The breaking of the N=8 shell-model magic number in the 12Be ground state has been determined to include significant occupancy of the intruder d-wave orbital. This is in marked contrast with all other N=8 isotones, both more and less exotic than 12Be. The occupancies of the [FORMULA: SEE TEXT]orbital and the [FORMULA: SEE TEXT], intruder orbital were deduced from a measurement of neutron removal from a high-energy 12Be beam leading to bound and unbound states in 11Be.

A new approach to the production and detection of bound neutron clusters is presented. The technique is based on the breakup of beams of very neutron-rich nuclei and the subsequent detection of the recoiling proton in a liquid scintillator. The method has been tested in the breakup of 11 Li, 14 Be and 15 B beams by a C target. Some 6 events were observed that exhibit the characteristics of a multineutron cluster liberated in the breakup of 14 Be, most probably in the channel 10 Be+ 4 n. The various backgrounds that may mimic such a signal are discussed in detail.

Mean square radii of light radioactive projectiles, including exotic isotopes close to the neutron drip line ("Li, 14Be, and 17B), have been deduced from total reaction cross-section measurements, using a simple microscopic model. The isospin dependence of nuclear radii is discussed and compared to other experimental results.

The dynamical effects of the entrance channel on the formation of the evaporation residues are studied by analyzing the 40 Ar + 176 Hf, 86 Kr + 130,136 Xe, 124 Sn + 92 Zr, and 48 Ca + 174 Yb reactions leading to the 216 Th * and 222 Th * compound nuclei. We find that the difference between the evaporation residue cross sections for the reactions leading to the same compound nucleus is caused by the different angular momentum distributions of the partial fusion cross sections σ fus (E c.m. ). The strong dependence of the fusion angular momentum distribution on the mass (charge) asymmetry and shell structure of reactants is demonstrated. The effect of the A/Z ratio for the 86 Kr + 130,136 Xe reactions is discussed. The dynamical conditions of capture affect the competition between complete fusion and quasifission and, consequently, the shape of the angular momentum distribution of the compound nucleus. By this way the peculiarities of the entrance channel also affect the fission-evaporation competition of the excited intermediate nuclei along the deexcitation cascade of the compound nucleus and, consequently, the evaporation residue formation.

The breakup of 12 Be into 6 He 1 6 He and 4 He 1 8 He has been studied using a 378 MeV 12 Be beam inelastically excited by 12 C and ͑CH 2 ͒ n targets. The measurements indicate that breakup occurs from rotational states in the 10 to 25 MeV excitation energy interval, with spins in the range of 4h to 8h. The inferred moment of inertia is consistent with the cluster decay of an exotic molecular structure in 12 Be, which may be associated with an a-4n-a cluster configuration. [S0031-9007(99)08451-3]