Many neutron rich nuclei are involved in the astrophysical r-process (rapid neutron capture process). The r-process forms an important path for heavy element nucleosynthesis and runs along the neutron drip line. Astrophysicists suggested core-collapse supernovae within a neutrino-driven wind scenario where the neutrino wind dissociates all previously formed elements into protons, neutrons and α particles, to be a possible astrophysical scenario for the r-process. Furthermore, reaction network calculations reported a high impact of light neutron rich nuclei to the r-process abundance. Reactions on these exotic nuclei can only be studied with radioactive ion beams as their half lifes, in the order of a few hundred milliseconds (T1/2,19N=330ms), are too low to fabricate target material out of them. Two examples of reactions along the path of the r-process are the 19N(n,γ)20N and the 20N(n, γ)21N reactions. Using 20N (resp. 21N) as a beam, these reactions were studied at the GSI Fragment Separator (FRS) in time-reversed conditions via Coulomb dissociation in the S393 experiment exploiting the virtual gamma field of a lead target. The experiment was performed at the LAND/R3B setup (Large Area Neutron Detector, Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) in a kinematically complete measurement, i.e., detecting all particles leaving the nuclear reaction. The neutrons flying at relativistic velocity were observed by the LAND detector, the calibration of which plays a crucial role for the present reaction. The Smiley effect, meaning that the measured energy of impinging particles in long scintillators is not independent of the hit position of the particle, has been investigated. It will be shown that reflections of the light traveling through the scintillator and the resulting longer path length of the light when not emitted directly towards the ends of the bar were identified to cause the Smiley effect. Gamma spectra in coincidence with outgoing 19N (resp. 20N) were generated. These fit well to recent publications and were utilized to separate transitions of the projectile nucleus into the ground state or first excited state of the ejectile nucleus. The Coulomb dissociation cross section was calculated for the total reaction, transitions into the ground state and the first excited state of the ejectile nucleus. Furthermore, excitation energy spectra were derived for both reactions separately for ground state transitions and for the dominating transitions into the first excited state. In order to facilitate future experiments on exotic nuclei, two detector solutions for the NeuLAND detector (the successor of LAND) were investigated. Utilizing minimum ionizing electrons of 30MeV at the ELBE facility, time resolutions and detection efficiencies were studied for an MRPC (Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber) based neutron detector with passive iron converters, on the one hand, and a pure scintillator based neutron ToF detector on the other hand. The ELBE data show good time resolutions (σt,electron < 120 ps) and detection efficiencies (ǫelectron > 90%) for both systems. Small MRPC prototypes were irradiated with 175MeV quasi-monochromatic neutrons at The Svedberg Laboratory (TSL) in Uppsala measuring efficiencies of ǫMRPC,neutron = 1.0%. It will be shown that MRPCs with passive steel converters may be included as neutron detectors in experiments where a lower multi-neutron capability than the one needed for NeuLAND is sufficient. / Viele neutronenreiche Kerne sind im schnellen Neutroneneinfangprozess (r-Prozess, engl. für rapid) involviert. Der r-Prozess bildet einen wichtigen Pfad für die Nukleosynthese schwerer Elemente und verläuft entlang der Neutronen-Dripline. Astrophysiker schlugen Kernkollaps-Supernovae innerhalb eines neutrinogetriebenen Windes als mögliches astrophysikalisches Szenario für den r-Prozess vor. Dabei werden alle zuvor gebildeten Elemente in Protonen, Neutronen und Alphapartikel dissoziiert. Außerdem ist von Berechnungen mit Reaktionsnetzwerken bekannt, dass leichte neutronenreiche Kerne einen hohen Einfluss auf die Elementverteilung des r-Prozesses haben. Reaktionen dieser exotischen Kerne können nur mit radioaktiven Ionenstrahlen studiert werden, da ihre Halbwertszeiten im Bereich