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Experimental information on fragment emissions is important in understanding the dynamics of nuclear collisions and in the development of transport model simulating heavy-ion collisions. The composition of complex fragments emitted in the heavy-ion collisions can be explained by statistical models, which assume that thermal equilibrium is achieved at collision energies below 100 MeV/u. Our new experimental data together with theoretical analyses for light particles from Sn+Sn collisions at 270 MeV/u, suggest that the hypothesis of thermal equilibrium breaks down for particles emitted with high transfer momentum. To inspect the system's properties in such limit, the scaling features of the yield ratios of particles from two systems, a neutron-rich system of ${}^{132}\mathrm{Sn}+{}^{124}\mathrm{Sn}$ and a nearly symmetric system of ${}^{108}\mathrm{Sn}+{}^{112}\mathrm{Sn}$, are examined in the framework of the statistical multifragmentation model and the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics model. The isoscaling from low energy particles agree with both models. However the observed breakdown of isoscaling for particles with high transverse momentum cannot be explained by the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics model.

A challenge preventing successful inverse kinematics measurements with heavy nuclei that are not fully stripped is identifying and tagging the beam particles. For this purpose, the HEavy ISotope Tagger (HEIST) has been developed. HEIST utilizes two micro-channel plate timing detectors to measure time of flight, a multi-sampling ion chamber to measure energy loss, and a high purity Ge detector to identify isomer decays and calibrate the isotope identification system. HEIST has successfully identified $^{198}$Pb and other nearby nuclei at energies of about 75 MeV/A. In the experiment discussed, a typical cut containing 89\% of all $^{198}$Pb$^{+80}$ in the beam had a purity of 86\%. We examine the issues of charge state contamination. The observed charge state populations of these ions are presented and are moderately well described by the charge state model GLOBAL., Comment: The following article has been submitted to Review of Scientific Instruments

^{18}Mg was observed, for the first time, by the invariant-mass reconstruction of ^{14}O+4p events. The ground-state decay energy and width are E_{T}=4.865(34) MeV and Γ=115(100) keV, respectively. The observed momentum correlations between the five particles are consistent with two sequential steps of prompt 2p decay passing through the ground state of ^{16}Ne. The invariant-mass spectrum also provides evidence for an excited state at an excitation energy of 1.84(14) MeV, which is likely the first excited 2^{+} state. As this energy exceeds that for the 2^{+} state in ^{20}Mg, this observation provides an argument for the demise of the N=8 shell closure in nuclei far from stability. However, in open systems this classical argument for shell strength is compromised by Thomas-Ehrman shifts.

A discrepancy in the asymmetry dependence of spectroscopic factors extracted with different reaction probes calls into question whether the corresponding reaction models are properly understood. In this work, we present extracted spectroscopic factors from the Ar 46 , 34 ( p , d ) Ar 45 , 33 transfer reactions in inverse kinematics at a beam energy of 70 MeV/nucleon. The results are consistent with previous measurements of these reactions at a lower beam energy [Lee et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 112701 (2010)], indicating that the transfer reaction is a reliable probe for the nuclear structure of exotic nuclei across a wide energy range. Results from a large body of transfer reaction measurements, ( p , p N ) measurements, and theoretical nuclear structure studies make a compelling case for much weaker asymmetry dependence than what is observed with single-nucleon knockout reactions on beryllium or carbon targets.

The binary neutron-star merger event, GW170817, has cast a new light on nuclear physics research. Using a neutron-star model that includes a crust equation of state (EoS), we calculate the properties of a 1.4 solar-mass neutron star. The model incorporates more than 200 Skyrme energy density functionals, which describe nuclear matter properties, in the outer liquid core region of the neutron star. We find a power-law relation between the neutron-star tidal deformability, Λ, and the neutron-star radius, R. Without an explicit crust EoS, the model predicts a smaller R and the difference becomes significant for stars with large radii. To connect the neutron star properties with nuclear matter properties, we confront the predicted values for Λ against the Taylor expansion coefficients of the Skyrme interactions. There is no pronounced correlation between Skyrme parameters relevant to symmetric nuclear matter and neutron star properties. However, we find the strongest correlation between Λ and Ksym, the curvature of the density dependence of the symmetry energy at saturation density. At twice the saturation density, our calculations show a strong correlation between Λ and total pressure, providing guidance to laboratory nucleus-nucleus collision experiments. Keywords: Equation of state, Neutron star merger, Skyrme interactions, Tidal polarizability

