O objetivo do presente trabalho foi determinar, através de medidas de Ressonância Fluorescente Nuclear (RFN) para o núcelo deformado de 153Eu, a intensidade integrada de ressonâncias localizadas de dipolo associadas a modos de movimento como o modo tesoura Ml (ressonâncias anãs). Foi utilizado o feixe de elétrons do acelerador Dynamitron da Universidade de Stuttgart (Eo = 4,3 MeV) e detetores de Ge(HP) e Ge(Li) de alta resolução para a obtenção de informações detalhadas acerca das energias de excitação, larguras de decaimento, probabilidades de transição e razões de ramificação. Os resultados obtidos para o 153Eu são comparados com os obtidos recentemente para seus vizinhos ímpares (161,163Dy, 155,157Gd e 159Tb) e com as previsões do Modelo de Bósons e Férmions Interagentes (MBFI). Enquanto os isótopos ímpares de Dy apresentam uma certa concentração de intensidade de dipolo ao redor de 3MeV, os isótopos ímpares de Gd apresentam uma extrema fragmentação de intensidade de dipolo (25 transições para o 155Gd e 90 transições para o 157Gd), na faixa de energia de 2-4 MeV. O núcleo de 153Eu quando comparado aos isótopos ímpares de Dy, Gd e Tb, apresenta uma pequena fragmentação, com baixa intensidade de dipolo. Em geral, a intensidade de dipolo total em núcleos ímpares é menor (por um fator 2-3), quando comparada com seus vizinhos pares. Esta diferença de intensidade entre os isótopos ímpares de Eu, Dy, Gd e Tb é inexplicável até agora. / The aim of this work was to perform Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF) measurements for the 153Eu deformed nucleus associated to Ml scissors mode. Using the bremsstrahlung photon beam of the Stuttgart Dynamitron (endpoint energy 4.3 MeV) and high resolution Ge spectrometers, detailed information was obtained on excitation energies, decay widths, transition probabilities, and branching ratios. The results are compared to those observed recently for the neighboring odd nuclei 161,163Dy, 155,157Gd and 159Tb and with the Interacting Boson Fermion Model (IBFM). Whereas in the odd Dy isotopes the dipole strength is rather concentrated, both Gd isotopes show a strong fragmentation of the strength into about 25 (155Gd) and 90 transitions (157Gd) in the energy range 2-4 MeV. The nucleus 153Eu as compared to these odd Dy, Gd and Tb isotopes exhibits a small fragmentation with low strength. In general the observed total strength in the odd nuclei is reduced by a factor of 2-3 as compared to their neighboring even-even isotopes. The different fragmentation behavior of the dipole strengths in the odd Dy, Gd, Tb and Eu isotopes is unexplained up to now.

Medidas de espectroscopia gama de alta resolução têm diversas aplicações. Aplicações envolvendo medidas de radioisótopos de meia-vida curta podem apresentar problemas de baixa precisão nas contagens quando a fonte radioativa está distante do detector e de perda de acurácia por efeitos de tempo morto e empilhamento de pulsos em situação de altas taxas de contagens. Um modo de minimizar esses problemas é alterando a posição da fonte radioativa durante o processo de medição, aproximando-a do detector conforme sua atividade diminui e assim maximizando o número de contagens medidas. Neste trabalho, foi desenvolvido o Movimentador de Amostras Radioativas Automatizado (MARA), um aparato de baixo custo, feito com materiais de baixo número atômico e leve, projetado e construído para auxiliar nas medidas de espectroscopia gama, capaz de controlar a distância entre a fonte e o detector, permitindo inclusive que ocorra alteração dessa distância durante o processo de medição. Por ser automatizado ele otimiza o tempo do operador, que tem total liberdade para criar suas rotinas de medidas no dispositivo, além de evitar que o mesmo tome uma parcela da dose radioativa. Foi também feita uma interface que permite controle do MARA e a programação do sistema de aquisição de dados. Foram realizados testes para otimização da operação do sistema MARA e foi verificada a segurança de operação do MARA, não apresentando nenhuma falha durante seus testes. Foi aplicado o teste de repetitividade, por meio de medições com uma fonte calibrada de 60Co, e verificou-se que o sistema de movimentação de prateleiras automatizado reproduziu os resultados do sistema estático com confiabilidade de 95%. / High resolution gamma spectroscopy measurements have several applications. Those involving short half-life radioisotope measurements may present low precision problems when the radioactive source is far from detector end cup and in the very high activity situations also can present accuracy loss due to dead time and pile-up effects. A way to overcome these problems is changing the source detector distance as the activity is decreasing, and thereby maximizing the statistical counting. In the present study, the Controller of Acquisition and Sample Positioner for Activation (CASPA) was developed. It is a low cost and weight device, made with low atomic number materials designed to assist gamma spectroscopy measurements, which is able to control the distance between the source and the detector, even allowing that there is a change of this distance during the measurement process. Because it is automated it optimizes the time of the operator, who has complete freedom to program their routine measurements in the device besides minimizing the radiation dose in the operator. An interface that allow the user control the CASPA system and to program the acquisition system was created. Tests aiming to optimize the operation of CASPA system were carried out and the safety of the CASPA operation was verified, it was not presented any failure during their tests. It was applied the repeatability tests by the acquisition 60Co standard source and was found that the positioning of automated system has reproduced the results of static system with a 95% of confidence level .

