRIPS spectrometer and the EURICA decay station. βp branching ratios for the ground state and 16 isomer have been extracted along with more precise lifetimes for these states and the lifetime for the ground state decay of Cd. Large scale shell model (LSSM) calculations have been performed and WKB estimates made for ℓ=0,2,4 proton emission from three resonance-like states in Ag, that are populated by the β decay of the isomer, and the results compared to the new data. The calculations suggest that ℓ=2 proton emission from the resonance states, which reside ∼5 MeV above the proton separation energy, dominates the proton decay. The results highlight the importance of core-excited wavefunction components for the 16 state., This work was partially supported by the German BMBF grant 05P12PKFNE, the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council(STFC) grants ST/J000124/1 and ST/L005727/1, and the U.S. DOE grant DE-FG02-91ER40609.