The LIGO-Virgo collaboration detection of the binary neutron-star merger event, GW170817, has expanded efforts to understand the Equation of State (EoS) of nuclear matter. These measurements provide new constraints on the overall pressure, but do not elucidate its origins, by not distinguishing the contribution to the pressure from symmetry energy which governs much of the internal structure of a neutron star. By combining the neutron star EoS extracted from the GW170817 event and the EoS of symmetric matter from nucleus-nucleus collision experiments, we extract the symmetry pressure, which is the difference in pressure between neutron and nuclear matter over the density region from 1.2$\rho_{0}$ to $4.5\rho_{0}$. While the uncertainties in the symmetry pressure are large, they can be reduced with new experimental and astrophysical results., Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1901.07673

International audience; The light output produced by light ions ( Z≤4 ) in CsI(Tl) crystals is studied over a wide range of detected energies ( E≤300MeV ). 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 40,48 Ca + CH 2 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 40,48 Ca + 58,64 Ni, 112,124 Sn collisions reactions at 139.8 MeV/u. Non-linearities, arising in particular from Tl doping and light collection effects 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.

A ^{13}F resonance was observed following a charge-exchange reaction between a fast ^{13}O beam and a ^{9}Be target. The resonance was found in the invariant-mass distribution of 3p+^{10}C events and probably corresponds to a 5/2^{+} excited state. The ground state was also expected to be populated, but was not resolved from the background. The observed level decays via initial proton emissions to both the ground and first 2^{+} state of ^{12}O, which subsequently undergo 2p decay. In addition, there may also be a significant proton decay branch to the second 2^{+} level in ^{12}O. The wave function associated with the observed level may be collectivized due to coupling to the continuum as is it located just above the threshold for proton decay to the 2_{2}^{+} state of ^{12}O.

To efficiently detect energetic light charged particles, it is common to use arrays of energy-loss telescopes involving two or more layers of detection media. As the energy of the particles increases, thicker layers are usually needed. However, carrying out measurements with thick-telescopes may require corrections for the losses due to nuclear reactions induced by the incident particles on nuclei within the detector and for the scattering of incident particles out of the detector, without depositing their full energy in the active material. In this paper, we develop a method for measuring such corrections and determine the reaction and out-scattering losses for data measured with the silicon-CsI(Tl) telescopes of the newly developed HiRA10 array. The extracted efficiencies are in good agreement with model predictions using the GEANT4 reaction loss algorithm for Z=1 and Z=2 isotopes. After correcting for the HiRA10 geometry, a general function that describes the efficiencies from the reaction loss in CsI(Tl) crystals as a function of range is obtained., 9 pages, 9 figures

Many neutron star (NS) properties, such as the proton fraction within a NS, reflect the symmetry energy contributions to the Equation of State that dominate when neutron and proton densities differ strongly. To constrain these contributions at supra-saturation densities, we measure the spectra of charged pions produced by colliding rare isotope tin (Sn) beams with isotopically enriched Sn targets. Using ratios of the charged pion spectra measured at high transverse momenta, we deduce the slope of the symmetry energy to be $42 < L < 117$ MeV. This value is slightly lower but consistent with the $L$ values deduced from a recent measurement of the neutron skin thickness of $^{208}$Pb.

Physics letters / B 822, 136681 (2021). doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2021.136681, Published by North-Holland Publ., Amsterdam

A ^{13}F resonance was observed following a charge-exchange reaction between a fast ^{13}O beam and a ^{9}Be target. The resonance was found in the invariant-mass distribution of 3p+^{10}C events and probably corresponds to a 5/2^{+} excited state. The ground state was also expected to be populated, but was not resolved from the background. The observed level decays via initial proton emissions to both the ground and first 2^{+} state of ^{12}O, which subsequently undergo 2p decay. In addition, there may also be a significant proton decay branch to the second 2^{+} level in ^{12}O. The wave function associated with the observed level may be collectivized due to coupling to the continuum as is it located just above the threshold for proton decay to the 2_{2}^{+} state of ^{12}O.