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi determinar, através de medidas de Ressonância Fluorescente Nuclear (RFN) para o núcelo deformado de 153Eu, a intensidade integrada de ressonâncias localizadas de dipolo associadas a modos de movimento como o modo tesoura Ml (ressonâncias anãs). Foi utilizado o feixe de elétrons do acelerador Dynamitron da Universidade de Stuttgart (Eo = 4,3 MeV) e detetores de Ge(HP) e Ge(Li) de alta resolução para a obtenção de informações detalhadas acerca das energias de excitação, larguras de decaimento, probabilidades de transição e razões de ramificação. Os resultados obtidos para o 153Eu são comparados com os obtidos recentemente para seus vizinhos ímpares (161,163Dy, 155,157Gd e 159Tb) e com as previsões do Modelo de Bósons e Férmions Interagentes (MBFI). Enquanto os isótopos ímpares de Dy apresentam uma certa concentração de intensidade de dipolo ao redor de 3MeV, os isótopos ímpares de Gd apresentam uma extrema fragmentação de intensidade de dipolo (25 transições para o 155Gd e 90 transições para o 157Gd), na faixa de energia de 2-4 MeV. O núcleo de 153Eu quando comparado aos isótopos ímpares de Dy, Gd e Tb, apresenta uma pequena fragmentação, com baixa intensidade de dipolo. Em geral, a intensidade de dipolo total em núcleos ímpares é menor (por um fator 2-3), quando comparada com seus vizinhos pares. Esta diferença de intensidade entre os isótopos ímpares de Eu, Dy, Gd e Tb é inexplicável até agora. / The aim of this work was to perform Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF) measurements for the 153Eu deformed nucleus associated to Ml scissors mode. Using the bremsstrahlung photon beam of the Stuttgart Dynamitron (endpoint energy 4.3 MeV) and high resolution Ge spectrometers, detailed information was obtained on excitation energies, decay widths, transition probabilities, and branching ratios. The results are compared to those observed recently for the neighboring odd nuclei 161,163Dy, 155,157Gd and 159Tb and with the Interacting Boson Fermion Model (IBFM). Whereas in the odd Dy isotopes the dipole strength is rather concentrated, both Gd isotopes show a strong fragmentation of the strength into about 25 (155Gd) and 90 transitions (157Gd) in the energy range 2-4 MeV. The nucleus 153Eu as compared to these odd Dy, Gd and Tb isotopes exhibits a small fragmentation with low strength. In general the observed total strength in the odd nuclei is reduced by a factor of 2-3 as compared to their neighboring even-even isotopes. The different fragmentation behavior of the dipole strengths in the odd Dy, Gd, Tb and Eu isotopes is unexplained up to now.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has ruled that all sealed radioactive sources, even those considered exempt under Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations, are subject to radioactive material controls. However, sources based on the primordial isotope potassium-40 (40K) are not subject to these restrictions. Potassium-40’s beta spectrum and 1460.8 keV gamma ray can be used to induce K-shell fluorescence x rays in high-Z metals between 60 and 80 keV. A gamma ray calibration source is thus proposed that uses potassium chloride salt and a high-Z metal to create a two-point calibration for a sodium iodide field gamma spectroscopy instrument. The calibration source was designed in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratory using the Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) transport code. The x ray production was maximized while attempting to preserve the detector system’s sensitivity to external sources by minimizing the count rate and shielding effect of the calibration source. Since the source is intended to be semi-permanently fixed to the detector, the weight of the calibration source was also a design factor. Two methods of x-ray production were explored. First, a thin high-Z layer (HZL) was interposed between the detector and the potassium chloride-urethane source matrix. Second, bismuth metal powder was homogeneously mixed with a urethane binding agent to form a potassium chloride-bismuth matrix (KBM). The two methods were directly compared using a series of simulations, including their x ray peak strengths, pulse-height spectral characteristics, and response to a simulated background environment. The bismuth-based source was selected as the development model because it is cheap, nontoxic, and outperforms the high-Z layer method in simulation. The overall performance for the bismuth-based source was significantly improved by splitting the calibration source longitudinally into two halves and placing them on either side of the detector. The performance was improved further by removing the binding agent and simulating a homogeneous mixture of potassium chloride and bismuth powder in a 0.1 cm plastic casing. The split plastic-encased potassium chloride-bismuth matrix would serve as a light, cheap, field calibration source that is not subject to DOE restrictions.

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