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Panin, V.

Publications and source records attributed to Panin, V..

12 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Precise measurement of nuclear interaction cross sections towards neutron-skin determination with R 3 B

The R 3 B (Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) experiment as a major instrument of the NUSTAR collaboration for the research facility FAIR in Darmstadt is designed for kinematically complete studies of reactions with high-energy radioactive beams. Part of the broad physics program of R 3 B is to constrain the asymmetry term in the nuclear equation-of-state and hence improve the description of highly asymmetric nuclear matter (e.g., in neutron stars). For a precise determination of the neutron-skin thickness – an observable which is directly correlated with the symmetry energy in theoretical calculations – by measuring absolute fragmentation cross sections, it is essential to quantify the uncertainty and challenge the reaction model under stable conditions. During the successful FAIR Phase-0 campaign of R 3 B, we precisely measured the energy dependence of total interaction cross sections in 12 C + 12 C collisions, for a direct comparison with calculations based on the eikonal reaction theory.

Ponnath, L. (ORCID:0000000286742624)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evolution of the two-neutron configuration from 11 Li to 13 Li

In this work we investigate the two-neutron decay of 13 Li and of the excited states of 11 Li populated via one-proton removal from 14 Be and 12 Be, respectively. A phenomenological model is used to describe the decay of 11 Li and 13 Li. While the first one displays important sequential components, the second one appears dominated by the direct two-neutron decay. A microscopic three-body model is used to extract information on the spatial configuration of the emitted neutrons before the decay and shows that the average distance between the neutrons increases going from 11 Li to 13 Li.

Dineutron decay↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nuclear structure opportunities with GeV radioactive beams at FAIR

The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) is in its final construction stage next to the campus of the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung Helmholtzzentrum for heavy-ion research in Darmstadt, Germany. Once it starts its operation, it will be the main nuclear physics research facility in many basic sciences and their applications in Europe for the coming decades. Owing to the ability of the new fragment separator, Super-FRagment Separator, to produce high-intensity radioactive ion beams in the energy range up to about 2 GeV/nucleon, these can be used in various nuclear reactions. This opens a unique opportunity for various nuclear structure studies across a range of fields and scales: from low-energy physics via the investigation of multi-neutron systems and halos to high-density nuclear matter and the equation of state, following heavy-ion collisions, fission and study of short-range correlations in nuclei and hypernuclei. Here, the newly developed reactions with relativistic radioactive beams (R3B) set up at FAIR would be the most suitable and versatile for such studies. An overview of highlighted physics cases foreseen at R3B is given, along with possible future opportunities, at FAIR.

FAIR↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measurement of nuclear interaction cross sections towards neutron-skin thickness determination

The accuracy of reaction theories used to extract properties of exotic nuclei from scattering experiments is often unknown or not quantified, but of utmost importance when, e.g., constraining the equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter from observables as the neutron-skin thickness. In order to test the Glauber multiple-scattering model, the total interaction cross section of 12 C on carbon targets was measured at initial beam energies of 400, 550, 650, 800, and 1000 MeV/nucleon. The measurements were performed during the first experiment of the newly constructed R 3 B (Reaction with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) experiment after the start of FAIR Phase-0 at the GSI/FAIR facility with beam energies of 400, 550, 650, 800, and 1000 MeV/nucleon. The combination of the large-acceptance dipole magnet GLAD and a newly designed and highly efficient Time-of-Flight detector enabled a precise transmission measurement with several target thicknesses for each initial beam energy with an experimental uncertainty of ±0.4%. A comparison with the Glauber model revealed a discrepancy of around 3.1% at higher beam energies, which will serve as a crucial baseline for the model-dependent uncertainty in future fragmentation experiments.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2024

New insight into knockout reactions from the two-proton halo nucleus 17 Ne

The unexplained disagreement in the dependence of spectroscopic factors (𝐶2⁢𝑆 exp ) on the binding energy obtained by nucleon knockout using different targets is still a puzzle that needs to be addressed. To find an explanation of this riddle through exclusive measurements using different targets. The exclusive measurements were performed by using a 17 Ne beam with an energy of 500 MeV/u incident on C and CH 2 targets. Through the standard theoretical approach, 𝐶 2⁢ 𝑆 exp were derived from the analysis of the experimental data on proton ejection from the proton halo in 17 Ne as well as from its core 15 O. For the C target, proton ejection from the proton halo gave 𝐶 2 ⁢𝑆 exp about 37% smaller than for the H target. But when protons are ejected from the core of 17 Ne, 𝐶 2 ⁢𝑆 exp are identical within statistical uncertainties. An explanation for the difference in 𝐶 2 ⁢𝑆 exp could be the removal of both halo protons, a more important reaction pathway for the C target. The 𝐶 2 ⁢𝑆 exp values obtained by analyzing the proton ejection from the core indicate that it is not affected by the interaction with the halo protons.