The invariant-mass distribution of $^{11}\mathrm{O}$ fragments formed in two-neutron-knockout reactions with a $^{13}\mathrm{O}$ projectile and $^{9}\mathrm{Be}$ target has been further examined. Gating on events where the $^{9}\mathrm{C}$ decay fragments produced following $2p$ emission are recoiled transversely in the projectile's frame improves the overall invariant-mass resolution. The observed peak is now shown to have contributions from at least two $^{11}\mathrm{O}$ levels, in contradiction with the suggestion of Fortune [Phys. Rev. C 99, 051302(R) (2019)]. The data, however, do not differentiate between the ground-state properties obtained by the Gamow coupled-channels calculation and the prompt $2p$-decay model of Fortune. The ground-state $2p$-decay energy is 4.25(6) MeV in a two-level fit to the data, but lower values are possible if more states contribute to the observed spectrum, as suggested in the previous analysis.

Using the waveforms from a digital electronic system, an offline analysis technique on pulse shape discrimination (PSD) has been developed to improve the neutron-gamma separation in a bar-shaped NE-213 scintillator that couples to a photomultiplier tube (PMT) at each end. The new improved method, called the ``valued-assigned PSD'' (VPSD), assigns a normalized fitting residual to every waveform as the PSD value. This procedure then facilitates the incorporation of longitudinal position dependence of the scintillator, which further enhances the PSD capability of the detector system. In this paper, we use radiation emitted from an AmBe neutron source to demonstrate that the resulting neutron-gamma identification has been much improved when compared to the traditional technique that uses the geometric mean of light outputs from both PMTs. The new method has also been modified and applied to a recent experiment at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) that uses an analog electronic system., 8 pages, 8 figures

In this paper, we present a software framework, S$\pi$RITROOT, which is capable of track reconstruction and analysis of heavy-ion collision events recorded with the S$\pi$RIT time projection chamber. The track-fitting toolkit GENFIT and the vertex reconstruction toolkit RAVE are applied to a box-type detector system. A pattern recognition algorithm which performs helix track finding and handles overlapping pulses is described. The performance of the software is investigated using experimental data obtained at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Facility (RIBF) at RIKEN. This work focuses on data from $^{132}$Sn + $^{124}$Sn collision events with beam energy of 270 AMeV. Particle identification is established using $\left$ and magnetic rigidity, with pions, hydrogen isotopes, and helium isotopes., Comment: 10 pages, 17 figures

Cosmic muons are used to calibrate the position, light output and the relative timing offset of the Large Area Neutron Array (LANA). Each 2 × 2 m 2 LANA wall consists of twenty-five horizontal neutron detection bars. Each bar is 2 m long with a cross-section of 6 . 35 × 7 . 62 cm 2 Pyrex container filled with NE-213 organic scintillation liquid. The average position and time resolution of a bar is found to be about 8 cm and 500 ps FWHM, respectively. Our method provides an accurate, fast and convenient calibration of LANA that can be applied to general scintillation arrays without the use of radioactive sources or beams.

We use a Bayesian inference analysis to explore the sensitivity of Taylor expansion parameters of the nuclear equation of state (EOS) to the neutron star dimensionless tidal deformability ($\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$) on 1- to 2-solar-mass neutron stars. A global power law dependence between tidal deformability and the compactness parameter ($M/R$) is verified over this mass region. To avoid superfluous correlations between the expansion parameters, we use a correlation-free EOS model based on a recently published metamodeling approach. We find that assumptions in the prior distribution strongly influence the constraints on $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$. The $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ constraints obtained from the neutron star merger event GW170817 prefer low values of ${L}_{\text{sym}}$ and ${K}_{\text{sym}}$, for a canonical neutron star with 1.4 solar masses. For a neutron star with mass $l1.6$ solar masses, ${L}_{\text{sym}}$ and ${K}_{\text{sym}}$ are highly correlated with the tidal deformability. For more massive neutron stars, the tidal deformability is more strongly correlated with higher order Taylor expansion parameters.

The Active-Target Time Projection Chamber (AT-TPC) was recently built and commissioned at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. This gas-filled detector uses an active-target design where the gas acts as both the tracking medium and the reaction target. Operating inside a 2T solenoidal magnetic field, the AT-TPC records charged particle tracks that can be reconstructed to very good energy and angular resolutions. The near- 4 π solid angle coverage and thick target of the detector are well-suited to experiments with low secondary beam intensities. In this paper, the design and instrumentation of theAT-TPC are described along with the methods used to analyze the data it produces. A simulation of the detector’s performance and some results from its commissioning with a radioactive 46 Ar beam are also presented.

