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The Impact of Neutron Transfer Reactions on the Heating and Cooling of Accreted Neutron Star Crusts
Abstract Nuclear reactions heat and cool the crust of accreting neutron stars and need to be understood to interpret observations of X-ray bursts and long-term cooling in transiently accreting systems. It was recently suggested that previously ignored neutron transfer reactions may play a significant role in the nuclear processes. We present results from full nuclear network calculations that now include these reactions and determine their impact on crust composition, crust impurity, heating, and cooling. We find that a large number of neutron transfer reactions indeed occur and impact crust models. In particular, we identify a new type of reaction cycle that brings a pair of nuclei across the nuclear chart into equilibrium via alternating neutron capture and neutron release, interspersed with a neutron transfer. While neutron transfer reactions lead to changes in crust model predictions and need to be considered in future studies, previous conclusions concerning heating, cooling, and compositional evolution are remarkably robust.
Invariant-mass spectroscopy of Ne 18 , O 16 , and C 10 excited states formed in neutron-transfer reactions
Neutron-transfer reactions with fast secondary beams of 17 Ne, 15 O, and 9 C have been studied with the HiRA and CAESAR arrays. Excited states of 18 Ne, 16 O, and 10 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 Ne. In addition we have found new higher-lying excited states in 16 O and 18 Ne, some of which fission into two ground-state 8 Be fragments. Finally for 10 C, a new excited state was observed. Furthermore, these transfer reactions were found to leave the remnant of the 9 Be target nuclei at very high excitation energies and may be associated with the pickup of a deeply bound 9 Be neutron.
{sup 10}Li low-lying resonances populated by one-neutron transfer
The {sup 9}Li + {sup 2}H → {sup 10}Li + {sup 1}H one-neutron transfer reaction has been performed at 100 MeV incident energy at TRIUMF using a {sup 9}Li beam delivered by the ISAC-II facility. A setup based on double-sided silicon strip detectors has been used in order to detect and identify the outgoing {sup 9}Li produced by the {sup 10}Li breakup at forward angles and the recoil protons emitted at backward angles. The {sup 10}Li low-lying resonances, whose energies, widths and configurations are still unclear, have been populated with significant statistics.
Neutron transfer reactions on the ground state and isomeric state of a 130 Sn beam
The structure of nuclei around the neutron-rich nucleus 132 Sn is of particular interest due to the vicinity of the Z = 50 and N = 82 shell closures and the r-process nucleosynthetic path. Four states in 131 Sn with a strong single-particle-like component have previously been studied via the (d,p) reaction, with limited excitation energy resolution. Here, the 130 Sn( 9 Be, 8 Be) 131 Sn and 130 Sn( 13 C, 12 C) 131 Sn single-neutron transfer reactions were performed in inverse kinematics at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility using particle-γ coincidence spectroscopy. The uncertainties in the energies of the single-particle-like states have been reduced by more than an order of magnitude using the energies of γ rays. The previous tentative J π values have been confirmed. Decays from high-spin states in 131 Sn have been observed following transfer on the isomeric component of the 130 Sn beam. The improved energies and confirmed spin-parities of the p-wave states important to the r-process lead to direct-semidirect cross-sections for neutron capture on the ground state of 130 Sn at 30 keV that are in agreement with previous analyses. A similar assessment of the impact of neutron-transfer on the isomer would require significant nuclear structure and reaction theory input. There are few measurements of transfer reaction on isomers, and this is the first on an isomer in the 132 Sn region.
Effect of neutron transfer in the fusion process near and below the Coulomb barrier
Near-barrier and sub-barrier fusion of weakly bound neutron-rich isotopes of lithium is explored within the empirical channel coupling model. Several combinations of colliding nuclei are proposed, for which strong enhancement of the sub-barrier fusion is predicted owing to coupling with neutron transfer channels.