von wenigen hundert Millisekunden (T1/2,19N=330ms) zu gering sind, um Probenmaterial daraus herzustellen. Zwei Beispiele solcher Reaktionen, die auf dem Pfad des r-Prozesses liegen, sind die 19N(n,γ)20N und die 20N(n,γ)21N Reaktionen. Unter Verwendung von 20N (bzw. 21N) als Strahl wurden diese Reaktionen am Fragment Separator (FRS) der GSI unter zeitumgekehrten Bedingungen mittels Coulomb-Aufbruch gemessen, indem das virtuelle Photonenfeld einer Bleiprobe ausgenutzt wurde. Das Experiment wurde am LAND/R3B Aufbau (Large Area Neutron Detector, Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) in einer kinematisch vollständigen Messung durchgeführt, d.h. alle ausgehenden Reaktionsprodukte wurden detektiert. Die relativistischen Neutronen wurden mit dem LAND-Detektor untersucht. Dessen Kalibration spielt eine wichtige Rolle für die hier analysierten Reaktionen. Dabei wurde der Smiley-Effekt studiert, welcher beinhaltet, dass die gemessene Energie von einfallenden Teilchen mittels langen Szintillatorstreifen nicht unabhängig von der Position ist, an der die Teilchen auf den Detektor treffen. Es wird gezeigt, dass Reflexionen des Lichtes beim Durchgang durch den Szintillator und die größere Weglänge, die das Licht zurücklegen muss, wenn es nicht direkt in Richtung der Enden des Szintillators emittiert wird, den Smiley-Effekt verursachen. Gamma-Spektren in Koinzidenz mit ausgehenden 19N (bzw. 20N) wurden gewonnen und stimmen gut mit früheren Veröffentlichungen überein. Diese Spektren wurden dazu verwendet, die Übergänge des Projektilkerns in den Grundzustand und den ersten angeregten Zustand des Ejektilkerns zu identifizieren. Die Wirkungsquerschnitte des Coulombaufbruchs der Projektilkerne und die Anregungsenergiespektren beider Reaktionen wurden berechnet und separiert in Übergänge in den Grundzustand und die dominierenden Übergänge in den ersten angeregten Zustand. Um künftige Experimente an exotischen Kernen zu ermöglichen, wurden zusätzlich zwei Detektorkonzepte für NeuLAND (Nachfolger von LAND) untersucht. Mit minimal ionisierenden Elektronen mit Energien von 30MeV aus dem Elektronenbeschleuniger ELBE wurden die Zeitauflösungen und Detektionseffizienzen zum einen für einen MRPC (Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber) basierenden Neutronendetektor mit passiven Stahlkonverter und zum anderen für einen reinen szintillatorbasierenden Neutronendetektor studiert. Die ELBE-Daten zeigen gute Zeitauflösungen (σt,electron < 120ps) und Detektionseffizienzen (ǫelectron > 90%) für beide Systeme. Kleine MRPC-Prototypen wurden mit quasi-monochromatischen Neutronen mit einer Energie von 175MeV am TSL (The Svedberg Laboratory) in Uppsala bestrahlt. Dabei wurden Effizienzen von ǫMRPC,neutron = 1.0% gemessen. Es wird gezeigt, dass MRPCs mit passiven Stahlkonvertern als Neutronendetektoren bei Experimenten, bei denen eine geringere Multineutronenfähigkeit als für NeuLAND ausreichend ist, eingesetzt werden können.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2009. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Oct. 22, 2009). Thesis advisor: Kate Jones. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:45:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 07295.pdf: 6617875 bytes, checksum: 02bc676c5e25a80397e40d7d6eecf61d (MD5) / Tese (Doutoramento) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

A scheme, analogous to the linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO), is used to calculate rates of reactions for the fusion of nuclei con¯ned in molecules. As an example, the possibility of nuclear fusion in rotationally excited H2O molecules of angular momentum 1¡ is estimated for the p + p + 16O ! 18Ne¤(4:522; 1¡) nuclear transition. Due to a practically exact agreement of the energy of the Ne resonance and of the p + p + 16O threshold, the possibility of an enhanced transition probability is investigated. / Physics / M.Sc.