This white paper informs the nuclear astrophysics community and funding agencies about the scientific directions and priorities of the field and provides input from this community for the 2015 Nuclear Science Long Range Plan. It summarizes the outcome of the nuclear astrophysics town meeting that was held on August 21–23, 2014 in College Station at the campus of Texas A&M University in preparation of the NSAC Nuclear Science Long Range Plan. It also reflects the outcome of an earlier town meeting of the nuclear astrophysics community organized by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) on October 9–10, 2012 Detroit, Michigan, with the purpose of developing a vision for nuclear astrophysics in light of the recent NRC decadal surveys in nuclear physics (NP2010) and astronomy (ASTRO2010). The white paper is furthermore informed by the town meeting of the Association of Research at University Nuclear Accelerators (ARUNA) that took place at the University of Notre Dame on June 12–13, 2014. In summary we find that nuclear astrophysics is a modern and vibrant field addressing fundamental science questions at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics. These questions relate to the origin of the elements, the nuclear engines that drive life and death of stars, and the properties of dense matter. A broad range of nuclear accelerator facilities, astronomical observatories, theory efforts, and computational capabilities are needed. With the developments outlined in this white paper, answers to long standing key questions are well within reach in the coming decade.

Excited states in $^{14}$O have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Experimentally, these states were produced via neutron-knockout reactions with a fast $^{15}$O beam and the invariant-mass technique was employed to isolate the 1$p$ and 2$p$ decay channels and determine their branching ratios. The spectrum of excited states was also calculated with the Shell Model Embedded in the Continuum that treats bound and scattering states in a unified model. By comparing energies, widths and decay branching patterns, spin and parity assignments for all experimentally observed levels below 8 MeV are made. This includes the location of the second 2$^{+}$ state that we find is in near degeneracy with the third 0$^{+}$ state. An interesting case of sequential 2$p$ decay through a pair of degenerate $^{13}$N excited states with opposite parities was found where the interference between the two sequential decay pathways produces an unusual relative-angle distribution between the emitted protons., 19 pages, 20 figures

Efficiency corrected single ratios of neutron and proton spectra in central Sn112+112Sn and Sn124+124Sn collisions at 120 MeV/u are combined with double ratios to provide constraints on the density and momentum dependencies of the isovector mean-field potential. Bayesian analyses of these data reveal that the isoscalar and isovector nucleon effective masses, ms⁎−mv⁎ are strongly correlated. The linear correlation observed in ms⁎−mv⁎ yields a nearly independent constraint on the effective mass splitting Δmnp⁎=(mn⁎−mp⁎)/mN=−0.05−0.09+0.09δ. The correlated constraint on the standard symmetry energy, S0 and the slope, L at saturation density yields the values of symmetry energy S(ρs)=16.8−1.2+1.2 MeV at a sensitive density of ρs/ρ0=0.43−0.05+0.05.

We use properties of doubly-magic nuclei, ab-initio calculations of low-density neutron matter, and of neutron stars to constrain the parameters of the Skyrme energy-density functional. We find all of these properties can be reproduced within a constrained family of Skyrme parameters. The maximum mass of a neutron star is found to be sensitive to the neutron effective mass. A value of [$ m^{*}_{\rm n}/m](\rho_0) = 0.60-0.65 $ is required to obtain a maximum neutron star mass of 2.1 solar masses. Using the constrained Skyrme functional with the aforementioned effective mass, the predicted radius for a neutron star of 1.4 solar masses is 12.4(1) km and $\Lambda$ = 423(40).

Neutron-transfer reactions with fast secondary beams of $^{17}\mathrm{Ne}, ^{15}\mathrm{O}$, and $^{9}\mathrm{C}$ have been studied with the HiRA and CAESAR arrays. Excited states of $^{18}\mathrm{Ne}, ^{16}\mathrm{O}$, and $^{10}\mathrm{C}$ in the continuum have been identified using invariant-mass spectroscopy. The best experimental resolution of these states is achieved by selecting events where the decay fragments are emitted transverse to the beam direction. We have confirmed a number of spin assignments made in previous works for the negative-parity states of $^{18}\mathrm{Ne}$. In addition we have found new higher-lying excited states in $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ and $^{18}\mathrm{Ne}$, some of which fission into two ground-state $^{8}\mathrm{Be}$ fragments. Finally for $^{10}\mathrm{C}$, a new excited state was observed. These transfer reactions were found to leave the remnant of the $^{9}\mathrm{Be}$ target nuclei at very high excitation energies and may be associated with the pickup of a deeply bound $^{9}\mathrm{Be}$ neutron.