Coulomb Excitation and One-Neutron Transfer Studies of Stable and Radioactive Nuclei at HRIBF-ORNL
Several stable and radioactive nuclei ranging from $A=58$ to 208 were recently studied in inverse kinematics by Coulomb excitation and heavy-ion induced one-neutron transfer at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These studies used a CsI-HPGe detector array to detect scattered charged particles and emitted $\gamma$ rays from the in-beam reactions. A Bragg-curve detector was used to measure the energy loss of the various beams through the targets and to measure the radioactive beam compositions. Stable nickel, strontium, zirconium, molybdenum, tin, tellurium, and lead isotopes and neutron-rich radioactive tin and tellurium isotopes were among the nuclei recently studied. Coulomb excitation was used to measure the electromagnetic moments of the first excited states and heavy-ion induced one-neutron transfer was used to measure the absolute cross sections and lifetimes of the excited single-particle states. A sample of these results are presented here with an emphasis on the tin isotopes. In particular, a survey of the Bragg-curve measurements, Doppler corrections, and inconclusive $i_{13/2}$ candidate in $^{133}$\textrm{Sn} are presented.
Analysis of the role of neutron transfer in asymmetric fusion reactions at subbarrier energies
The excitation functions were measured for the {sup 28}Si + {sup 208}Pb complete-fusion (capture) reaction at deep subbarrier energies. The results were compared with the cross sections predicted within the quantum diffusion approach. The role of neutron transfer in the case of positive Q values in the {sup 28}Si + {sup 124}Sn, {sup 208}Pb; {sup 30}Si + {sup 124}Sn, {sup 208}Pb; {sup 20}Ne + {sup 208}Pb; {sup 40}Ca + {sup 96}Zr; and {sup 134}Te + {sup 40}Ca complete-fusion (capture) reactions is discussed.
Neutron transfer reactions in halo effective field theory
Direct reaction experiments exhibit a powerful tool to probe the structure of neutron-rich nuclei like beryllium-11. We use halo effective field theory to calculate the cross section of the deuteron-induced neutron transfer reaction 10 Be(d, p) 11 Be. The effective theory contains dynamical fields for the beryllium-10 core, the neutron, and the proton. In contrast, the deuteron and the beryllium-11 halo nucleus are generated dynamically from contact interactions using experimental and ab initio input. Breakup contributions are then included by construction. The reaction amplitude is constructed up to next-to-leading order in an expansion in the ratio of the length scales characterizing the core and the halo. The Coulomb repulsion between core and proton is treated perturbatively. Lastly, we compare our results to cross-section data and other calculations.
Relevance of single-particle and collective excitations in zirconium isotopes populated by neutron transfer reactions in the {sup 90}Zr+{sup 208}Pb system
Multineutron transfer reaction {sup 90}Zr+{sup 208}Pb has been studied at the energy close to the Coulomb barrier energy by using the PRISMA + CLARA set-up. In this fragment-γ coincidence measurement, the selective properties of the reaction mechanism in the population of the specific states have been discussed. Based on the observed γ transitions of neutron transfer channels, namely {sup 89–94}Zr isotopes, their level schemes have been constructed and updated.
Neutron transfer in the C 13 + Au 197 reaction from gold isotope residuals
Residual gold nuclei were produced in this paper via neutron transfer at multiple energies using a 130-MeV 13 C beam incident on a stacked-foil target consisting of alternating layers of 197 Au and 27 Al. Production cross sections, over an energy range of 56 to 129 MeV, for seven gold isotopes and two gold isomers were determined through activation analysis. By using the Wilczynski binary transfer model with a modified version of the recoil formula and a standard evaporation model, we were able to reproduce the isotopic production cross sections at high beam energy, with some disagreement at lower beam energies. Finally, this limiting angular momentum model does not predict the transfer of sufficient angular momentum to reproduce the observed isomeric populations.
One-neutron transfer study of Xe 137 and systematics of 13 / 2 1 + and 13 / 2 2 + levels in N = 83 nuclei
Excited states in 137 Xe have been studied by using the near-barrier single-neutron transfer reactions 13 C( 136 Xe, 12 C ) 137 Xe and 9 Be( 136 Xe, 8 Be ) 137 Xe in inverse kinematics.Particle- and particle- coincidence measurements have been performed with the Phoswich Wall and Digital Gammasphere detector arrays. Evidence is found for a 13/2 + 2 level (E = 3137 keV) and for additional high-lying 3/2 – and 5/2 – states. The results are discussed in the framework of realistic shell-model calculations. These calculations are also extended to the 13/2 + 1 and 13/2 + 2 levels in the N = 83 isotonic chain. Furthermore, they indicate that there is a need for a value of the neutron 0i 13/2 single-particle energy (E SPE = 2366 keV) lower than the one proposed in the literature. It is also demonstrated that the population patterns of the j = l ± 1/2 single-particle states in 137 Xe are different for the two targets used in these measurements and the implications of this effect are addressed.
The Impact of Neutron Transfer Reactions on the Heating and Cooling of Accreted Neutron Star Crusts
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Multipolarity analysis for {sup 14}C high-energy resonance populated by ({sup 18}O,{sup 16}O) two-neutron transfer reaction
The {sup 12}C({sup 18}O,{sup 16}O){sup 14}C reaction at 84 MeV incident energy has been explored up to high excitation energy of the residual nucleus thanks to the use of the MAGNEX spectrometer to detect the ejectiles. In the region above the two-neutron separation energy, a resonance has been observed at 16.9 MeV. A multipolarity analysis of the cross section angular distribution indicates an L = 0 character for such a transition.
Probing Exotic Cross-Shell Interactions at N = 28 with Single-Neutron Transfer on 47 K
Here, we present the first measurement of the 47 K (𝑑, 𝑝𝛾) 48 K transfer reaction, performed in inverse kinematics using a reaccelerated beam of 47 K. The level scheme of 48 K has been greatly extended, with nine new bound excited states identified and spectroscopic factors deduced. Uniquely, the 47 K (𝑑, 𝑝) reaction gives access to nuclear states that are sensitive to the interaction of protons and neutrons in the widely spaced 1𝑠 and 𝑓𝑝 orbitals, respectively. Detailed comparisons with SDPF-U and SDPF-MU shell-model calculations reveal a number of discrepancies between theory and experiment. Intriguingly, a systematic overestimation of spectroscopic factors and a poor reproduction of the energies for 1 − states suggests that the mixing between the 𝜋𝑠$^1_{1/2}$𝑑$^4_{3/2}$ and 𝜋𝑠$^2_{1/2}$𝑑$^3_{3/2}$ proton configurations in 48 K is not correctly described using current interactions, challenging our description of light nuclei around the 𝑁 = 28 island of inversion.
Single neutron transfer on 23 Ne and its relevance for the pathway of nucleosynthesis in astrophysical X-ray bursts
We present new experimental measurements of resonance strengths in the astrophysical 23 Al($p, γ$) 24 Si reaction, constraining the pathway of nucleosynthesis beyond 22 Mg in X-ray burster scenarios. Specifically, we have performed the first measurement of the ($d, p$) reaction using a radioactive beam of 23 Ne to explore levels in 24 Ne, the mirror analog of 24 Si. Four strong single-particle states were observed and corresponding neutron spectroscopic factors were extracted with a precision of ~20%. Using these spectroscopic factors, together with mirror state identifications, we have reduced uncertainties in the strength of the key ℓ = 0 resonance at $E_r$ = 157 keV, in the astrophysical 23 Al($p, γ$) reaction, by a factor of 4. Our results show that the 22 Mg($p, γ$) 23 Al($p, γ$) pathway dominates over the competing 22 Mg($α, γ$) reaction in all but the most energetic X-ray burster events (T > 0.85 GK), significantly affecting energy production and the preservation of hydrogen fuel.
Shell-model calculations for two-neutron transfer near the $N=20$ island of inversion
We describe connections between shell-model calculation results and predictions for two-nucleon transfer reactions. Measurements of the 30 Mg(t,p) 32 Mg reaction were used to identify a low-lying shape-coexisting 0 + state in 32 Mg. Interpretations of those early, limited data were based on simple empirical models. The cross sections for two-nucleon transfer are, however, extremely sensitive to the details of the nuclear-structure. Motivated by the possibility of new high-resolution two-nucleon transfer measurements around the N = 20 Island of Inversion, we have performed shell-model calculations wave functions for states in the nuclei 30,32 Mg using the SDPF-M and SDPF-MU interactions, and from those calculations obtain the two-nucleon transfer amplitudes that we use to predict cross sections for the 28,30 Mg(t,p) 30,32 Mg reactions. The combined results show how the nuclear structure properties influence experimental observables for the (t,p) reaction. We compare our results with the existing data.