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:34:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:01:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:51:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:07:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Tese (Doutoramento) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Funções de excitação para o espalhamento quase-elástico (elástico, inelásticos e transferências) foram medidas para os sistemas 16O +64 Zn, 17O +64 Zn e 18O +64 Zn, no ângulo traseiro de 161º, no referencial de laboratório, e em energias compreendidas entre 30:0 e 46:0 MeV , usando pequenos passos de 0:5 e 1:0 MeV , para energias abaixo e acima da barreira de Coulomb. Realizando uma derivada sobre dados experimentais, foram obtidas as distribuições de barreiras quase-elásticas para os três sistemas, as quais são equivalentes às distribuições de barreiras de fusão e revelam o mecanismo de reação dos sistemas. Para obter esses dados foi necessário uma boa resolução em carga, Z, do detector proporcional a gás, E-E, e também o uso de detectores barreira de superfície colocados em ângulos dianteiros, ±30º e -45º, utilizados para normalização de nossas medidas. Uma análise teórica dos dados foi realizada usando o modelo de canais de reação acoplados CRC através dos programas FRESCO [Thom 88] e CQUEL [Hagi 04] (uma nova versão do CCFULL [Hagi 99]). Em nossos cálculos, para evitar o uso de parâmetros livres, decidimos usar o potencial real de dupla convolução de São Paulo [Cham 02] que descreve físicamente a interação núcleo-núcleo, se baseia na não-localidade de Pauli e se caracteriza pela troca de nucleons. O potencial imaginário, responsável pela absorção do uxo de partículas que vai para fusão, foi restrita para ser de curto alcance e, desta maneira, não se afetar os processos quase-elásticos. Na análise teórica dos dados da função de excitação de transferência de um e dois nêutrons para os sistemas 17O +64 Zn e 18O +64 Zn, foi feito um ajuste para se obter informações espectroscópicas experimentais de vários estados do 65Zn e do 66Zn, as quais foram usados na análise da função de excitação e distribução de barreiras quase-elásticas para cada sistema. Os resultados obtidos nesses três sistemas são muito interessantes: o sistema 16O+64Zn mostra que os canais mais importantes que contribuem para um aumento da seção de choque de fusão são os estados 2+1 e 3-1 do alvo [Huiz 07] (CQUEL), e o estado 3-1 do projétil (FRESCO). No sistema 17O +64 Zn resultou que os estados excitados do quadrupolo e octupolo do alvo, 2+ 1 e 3-1 , são acoplados fortemente ao canal do elástico mas foi necessário acoplar o canal de transferência de um nêutron para descrever os nossos dados. Da mesma maneira, o sistema 18O+64 Zn ratificou que esses dois estados do alvo se acoplam fortemente ao canal de transferência de dois nêutrons, porém foi necessário incluir na matriz de acoplamento o canal de transferência de um nêutron utilizando os resultados obtidos para o sistema 17O +64 Zn, como uma aproximação. Verificamos que todos esses canais no sistema 18O +64 Zn descrevem os dados e tem forte influência sobre a forma da distribuição de barreira. / Excitation functions for quasi-elastic scattering (elastic, inelastic and transfer) were measured for the 16O +64 Zn, 17O +64 Zn and 18O +64 Zn systems, at backward angles of 161º, in the laboratory reference system, and in the energy range between 30:0 and 46:0 MeV using steps of 0:5 and 1:0 MeV , for energies below and above the Coulomb barrier. Performing a derivative on experimental data we obtained the quasi-elastic barrier distributions for the three systems, which are equivalent to the fusion barrier distributions, and make evident the reaction mechanisms of the system. To obtain these data a good charge resolution \"Z\" of a gas proportional counter, E -E, was necessary and also the use of surface barrier detectors placed at forward angles, ±30º and -45167 for normalization. A theoretical analysis of the data was performed using the coupled reaction channel model CRC through the use of FRESCO [Thom 88] and CQUEL [Hagi 04] (a new version of CCFULL [Hagi 99]). To avoid the use of free parameters, in our calculations, we decided to use the real potential of the double-folding São Paulo Potencial [Cham 02], which describes physically the nucleus-nucleus interaction. It is based on Pauli non-locality and is characterized by the exchange of nucleons. The imaginary potential, responsible for the absorption of particles in a fusion process, was restricted to a very short range, and thus, it does not affect the quasi-elastic processes. In