The structure of the extremely proton-rich nucleus _{8}^{11}O_{3}, the mirror of the two-neutron halo nucleus _{3}^{11}Li_{8}, has been studied experimentally for the first time. Following two-neutron knockout reactions with a ^{13}O beam, the ^{11}O decay products were detected after two-proton emission and used to construct an invariant-mass spectrum. A broad peak of width ∼3.4 MeV was observed. Within the Gamow coupled-channel approach, it was concluded that this peak is a multiplet with contributions from the four lowest ^{11}O resonant states: J^{π}=3/2_{1}^{-}, 3/2_{2}^{-}, 5/2_{1}^{+}, and 5/2_{2}^{+}. The widths and configurations of these states show strong, nonmonotonic dependencies on the depth of the p-^{9}C potential. This unusual behavior is due to the presence of a broad threshold resonant state in ^{10}N, which is an analog of the virtual state in ^{10}Li in the presence of the Coulomb potential. After optimizing the model to the data, only a moderate isospin asymmetry between ground states of ^{11}O and ^{11}Li was found.

The total fusion excitation function for 10 Be+ 40 Ar has been measured over the center-of-momentum (c.m.) energy range from 12 to 24 MeV using a time-projection chamber (TPC). The main purpose of this experiment, which was carried out in a single run of duration 90 h using a ≈100 particle per second (pps) 10 Be beam, was to demonstrate the capability of an active-target TPC to determine fusion excitation functions for extremely weak radioactive ion beams. Cross sections as low as 12 mb were measured with acceptable (50%) statistical accuracy. It also proved to be possible to separate events in which charged particles were emitted from the fusion residue from those in which only neutrons were evaporated. The method permits simultaneous measurement of incomplete fusion, break-up, scattering, and transfer reactions, and therefore fully exploits the opportunities presented by the very exotic beams that will be available from the new generation of radioactive beam facilities.

The SπRIT Time Projection Chamber (TPC) was constructed at Michigan State University in the U.S.A. and transported to the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN in Japan. In October 2015, the SπRIT TPC was commissioned with 200 AMeV 79Se beams outside the SAMURAI dipole magnet. The experimental setup consists of the SπRIT TPC, a Multiplicity Trigger Array, a KATANA array, and a Active Veto array. The TPC is fully equipped with a newly-developed read-out electronics system, GET electronics. The trigger logic to select events of the TPC based on the ancillary detectors was tested. The analysis software, SpiRITROOT, was developed to analyze the SπRIT TPC data to determine the best trigger logic for upcoming experiments.

The Superconducting Analyzer for Multi-particles from Radioisotope beams, SAMURAI, with a large angular and momentum acceptance has entered into the phase of physics experiments. Several experiments have been already run with invariant mass spectroscopy using heavy ions and neutrons, as well as missing mass spectroscopy, by introducing detector arrays around the reaction target upstream of the dipole magnet. Many user devices will be introduced to be coupled with SAMURAI. In the Day-Two phase, an experimental program, SAMURAI08, was performed which took advantage of the large momentum acceptance property of SAMURAI. In this experiment, two or more particles with different Z and A / Z were detected at the focal plane in coincidence. Analysis details are reported as an example for similar experiment in future. A variety of experiments are waiting to be performed, which means that SAMURAI is now open for use by RIBF users.

The sequential two-proton decay of the second excited state in $^{17}\mathrm{Ne}$, produced by inelastic excitation at intermediate energy, is studied. This state is found to be highly spin aligned, providing another example of a recently discovered alignment mechanism. The fortuitous condition that the second decay step is slightly more energetic than the first, permits the lifetime of the one-proton daughter, the ground state of $^{16}\mathrm{F}$, to be determined from the magnitude of the final-state interactions between the protons. This new method gave a result [$\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}=20.6(57)$ keV] consistent with that obtained by directly measuring the width of the state [$\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}=21.3(51)$ keV]. This width allows one to determine the continuum coupling constant in this mass region. Real-energy continuum-shell-model studies yield a satisfactory description of both spectra and widths of low-energy resonances in $^{16}\mathrm{F}$ and suggest an unusual large ratio of proton-proton to proton-neutron continuum couplings in the vicinity of the proton drip line.

