The lifetimes of first excited 2 + , 4 + and 6 + states in 98 Zr were measured with the Recoil-Distance Doppler-Shift method in an experiment performed at GANIL. Excited states in 98 Zr were populated using the fission reaction between a 6.2 MeV/u 238 U beam and a 9 Be target. The γ rays were detected with the EXOGAM array in correlation with the fission fragments identified in mass and atomic number in the VAMOS++ spectrometer. Our result shows very small B(E2; 2 + 1 → 0 + 1 ) value in 98 Zr thereby confirming the very sudden onset of collectivity at N = 60. The experimental results are compared to large-scale Monte Carlo Shell model and beyond mean field calculations. The present results indicate coexistence of two additional deformed shapes in this nucleus along with the spherical ground state.The study of various modes of excitations and the associated evolution of nuclear shapes along spin and isospin axes in atomic nuclei is one of the fundamental quests in nuclear physics. While nuclei with "magic numbers" of protons and/or neutrons have spherical ground states, as one moves away, the polarizing effect of added nucleons leads to deformation. Throughout the nuclear landscape, this onset of deformation is usually a gradual process, however in neutron rich nuclei around mass A ∼ 100 the shape change is rather drastic and abrupt. The ground states of Sr and Zr isotopes with N ranging from the magic number N = 50 up to N < 60 are weakly deformed, however, they undergo a rapid shape transition from nearly spherical to well deformed prolate deformations as N = 60 is approached. The sudden nature of shape transition in Sr and Zr isotopes is evident from the abrupt changes in the two neutron separation energies [1] and mean-square charge radii [2, 3], but also from the excitation energies of 2 + 1 states and B(E2) values [4]. On the other hand, in isotopes with Z ≥ 42 the shape change is rather gradual [1,5] showing also characteristic signatures of triaxiality. This strong dependence of the observed spectroscopic properties, both on the number of protons and neutrons, makes the neutron-rich A ∼ 100 nuclei an excellent mass region for testing various theoretical models.Many experimental and theoretical studies have already been reported on the structure of these nuclei. More specifically for the Zr isotopes, the onset of deformation at N = 60 has been described by a number of theoretical models [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], however, none of the models have been able to successfully reproduce the aforementioned rapid change. Very recently, the abrupt shape changes were correctly described by large-scale Monte-Carlo Shell Model (MCSM) calculations [20,21]. In the so-called type-II shell evolution scenario, the (prolate) deformed states in the isotopes with N ≥ 60 are associated with proton excitations to the 0g 9/2 orbital. Driven by the central and tensor components of the effective (proton-neutron) interactions, these excitations result in a lowering and subsequent filling of the neutron 0g ...

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A dedicated setup for the in-beam measurement of absolute cross sections of astrophysically relevant charged-particle induced reactions is presented. These, usually very low, cross sections at energies of astrophysical interest are important to improve the modeling of the nucleosynthesis processes of heavy nuclei. Particular emphasis is put on the production of the p nuclei during the astrophysical γ process. The recently developed setup utilizes the highefficiency γ-ray spectrometer HORUS, which is located at the 10 MV FN tandem ion accelerator of the Institute for Nuclear Physics in Cologne.The design of this setup will be presented and results of the recently measured 89 Y(p,γ) 90 Zr reaction will be discussed. The excellent agreement with existing data shows, that the HORUS spectrometer is a powerful tool to determine total and partial cross sections using the in-beam method with high-purity germanium detectors.

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The high-spin structures and isomers of the N = 81 isotones 135 Xe and 137 Ba are investigated after multinucleon-transfer (MNT) and fusion-evaporation reactions. Both nuclei are populated (i) in 136 Xe+ 238 U and (ii) 136 Xe+ 208 Pb MNT reactions employing the high-resolution Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA, (iii), in the 136 Xe+ 198 Pt MNT reaction employing the γ-ray array GAMMASPHERE in combination with the gas-detector array CHICO, and (iv) via a 11 B+ 130 Te fusion-evaporation reaction with the HORUS γ-ray array at the University of Cologne. The high-spin level schemes of 135 Xe and 137 Ba are considerably extended to higher energies. The 2058-keV (19/2 − ) state in 135 Xe is identified as an isomer, closing a gap in the systematics along the N = 81 isotones. Its half-life is measured to be 9.0(9) ns, corresponding to a reduced transition probability of B(E2, 19/2 − → 15/2 − ) = 0.52(6) W.u. The experimentally-deduced reduced transition probabilities of the isomeric states are compared to shell-model predictions. Latest shell-model calculations reproduce the experimental findings generally well and provide guidance to the interpretation of the new levels.

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Background: The semi-magic Sn (Z = 50) isotopes have been subject to many nuclear-structure studies. Signatures of shape coexistence have been observed and attributed to two-proton-two-hole (2p-2h) excitations across the Z = 50 shell closure. In addition, many low-lying nuclear-structure features have been observed which have effectively constrained theoretical models in the past. One example are so-called quadrupole-octupole coupled states (QOC) caused by the coupling of the collective quadrupole and octupole phonons. Purpose: Proton-scattering experiments followed by the coincident spectroscopy of γ rays have been performed at the Institute for Nuclear Physics of the University of Cologne to excite low-spin states in 112 Sn and 114 Sn, to determine their lifetimes and extract reduced transitions strengths B(ΠL). Methods: The combined spectroscopy setup SONIC@HORUS has been used to detect the scattered protons and the emitted γ rays of excited states in coincidence. The novel (p, p ′ γ) DSA coincidence technique was employed to measure sub-ps nuclear level lifetimes. Results: 74 level lifetimes τ of states with J = 0 − 6 were determined. In addition, branching ratios were deduced which allowed the investigation of the intruder configuration in both nuclei. Here, sd IBM-2 mixing calculations were added which support the coexistence of the two configurations. Furthermore, members of the expected QOC quintuplet are proposed in 114 Sn for the first time. The 1 − candidate in 114 Sn fits perfectly into the systematics observed for the other stable Sn isotopes. Conclusions: The E2 transition strengths observed for the low-spin members of the so-called intruder band support the existence of shape coexistence in 112,114 Sn. The collectivity in this configuration is comparable to the one observed in the Pd nuclei, i.e. the 0p-4h nuclei. Strong mixing between the 0 + states of the normal and intruder configuration might be observed in 114 Sn. The general existence of QOC states in 112,114 Sn is supported by the observation of QOC candidates with J = 1.