the theoretical analysis of the transfer excitation functions of one and two neutrons for the 17O+64Zn and 18O+64Zn systems, we obtained the spectroscopic information for some experimental states in 65Zn and 66Zn, which were used in the analysis of the excitation function and quasi-elastic barrier distributions for each system. The results obtained in these three systems are very interesting: the 16O +64 Zn system shows that the most important channels contributing to enhancement fusion cross section are the states 2+1 and 3-1 of the target [Huiz 07] (CQUEL), and the state 3-1 of the projectile (FRESCO). The 17O+64Zn system shows that the quadrupole and octupole excited states of the target, 2+ 1 and 3-1 , are strongly coupled to the elastic channel but it was necessary to couple the one neutron transfer channel in order to describe our data. Similarly, the 18O +64 Zn system confirmed that those two states of the target are strongly coupled to the two neutron transfer channel, but it was necessary to include in the coupling matrix the one neutron transfer channel. We verify that all these channels in the 18O +64 Zn describe the data and they in uence strongly the shape of the barrier distributions.

Foram medidas distribuições angulares do espalhamento elástico 17O + p e da reação de transferência p(17O,a)14N nas energias ECM = 1,39 e 2,33 MeV. Foi utilizado feixe de 17O produzido no Laboratório Pelletron, com energias de 25 e 42 MeV. As medidas foram efetuadas utilizando-se alvos plásticos de mylar aluminizado (C10H10O4) e polietileno (CH2) com espessuras de 354µg/cm² e 6mg/cm², respectivamente. As distribuições angulares experimentais do espalhamento elástico e da reação de transferência foram analisadas por cálculos de Modelo Óptico e Aproximação de Born de Ondas Distorcidas (DWBA), ambos levando em conta uma estimativa da contribuição do núcleo composto através de cálculos de Hauser-Feshbach. Em 42 MeV, foi medida uma função de excitação do espalhamento elástico utilizando o Método de Espalhamento Ressonante com alvo grosso de (CH2). Várias ressonâncias do núcleo composto 18F são observadas. / Angular distributions of the elastic scattering 17O + p and of the transfer reaction p(17O, a)14N have been measured at the energies, ECM = 1.39 and 2.33 MeV. The 17O beam was produced by the Pelletron accelerator at the energies of 25 and 42 MeV. The measurements have been performed using plastic targets of aluminized mylar (C10H10O4) and polyethylene (CH2) with thicknesses 354µg/cm² and 6mg/cm², respectively. The experimental angular distributions of the elastic scattering and of the transfer reaction have been analyzed by optical model and Distorted Waves Born Approximation (DWBA) calculations, both taking into account the compound nucleus contribution via Hauser-Feshbach calculations. At 42 MeV, an excitation function of the elastic scattering has been measured using the Resonant Scattering Method with thick targets of (CH2). Resonances in the 18F compound nucleus are observed.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:45:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 07295.pdf: 6617875 bytes, checksum: 02bc676c5e25a80397e40d7d6eecf61d (MD5) / Tese (Doutoramento) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:34:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:01:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Pesquisas que tem como objetivo melhorar o desempenho de códigos de transporte de nêutrons e a qualidade de bases de dados de seções de choque nucleares são muito importantes para aumentar a acurácia de simulações e a qualidade de análises e predição de fenômenos no campo nuclear. Neste contexto, dados experimentais relevantes como medidas de reatividade induzida são necessários. O objetivo deste trabalho foi conduzir uma série de experimentos de medida de reatividade induzida, utilizando um reatímetro digital desenvolvido pelo IPEN. Os experimentos empregaram amostras metálicas inseridas na região central do núcleo do reator experimental IPEN/MB-01. A análise teórica foi realizada pelo código de física de reatores MCNP-5, desenvolvido e mantido pelo Los Alamos National Laboratory, e a biblioteca de dados nucleares ENDF/B-VII.0. / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP