Search

The 4He+4He inelastic scattering was experimentally investigated in an exclusive measurement at the MAGNEX facility of INFN - LNS, aiming at characterizing the 0+2 resonant state of 4He. Both the 4He+4He→4He+4He∗→4He+3H+p and 4He+4He→4He+4He∗→4He+3He+n configurations were measured together with an elastic scattering measurement in a wide angular range. In the present article, the experimental setup, the measurement and the data reduction are briefly described, pointing out the significance of an exclusive inelastic scattering measurement to suppress the background originating from other processes.

The properties of the Hoyle state in 12C (7.654 MeV, 0+) affect the rate at which carbon, one of the most abundant elements in the Universe, is forged in stars. Recent experiments reported values of its radiative decay branching ratio that are in tension, posing major implications especially in the astrophysical domain. This work reports on an almost background-free measurement of the radiative decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state that exploits charged particle coincidence techniques. The experiment adopts several methodologies to minimize the background and identify the rare signal associated with the radiative decay. Large care is devoted to having under full control two of the major sources of systematic errors in particle-coincidence experiments: the coincidence efficiency and the spurious coincidence rate. We find a radiative decay branching ratio of Γrad/Γtot = 4.2(6) · 10−4. The new finding helps to resolve the tension between recent data published in the literature.

The 4He(4He,4He)4He* inelastic scattering was revisited in a new coincidence measurement at the MAGNEX facility of Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare – Laboratori Nazionali del Sud. The 4He + 4He → 4He + 4He* → 4He + 3H + 1H and 4He + 4He → 4He + 4He* → 4He + 3He + n reactions were measured simultaneously by detecting the 4He particles at the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer in coincidence with the 3H and 3He at the OSCAR silicon telescope. The main concept of the experiment is described and the data reduction strategy is reported.

The αdecay path of the Hoyle state in 12C (Ex = 7:654MeV) represents one ofthe most challenging questions of modern nuclear physics. Its knowledge can help in theunderstanding of cluster configurations in light nuclei and the possible existence of Bose-Einstein condensates in nuclei. In stars, it is involved in the so-called 3αprocess, wherethe 12C nucleosynthesis occurs. We studied the 14N(d; α2)12C(7:654) reaction at 10:5MeVincident energy to probe its direct decay component. We found, with a precision higherof a factor 5 than any other previous experiment, an almost total absence of direct decaysby-passing the ground state of 8Be. From our analysis, a new upper limit of such decayis found at 0:043% (95% C.L.). Astrophysical 3α process reaction rate calculations haveto be accordingly revised.

The ASY-EOS experiment at GSI laboratory measured the direct and elliptic flow of neutrons and light charged particles in the reaction 197Au+197 Au at 400 A MeV incident energy. The ratio of elliptic flow of neutrons with respect to that of the light charged particles was used as main experimental observable to probe the density dependence of the symmetry energy term of the nuclear equation of state. Results, obtained by comparison of the experimental data with the UrQMD model predictions, strongly support a moderately soft to linear density dependence of the symmetry energy at suprasaturation densities below 2ρ0.

The Hoyle state in 12C(Ex = 7.654MeV) is characterized by a pronounced 3α cluster configuration. It is involved in the so-called 3α process in stars, that is responsible of 12C nucleosynthesis. We studied the decay path of the Hoyle state by using the 14N(d, α2)12C(7.654) reaction at 10.5MeV incident energy. We found, with a precision higher of a factor 5 than any other previous experiment, an almost total absence of direct decays by-passing the ground state of 8Be. A new upper limit of such a decay width is placed at 0.043% (95% C.L.). Astrophysical 3α process reaction rate calculations have to be consequently revised.

The results of the analysis of the reactions 78,86Kr +40,48 Ca at 10 AMeV are presented. The experiment was performed at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) in Catania by using the 4π multidetector CHIMERA, with beams delivered by the Superconductive Cyclotron. The competition among the various disintegration paths and in particular the isospin effects on the decay modes of the produced composite systems are investigated; this provides information about fundamental nuclear quantities such as level density, fission barrier and viscosity. Different isotopic composition and relative richness are observed among the reaction products of the two systems. An odd-even staggering effect is present in the charge distributions, in particular for the light fragments produced by the neutron-poor system. The kinematical characteristics of the IMF seem to indicate a high degree of the relaxation of the formed system. Besides, global features analysis seems to show some differences in the contribution arising from the various reaction mechanisms for the two reactions.

The study of the decay modes competition of the compound systems produced in the collisions 78Kr+40Ca and 86Kr+48Ca at 10AMeV is presented. In particular, the N/Z entrance channel influence on the decay paths of the compound systems, directly connected to the isospin influence, is investigated. The experiment was performed at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) in Catania by using the 4π multi-detector CHIMERA. Charge, mass, angular distributions and kinematical features of the reaction products were studied. The analysis shows some differences in the contribution arising from the various reaction mechanisms for the neutron poor and neutron rich systems. Comparison with theoretical statistical and dynamical models are presented for the two systems. Besides a study of the influence of the energy on the entrance channel is performed for the 78Kr+40Ca reaction, by comparing the results of this experiment to those obtained for the same system at 5.5 AMeV with the INDRA device at GANIL.

Two and multi particle correlations from the decay of sources produced in 12C+24Mg and 12C+208Pb collisions at E=35 AMeV have been studied by using the forward part (1° < θlab < 30°) of the CHIMERA multi-detector. Correlations and invariant mass spectroscopy are used to explore simultaneous and sequential decays of resonances in light isotopes with Z∼3-6, produced in peripheral collisions via the break-up of excited quasi-projectiles. Among them we mention 5Li, 6Li, 6Be, 8Be and the astrophysically important state in 12C decaying into three alpha particles. Results and future perspectives at the INFN-LNS will be presented.

The present status and the perspectives of the FAZIA project are presented. The main achievements in terms of identification thresholds and isotopic resolution are discussed, together with the adopted technical solutions. The detector is particularly well suited for the investigation of isospin transport phenomena at intermediate beam energies; perspectives to reduce the identification thresholds to cope with lower energy ISOL beams are briefly introduced. Some experimental results concerning isospin transport effects obtained with a test telescope are presented. The study of isospin transport phenomena can give information on the symmetry energy term of the nuclear equation of state by comparing the experimental results on isospin related observables with the predictions of transport codes.

Projectile break-up reactions induced on polyethylene (CH2) target are used in order to study the spectroscopy of 10Be and 16C nuclei. For the present experiment we used 10Be and 16C beams delivered by the FRIBs facility at INFN-LNS, and the CHIMERA 4π multi-detector. 10Be and 16C structures are studied via a relative energy analysis of break-up fragments. The 4He+6He break-up channel allowed us to study the spectroscopy of 10Be; in particular we find evidence of a new state in 10Be at 13.5 MeV excitation energy. The 16C nucleus is studied via 6He-10Be correlation; we find the fingerprint of a possible state at about 20.6 MeV

The binary break-up of projectile-like fragments in non central heavy-ion collisions follows different decay patterns, from equilibrated emission towards dynamical (prompt) fission. Recently, comparing two systems with different N/Z in the entrance channel, it has been shown that the dynamical emission cross-section is enhanced for the most neutron rich system while the statistical emission cross-section is independent from the isotopic composition. In order to understand this dependence and disentangle it from the initial size of the nuclei, we have studied the two isobaric systems 124Xe+64 Zn and 124Xe+64 Ni at 35 A MeV (InKiIsSy experiment), in comparison with the previous studied reactions (124Sn +64 Ni and 112Sn +58 Ni) at the same bombarding energy. We present the first results evidencing a striking similar effect in the dynamical decay as a function of the N/Z of the target for equal size systems.

We have recently evaluated the quality of γ-ray angular distributions that can be extracted in particle-gamma coincidence measurements using the CHIMERA detector at LNS. γ-rays have been detected using the CsI(Tl) detectors of the spherical part of the CHIMERA array. Very clean γ-rays angular distributions were extracted in reactions induced by different stable beams impinging on 12C thin targets. The results evidenced an effect of projectile spin flip on the γ-rays angular distributions. γ-particle coincidence measurements were also performed in reactions induced by neutron rich exotic beams produced through in-flight fragmentation at LNS. In recent experiments also the Farcos array was used to improve energy and angular resolution measurements of the detected charged particles. Results obtained with both stable and radioactive beams are reported.

We report preliminary results of a new measurement of the 10B(p,α0)7Be cross section in the 0.6 - 1.0 MeV bombarding energy domain. In this region very few data have been reported in the literature. Excitation functions at both forward and backward angles have been obtained. Angular distributions testify the contribution due to several excited states in the 11C compound nucleus. The experimental S-factor is about 30% lower than the one reported in the literature and based on activation methods.

The experimental investigation of Heavy Ion reactions at Fermi energies requires an accurate measurement of observables, such as linear momentum and energy of the detected particles. In order to address this problem, dedicated and flexible correlator arrays are useful tools to be coupled with 4π detectors. One of these arrays is FARCOS, presently under construction at the INFN Sezione di Catania and Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS).

The elliptic-flow ratio of neutrons with respect to protons or light complex particles in reactions of heavy ions at pre-relativistic energies has been proposed as an observable sensitive to the strength of the symmetry term of the nuclear equation of state at supra-saturation densities. In the ASY-EOS experiment at the GSI laboratory, flows of neutrons and light charged particles were measured for 197Au+197Au collisions at 400 MeV/nucleon. Flow results obtained for the Au+Au system, in comparison with predictions of the UrQMD transport model, confirm the moderately soft to linear density dependence of the symmetry energy deduced from the earlier FOPI-LAND data.

Nuclear matter under extreme conditions can be studied in the laboratory with heavy-ion collisions. In this case one can indeed vary the incident energy and explore different impact parameter and rapidity regions to access densities that extend above and below saturation. This opportunity allows one to learn about the nuclear equation of state and its implications in astrophysics phenomena such as supernovae explosions and neutron stars properties. All these phenomena involve time scales that need to be accessed with two- and multi-particle correlation measurements. In this contribution a brief report of the FARCOS array will be presented. In particular, tests with alpha sources and beams and preliminary results from a recent experiment INKIISSY performed using a FARCOS prototype made of four telescopes will be presented.

The elliptic-flow ratio of neutrons with respect to protons or light complex particles in reactions of heavy ions at pre-relativistic energies has been proposed as an observable sensitive to the strength of the symmetry term of the nuclear equation of state at supra-saturation densities. In the ASY-EOS experiment at the GSI laboratory, flows of neutrons and light charged particles were measured for 197Au+197Au, 96Zr+96Zr and 96Ru+96Ru collisions at 400 MeV/nucleon with the Large Area Neutron Detector LAND as part of a setup with several additional detection systems used for the event characterization. Flow results obtained for the Au+Au system, in comparison with predictions of the UrQMD transport model, confirm the moderately soft to linear density dependence of the symmetry energy deduced from the earlier FOPI-LAND data.

Relatively large yields of various exotic beams produced through in-flight fragmentation are available at LNS. Using the CHIMERA detector, we performed various experiments to study elastic and inelastic scattering, transfer, break-up, and reaction dynamics with targets from proton and deuteron to carbon and heavier. For reactions with relatively light systems we used the kinematical coincidence method to extract high resolution angular distributions of binary reactions from the measured light particle energy spectra. We also used the CsI detectors of CHIMERA to detect gamma rays emitted in the reactions. Some of most recent results are presented together with future perspectives with the coupling of CHIMERA with FARCOS array.

The systems 124Sn+64Ni and 112Sn+58Ni at 35 AMeV were analyzed in previous experiments, by using the 4π multi-detector CHIMERA in order to investigate the time-scale and mechanisms of fragments formation. By comparing the two systems, effects that have been correlated to Isospin transport in reaction dynamics and symmetry energy term of nuclear equation of state at sub-saturation density were found. Recently, in order to disentangle the Isospin effects from size effects the 124Xe+64Ni reaction was investigated at the same beam energy of 35 AMeV.

Experimental results concerning isospin transport phenomena and odd-even staggering in Z and N distributions are presented. Data refer to 84Kr+112,124Sn collisions at 35AMeV and they were collected with a high resolution FAZIA telescope, able to isotopically resolve ions up to Z ∼ 20. Evidences of isospin diffusion and drift obtained from the < N > /Z behaviour of the detected fragments are discussed. The odd-even staggering both in Z and N is compared with experimental data available in literature, finding that it shows a common trend in different reaction types.

Recent results of the INDRA collaboration are presented in this contribution. They concern the evolution of reaction dynamics from the first stage of the collision to the production of fragments. Different probes are used to evidence the stopping/transparency, collective flow and the symmetry energy term of the nuclear equation of state.

The elliptic-flow ratio of neutrons with respect to protons or light complex particles in reactions of heavy-ions at pre-relativistic energies has been proposed as an observable sensitive to the strength of the symmetry term of the nuclear equation of state at supra-saturation densities. The results obtained from the existing FOPI/LAND data for 197Au+197Au collisions at 400 MeV/nucleon in comparison with the UrQMD model simulations favoured a moderately soft symmetry term, but suffer from a considerable statistical uncertainty. These results have been confirmed by an independent analysis based on the Tübingen QMD simulations. 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. The present status of the data analysis is reported

The european Fazia collaboration aims at building a new modular array for charged product identification to be employed for heavy-ion studies. The elementary module of the array is a Silicon-Silicon-CsI telescope, optimized for ion identification including pulse shape analysis, too. The achievement of top performances imposes specific electronics which has been developed by the FAZIA collaboration and includes high quality charge and current preamplifiers, coupled to fully digital front-end. During the initial R&D phase, original and novel solutions have been tested in prototypes, obtaining unprecedented ion identification capabilities. FAZIA is now constructing a demonstrator array consisting of about two hundreds telescopes arranged in a compact and transportable configuration. In this contribution, we mainly summarize some aspects studied by FAZIA to improve the ion identification. Then we will briefly discuss the FAZIA program focused on experiments to be done with the demonstrator. First results on the isospin dynamics obtained with a reduced set-up demonstrate well the performance of the telescope and represent a good starting point towards future investigations with both stable and exotic beams.

Isospin transport phenomena in dissipative heavy ion collisions have been investigated at Fermi energies with a beam of 84Kr at 35AMeV. A comparison of the 〈N〉/Z of light and medium products forward-emitted in the centre of mass frame when the beam impinges on two different targets, the n-poor 112Sn and the n-rich 124Sn, is presented. Data were collected by means of a three-layer telescope with very good performances in terms of mass identification (full isotopic resolution up to Z ~ 20 for ions punching through the first detector layer) built by the FAZIA Collaboration and located just beyond the grazing angle for both reactions. The 〈N〉/Z of the products detected when the n-rich target is used is always higher than that associated to the n-poor one; since the detector was able to measure only fragments coming from the QuasiProjectile decay and/or neck emission, the observed behaviour can be ascribed to the isospin diffusion process, driven by the isospin gradient between QuasiProjectile and QuasiTarget. Moreover, for light fragments the 〈N〉/Z as a function of the lab velocity of the fragment is observed to increase when we move from the QuasiProjectile velocity to the centre of mass (neck zone). This effect can be interpreted as an evidence of isospin drift driven by the density gradient between the QuasiProjectile zone (at normal density) and the more diluted neck zone.

Semi-peripheral collisions of 64Ni + 124Sn in direct and inverse kinematics, at 35 A MeV incident energy, are studied to characterize the dynamical origin and align-ments properties of fragments emission at midrapidity. This emission is partly due to the fragmentation of a transient neck joining the projectile and target in the early stages of the reaction. Recently we exploited observable from neck fragmentation to constraint the density dependence of the symmetry energy. In this contribution we focus on the density evolution of the mid-rapidity source. An experimental survey is suggested to check if data are consistent with the formation of neck fragments in a dilute density region in contact with the projectile-like and target-like spectators at normal saturation density.

Decay modes of excited compound systems 118Ba and 134Ba, produced respectively in the 78Kr+40Ca and 86Kr+48Ca collisions at 10 A·MeV, are investigated. In particular, the competition between the various disintegration path of medium mass compound nuclei, formed by fusion processes, the production of the so referred Intermediate Mass Fragments (IMF), and the isospin dependence of the decay process are studied. Data were taken at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) by using the CHIMERA array. Data analysis is in progress; a first indication on the average-energy angular distributions suggests pre-equilibrium effects affecting the data and the presence of isotopical effects.

The elliptic-flow ratio of neutrons with respect to protons in reactions of neutron rich Heavy-Ion at intermediate energies has been recently 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 197Au+197Au 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.

Correlations between two or more particles can be used as a tool to explore the space-time features of nuclear reactions as well as spectroscopic properties of produced unbound clusters. In order to have new options to study the mentioned correlations, FARCOS (Femtoscope ARray for COrrelations and Spectroscopy) has been conceived as a compact high resolution array, composed of square telescopes. In this work the main features of FARCOS array as well as part of the physics cases are described.

The recent intensity upgrade of the LNS fragmentation beam is discussed. The available beams, the tagging procedures and details on the beam quality are reported. The experimental program started with the CHIMERA detector using such beams is also discussed with preliminary results and future perspectives.

Effects related to the neutron to proton ratio (N/Z) degree of freedom in 40,48Ca+40,48Ca reactions at 25 MeV/nucleon have been investigated. Isotopic effect and even-odd staggering characterize the emission of light fragments at forward angles. The study of isobaric ratio 7Li/7Be for quasi-projectile source in semi-peripheral event of reactions allows moreover to investigate isospin diffusion effects in heavy ion collisions.

Preliminary outcome of ISODEC experiment, performed at INFNLNS with the CHIMERA array, are presented. Disintegration path dependence on the entrance-channel N/Z ratios (isospin asymmetries) for the reactions 78Kr+40Ca and 86Kr+48Ca at 10 A·MeV, which give origin to the intermediate systems 118Ba and 134Ba, is being investigated. Staggering effects seem to be present as it was the case of a complementary measurement performed at GANIL at lower energy, i.e. 78,82Kr+40Ca at 5.5 A·MeV.

Dynamical breakup of projectile-like fragments (PLF) following dissipative reactions of 48 Ca projectiles with 112 Sn and 124 Sn is shown to exhibit “isoscaling” regularities that can be understood in terms of phase space governed by ground state masses. Ambiguities in isoscaling parameters obscure information on nuclear symmetry energy at subnormal densities.

The first results of the ISODEC experiment, performed at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) by using the CHIMERA detector, are presented. The principal aim of this experiment is to explore the isospin dependence of the decay modes of medium mass compound nuclei formed by fusion processes, by studying the competition between the various disintegration modes of 118,134Ba nuclei produced in the reactions 78Kr+40Ca and 86Kr+48Ca at 10 AMeV. The studied systems allow in fact to produce compound nuclei with a large variation of N/Z, and such data will also provide new constraint on sophisticated models attempting to describe statistical and/or dynamical properties of excited nuclei. The experiment complements data already obtained at 5.5 AMeV for 78,82Kr+40Ca reactions, previously realized at GANIL by using the INDRA detector. First results show a strong staggering effects in the Z distributions, as well as different isotopic composition and enrichment for the reaction products in the two systems.

The cross section, kinetic energy distribution and angular distribution of fragments with atomic number 3 ≤ Z ≤ 28 emitted in the reaction 78Kr + 40Ca at the bombarding energy of 5.5 MeV/nucleon and coincidence between light charged particles and fragments were measured by means of the 4π-INDRA array to study the decay mechanism of medium mass excited nucleus. Global features indicate a high degree of relaxation and are compatible with a binary fission from compound nucleus. The mean value of the kinetic energy distributions of fragments indicates dominance of Coulomb interaction, while the width of the distribution signals large fluctuations. Inclusive cross-section distributions of fragments with charge 3 ≤ Z ≤ 28 are bell-shaped and a strong even-odd-staggering (o-es) is observed for 3 ≤ Z ≤ 12. Coincidence measurements suggest that the light partners in very asymmetric fission are emitted at excitation energies below the particle emission thresholds. Data were confronted to the predictions of statistical model describing the decay of compound nuclei by emission of light particles and fragments. Calculations assuming spherical fission fragments and finite-range liquid drop fission barriers are not able to explain the experimental features. Attempts have been made to improve the agreement with experimental data. The analysis indicates the strong influence of the shape parameterization of the potential energy surface in describing the fission process of intermediate mass compound nuclei.

We will discuss results concerning the fate of hot nuclear systems populated in 40,48Ca+40,48Ca reactions at 25 MeV/nucleon. Due to the complexity of events, we used the Chimera 4π device as detection system. By selecting central events of reaction, we found that the interplay between binary-like and evaporation residue emissions is strongly sensitive on the N/Z of the entrance channels. In particular, evaporation residue emission increases at increasing the neutron content of colliding system. By comparing or data with CoMD-II model calculations, we can extract information about the density depend part of Symmetry Potential in the Nuclear Equation of State at near-saturation densities.

We present the first results of the ISODEC experiment, performed at the INFN-LNS with the CHIMERA device, in order to study the competition between the various disintegration modes of 118,134Ba compound nuclei produced by bombarding 40,48Ca targets with beams of 78,86Kr at 10 AMeV. This work aims thus to explore the isospin dependence of the decay modes of medium mass compound nuclei formed by fusion processes. The experiment complements data already obtained at 5.5 MeV/A for 78,82Kr+40Ca reactions, studied by Ademard et al. with beams delivered by GANIL facility and by using the INDRA detector.

Decay modes of excited nuclei are studied in 78,82Kr + 40Ca reactions at 5.5 MeV/nucleon by means of light-charged particles measured in coincidence with intermediate mass fragments and fission-like fragments. Inclusive cross-section distributions of fragments with charge 3 ≤ Z ≤ 28 are bell-shaped and a strong oddeven-staggering (o-e-s) is observed for 3 ≤ Z ≤ 12. Coincidence measurements suggest that the light partners in very asymmetric fission are emitted at excitation energies below the particle emission thresholds. Data were confronted to the predictions of statistical models describing the decay of compound nuclei by emission of light particles and fragments. Comparison with models suggests that the o-e-s of the light-fragment yields is mainly due to the successive steps of compound nucleus disintegration.