6 ≤ A ≤ 19↗
DOE OSTI2023

First observation of 28 O

Subjecting a physical system to extreme conditions is one of the means often used to obtain a better understanding and deeper insight into its organization and structure. In the case of the atomic nucleus, one such approach is to investigate isotopes that have very different neutron-to-proton ($N/Z$) ratios than in stable nuclei. Light, neutron-rich isotopes exhibit the most asymmetric $N/Z$ ratios and those lying beyond the limits of binding, which undergo spontaneous neutron emission and exist only as very short-lived resonances (about 10 -21 s), provide the most stringent tests of modern nuclear-structure theories. Here we report on the first observation of 28 O and 27 O through their decay into 24 O and four and three neutrons, respectively. The 28 O nucleus is of particular interest as, with the $Z$ = 8 and $N$ = 20 magic numbers, it is expected in the standard shell-model picture of nuclear structure to be one of a relatively small number of so-called ‘doubly magic’ nuclei. Furthermore, both 27 O and 28 O were found to exist as narrow, low-lying resonances and their decay energies are compared here to the results of sophisticated theoretical modelling, including a large-scale shell-model calculation and a newly developed statistical approach. In both cases, the underlying nuclear interactions were derived from effective field theories of quantum chromodynamics. Finally, it is shown that the cross-section for the production of 28 O from a 29 F beam is consistent with it not exhibiting a closed $N$ = 20 shell structure.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Level structures of 56,58 Ca cast doubt on a doubly magic 60 Ca

Gamma decays were observed in 56 Ca and 58 Ca following quasi-free one-proton knockout reactions from 57,59 Sc beams at ≈200 MeV/nucleon. For 56 Ca, a γ ray transition was measured to be 1456(12) keV, while for 58 Ca an indication for a transition was observed at 1115(34) keV. Both transitions were tentatively assigned as the $2^{+}_{1}\rightarrow0^{+}_{gs}$ decays, and were compared to results from ab initio and conventional shell-model approaches. A shell-model calculation in a wide model space with a marginally modified effective nucleon-nucleon interaction depicts excellent agreement with experiment for $2^{+}_{1}$ level energies, two-neutron separation energies, and reaction cross sections, corroborating the formation of a new nuclear shell above the N = 34 shell. Its constituents, the 0$f$ 5/2 and 0$g$ 9/2 orbitals, are almost degenerate. This degeneracy precludes the possibility for a doubly magic 60 Ca and potentially drives the dripline of Ca isotopes to 70 Ca or even beyond.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Intruder configurations in 29 Ne at the transition into the island of inversion: Detailed structure study of 28 Ne

Detailed γ-ray spectroscopy of the exotic neon isotope 28 Ne has been performed for the first time using the one-neutron removal reaction from 29 Ne on a liquid hydrogen target at 240 MeV/nucleon. Based on an analysis of parallel momentum distributions, a level scheme with spin-parity assignments has been constructed for 28 Ne and the negative-parity states are identified for the first time. The measured partial cross sections and momentum distributions reveal a significant intruder p-wave strength providing evidence of the breakdown of the N=20 and N=28 shell gaps. Only a weak, possible f-wave strength was observed to bound final states. Large-scale shell-model calculations with different effective interactions do not reproduce the large p-wave and small f-wave strength observed experimentally, indicating an ongoing challenge for a complete theoretical description of the transition into the island of inversion along the Ne isotopic chain.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Observation of a correlated free four-neutron system

A long-standing question in nuclear physics is whether chargeless nuclear systems can exist. To our knowledge, only neutron stars represent near-pure neutron systems, where neutrons are squeezed together by the gravitational force to very high densities. The experimental search for isolated multi-neutron systems has been an ongoing quest for several decades, with a particular focus on the four-neutron system called the tetraneutron, resulting in only a few indications of its existence so far, leaving the tetraneutron an elusive nuclear system for six decades. Here we report on the observation of a resonance-like structure near threshold in the four-neutron system that is consistent with a quasi-bound tetraneutron state existing for a very short time. The measured energy and width of this state provide a key benchmark for our understanding of the nuclear force. The use of an experimental approach based on a knockout reaction at large momentum transfer with a radioactive high-energy 8 He beam was key.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