In this work, two particular properties of the position-sensitive, thick silicon detectors (known as the "E" detectors) in the High Resolution Array (HiRA) are investigated: the thickness of the dead layer on the front of the detector, and the overall thickness of the detector itself. The dead layer thickness for each E detector in HiRA is extracted using a measurement of alpha particles emitted from a $^{212}$Pb pin source placed close to the detector surface. This procedure also allows for energy calibrations of the E detectors, which are otherwise inaccessible for alpha source calibration as each one is sandwiched between two other detectors. The E detector thickness is obtained from a combination of elastically scattered protons and an energy-loss calculation method. Results from these analyses agree with values provided by the manufacturer., Comment: Accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research

Shell closures and their associated magic numbers of nucleons provide a unique means for studying the structure of exotic nuclei far from stability. An experiment was recently performed at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory to measure resonant elastic proton scattering on $^{46}$Ar in inverse kinematics in the region containing isobaric analogue states of $^{47}$Ar, an N=29 nucleus with one neutron above the N=28 shell closure. Four candidate resonances were observed: one corresponding to the 3/2− ground state of $^{47}$Ar, another corresponding to its 1/2− first excited state, and two that likely correspond to states in the $^{47}$K compound nucleus. The observed properties of the ground state resonance were compatible with values from the literature, but a significantly lower spectroscopic factor was found for the 1/2− state resonance.

We have implemented the Generic Electronics for Time Projection Chamber (GET) in a SAMURAI Pion Reconstruction and Ion-Tracker (S π RIT) readout system for heavy radioactive ion collision experiments at RIKEN-RIBF. The S π RIT experiment is designed for heavy ion collision experiments with radioactive ion beams, where a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with 12096 pixelized readout pads is employed as the main device. Since the TPC is located on the beam line, the readout electronics must handle small signals from pions as well as very large signals from beam or large fragment particles. Operation of the GET electronics during experiment functioned well using 270 time-bucket readout with 25 MHz sampling at an event Data acquisition (DAQ) rate of 60 Hz. Using the slope information of acquired signals it is possible to extend the dynamic range of dE/dx information compared to using the peak height information. However, huge signals arising from energetic δ -rays produced by un-interacted projectiles induce dead channels, which can be recovered after 70 μ s on average.

Reaccelerated radioactive beams near the Coulomb barrier, which are starting to be available from the ReA3 accelerator at NSCL and in next future at FRIB, will open up new opportunities for the study of nuclear structure near the drip lines. Efficient measurement techniques must be developed to compensate for the limited intensity of the most exotic beams. The Active-Target Time Projection Chamber (AT-TPC) constructed at MSU solves this problem by providing the increased luminosity of a thick target while maintaining a good energy resolution by tracking the reaction vertex over an essentially 4 π solid angle. The AT-TPC and similar detectors allow us to take full advantage of the radioactive ion beams at present and future nuclear physics facilities to explore the frontier of rare isotopes.

A Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) called the SAMURAI Pion-Reconstruction and Ion-Tracker (S$\pi$RIT) has recently been constructed at Michigan State University as part of an international effort to constrain the symmetry-energy term in the nuclear Equation of State (EoS). The S$\pi$RIT TPC will be used in conjunction with the SAMURAI spectrometer at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF) at RIKEN to measure yield ratios for pions and other light isospin multiplets produced in central collisions of neutron-rich heavy ions, such as $^{132}$Sn + $^{124}$Sn. The S$\pi$RIT TPC can function both as a TPC detector and as an active target. It has a vertical drift length of 50 cm, parallel to the magnetic field. Gas multiplication is achieved through the use of a multi-wire anode. Image charges are produced in the 12096 pads, and are read out with the recently developed Generic Electronics for TPCs., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to NIM A Proceedings

Pion energy spectra are presented for central collisions of neutron-rich $^{132}\mathrm{Sn}+^{124}\mathrm{Sn}$ and neutron-deficient $^{108}\mathrm{Sn}+^{112}\mathrm{Sn}$ systems using simulations with the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck transport model. These calculations, which incorporate isospin-dependent mean-field potentials for relevant baryons and mesons, display a sensitivity to the pion spectra that could allow significant constraints on the density dependence of the symmetry energy and its mean-field potential at suprasaturation densities. The predicted sensitivity increases with the isospin asymmetry of the total system and decreases with incident energy.

We have studied the ground state of the unbound, very neutron-rich isotope of hydrogen $^{5}\mathrm{H}$, using the $^{6}\mathrm{He}(d,^{3}\mathrm{He})^{5}\mathrm{H}$ reaction in inverse kinematics at a bombarding energy of $E(^{6}\mathrm{He})=55A$ MeV. The present results suggest a ground-state resonance energy ${E}_{R}=2.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3$ MeV above the $^{3}\mathrm{H}+2n$ threshold, with an intrinsic width of $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}=5.3\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.4$ MeV in the $^{5}\mathrm{H}$ system. Both the resonance energy and width are higher than those reported in some, but not all previous studies of $^{5}\mathrm{H}$. The previously unreported $^{6}\mathrm{He}(d,t)^{5}\mathrm{He}_{\mathrm{g}.\mathrm{s}.}$ reaction is observed in the same measurement, providing a check on the understanding of the response of the apparatus. The data are compared to expectations from direct two-neutron and dineutron decay. The possibility of excited states of $^{5}\mathrm{H}$ populated in this reaction is discussed using different calculations of the $^{6}\mathrm{He}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{5}\mathrm{H}+p$ spectroscopic overlaps from shell-model and ab initio nuclear-structure calculations.

International audience; In the ASY-EOS experiment flows of neutrons and light charged particles were measured for (197)Au+(197)Au collisions at 400 MeV/nucleon, in order to investigate the strength of the symmetry term of the nuclear equation of state at supra-saturation densities. By comparing the experimental data with the UrQMD transport model predictions, we have extracted a new constraint in agreement with the moderately soft to linear density dependence obtained in the former analysis on FOPI-LAND data, but reducing the associated uncertainty by a factor ∼ 2.

Reactions in inverse kinematics close to the Coulomb barrier offer unique opportunities to study exotic nuclei, but they are plagued by the difficulty to efficiently and precisely measure the characteristics of the emerging particles. The Active Target Time Projection Chamber (AT-TPC) offers an elegant solution to this dilemma. In this device, the detector gas of the time projection chamber is at the same time the target in which nuclear reactions take place. The use of this new paradigm offers several advantages over conventional inert target methods, the most significant being the ability to increase the luminosity of experiments without loss of resolution. The AT-TPC and some results obtained on resonant α scattering to explore the clustering properties of neutron-rich nuclei are presented, as well as fusion cross section results using a 10 Be radioactive beam. In addition, the first re-accelerated radioactive beam experiment using the fully commissioned ReA3 linac was conducted recently at the NSCL with the AT-TPC, where proton resonant scattering of a 4.6 MeV/u 46 Ar beam was used to measure the neutron single-particle strength in 47 Ar.

The properties of the kinetic energy spectra of light isotopes produced in the breakup of a nuclear source and during the deexcitation of its products are examined. The initial stage, at which the hot fragments are created, is modeled by the Statistical Multifragmentation Model, whereas the Weisskopf-Ewing evaporation treatment is adopted to describe the subsequent fragment deexcita- tion, as they follow their classical trajectories dictated by the Coulomb repulsion among them. The energy spectra obtained are compared to available experimental data. The influence of the fusion cross-section entering into the evaporation treatment is investigated and its influence on the qual- itative aspects of the energy spectra turns out to be small. Although these aspects can be fairly well described by the model, the underlying physics associated with the quantitative discrepancies remains to be understood., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

Spectroscopic information has been extracted on the hole-states of 55Ni, the least known of the quartet of nuclei (55Ni, 57Ni, 55Co and 57Co), one neutron away from 56Ni, the N=Z=28 double magic nucleus. Using the 1H(56Ni,d)55Ni transfer reaction in inverse kinematics, neutron spectroscopic factors, spins and parities have been extracted for the f7/2, p3/2 and the s1/2 hole-states of 55Ni. This new data provides a benchmark for large basis calculations that include nucleonic orbits in both the sd and pf shells. State of the art calculations have been performed to reproduce the excitation energies and spectroscopic factors of the s1/2 hole state below Fermi energy.

A simple but novel driver system has been developed to operate the wire gating grid of a Time Projection Chamber (TPC). This system connects the wires of the gating grid to its driver via low impedance transmission lines. When the gating grid is open, all wires have the same voltage allowing drift electrons, produced by the ionization of the detector gas molecules, to pass through to the anode wires. When the grid is closed, the wires have alternating higher and lower voltages causing the drift electrons to terminate at the more positive wires. Rapid opening of the gating grid with low pickup noise is achieved by quickly shorting the positive and negative wires to attain the average bias potential with N-type and P-type MOSFET switches. The circuit analysis and simulation software SPICE shows that the driver restores the gating grid voltage to 90% of the opening voltage in less than 0.20 $\mu$s. When tested in the experimental environment of a time projection chamber larger termination resistors were chosen so that the driver opens the gating grid in 0.35 $\mu$s. In each case, opening time is basically characterized by the RC constant given by the resistance of the switches and terminating resistors and the capacitance of the gating grid and its transmission line. By adding a second pair of N-type and P-type MOSFET switches, the gating grid is closed by restoring 99% of the original charges to the wires within 3 $\mu$s., Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Resarch A

Detector efficiency determination is essential to correct the measured yields and extract reliable cross sections of particles emitted in nuclear reactions. We investigate the efficiencies for measuring the full energies of light charged particle in arrays of CsI crystals employed in particle detection arrays such as HiRA, LASSA and MUST2. We perform these simulations with a GEANT4 Monte Carlo transport code implemented in the NPTool framework. Both Coulomb multiple scattering and nuclear reactions within the crystal can significantly reduce the efficiency of detecting the full energy of high energy particles. The calculated efficiencies decrease exponentially as a function of the range of the particle and are quite similar for both the hydrogen ( p , d , t ) and helium ( 3 He, α ) isotopes. The use of a close-packed array introduces significant position dependent efficiency losses at the interior boundaries between crystals that need to be considered in the design of an array and in the efficiency corrections of measured energy spectra.

When Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) are used in low to intermediate heavy ion collisions, the mass and momentum range of the emitted particles cover a wide range in energy losses. Many TPC readout electronics currently only have a single gain output with a fixed dynamic range. In a recent set of experiments using the SAMURAI Pion-Reconstruction and Ion-Tracker (S π RIT) TPC, it was important to simultaneously measure relativistic pions and heavy ion tracks from the same collisions. As the ionization from a track’s energy loss is collected and multiplied by the anode wires, a distribution of image charges is induced on the TPC read-out pads. If the avalanche on a wire is large enough, the charge collected by pads directly underneath will saturate the readout electronics; pads farther away in the distribution will not be saturated. Using these unsaturated pads and the known pad distribution function, we can estimate the charge on saturated pads, increasing the dynamic range by a factor of 5.

High-resolution reconstruction of reaction dynamics in nuclear-physics experiments with radioactive beams requires accurate knowledge of the beam-particle trajectories and the precise alignment of detectors with respect to the reaction target. In many cases, sub-millimeter position measurements of fragile beam-tracking and particle–detector systems are essential. We have constructed a laser-based alignment system (LBAS) which is a non-contact, high-precision alignment tool designed for applications where excellent spatial positioning must be achieved. The working principles and performance of the laser-based alignment system are presented.

Atomic masses play an important role in nuclear physics and astrophysics. The need of experimental mass values for unstable nuclides has triggered the development of a wide range of mass measurement techniques, with devices installed at many laboratories around the world. We have implemented a time-of-flight–magnetic-rigidity ( TOF - B ρ ) technique at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) that includes a position measurement for magnetic rigidity corrections and uses the A1900 separator and the S800 spectrograph. We performed a successful first experiment measuring masses of neutron-rich isotopes in the region of Z ∼ 20–30, important for calculations of processes occurring in the crust of accreting neutron stars. The masses of 16 nuclei were determined, for 61V, 63Cr, 66Mn, and 74Ni for the first time, with atomic mass excesses of −30.510(890) MeV, −35.280(650) MeV, −36.900(790) MeV, and −49.210(990) MeV, respectively. The mass resolution achieved was 1.8×10−4.

KATANA - the Krakow Array for Triggering with Amplitude discrimiNAtion - has been built and used as a trigger and veto detector for the S$\pi$RIT TPC at RIKEN. Its construction allows operating in magnetic field and providing fast response for ionizing particles, giving the approximate forward multiplicity and charge information. Depending on this information, trigger and veto signals are generated. The article presents performance of the detector and details of its construction. A simple phenomenological parametrization of the number of emitted scintillation photons in plastic scintillator is proposed. The effect of the light output deterioration in the plastic scintillator due to the in-beam irradiation is discussed., Comment: 14 pages, 11 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