Design and commissioning of a neutron counter adapted to high-intensity laser matter interactions

The advent of multi-PW laser facilities world-wide opens new opportunities for nuclear physics. With this perspective, we developed a neutron counter taking into account the specifics of a high-intensity laser environment. Using GEANT4 simulations and prototype testings, we report on the design of a modular neutron counter based on boron-10 enriched scintillators and a high-density polyethylene moderator. This detector has been calibrated using a plutonium-beryllium neutron source and commissioned during an actual neutron-producing laser experiment at the LULI2000 facility (France). An overall efficiency of 4.37(59)% has been demonstrated during calibration with a recovery time of a few hundred microseconds after laser-plasma interaction.

Competition between Allowed and First-Forbidden β Decay: The Case of ^{208}Hg→^{208}Tl

The β decay of ^{208}Hg into the one-proton hole, one neutron-particle _{81}^{208}Tl_{127} nucleus was investigated at CERN-ISOLDE. Shell-model calculations describe well the level scheme deduced, validating the proton-neutron interactions used, with implications for the whole of the N>126, Z<82 quadrant of neutron-rich nuclei. While both negative and positive parity states with spin 0 and 1 are expected within the Q_{β} window, only three negative parity states are populated directly in the β decay. The data provide a unique test of the competition between allowed Gamow-Teller and Fermi, and first-forbidden β decays, essential for the understanding of the nucleosynthesis of heavy nuclei in the rapid neutron capture process. Furthermore, the observation of the parity changing 0^{+}→0^{-}β decay where the daughter state is core excited is unique, and can provide information on mesonic corrections of effective operators.

Spectroscopy of 26F to probe proton-neutron forces close to the drip line

A long-lived J(π) = 4(1)(+) isomer, T(1/2) = 2.2(1) ms, has been discovered at 643.4(1) keV in the weakly bound (9)(26)F nucleus. It was populated at Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds in the fragmentation of a (36)S beam. It decays by an internal transition to the J(π) = 1(1)(+) ground state [82(14)%], by β decay to (26)Ne, or β-delayed neutron emission to (25)Ne. From the β-decay studies of the J(π) =1(1)(+) and J(π) = 4(1)(+) states, new excited states have been discovered in (25,26)Ne. Gathering the measured binding energies of the J(π) = 1(1)(+) -4(1)(+) multiplet in (9)(26)F, we find that the proton-neutron π0d(5/2)ν0d(3/2) effective force used in shell-model calculations should be reduced to properly account for the weak binding of (9)(26)F. Microscopic coupled cluster theory calculations using interactions derived from chiral effective field theory are in very good agreement with the energy of the low-lying 1(1)(+), 2(1)(+), 4(1)(+) states in (26)F. Including three-body forces and coupling to the continuum effects improve the agreement between experiment and theory as compared to the use of two-body forces only.

Unveiling the intruder deformed 02(+) state in 34Si

The 02(+) state in 34Si has been populated at the GANIL-LISE3 facility through the β decay of a newly discovered 1(+) isomer in 34Al of 26(1) ms half-life. The simultaneous detection of e(+)e(-) pairs allowed the determination of the excitation energy E(02(+))=2719(3)  keV and the half-life T(1/2)=19.4(7) ns, from which an electric monopole strength of ρ(2)(E0)=13.0(0.9)×10(-3) was deduced. The 2(1)(+) state is observed to decay both to the 0(1)(+) ground state and to the newly observed 0(2)(+) state [via a 607(2) keV transition] with a ratio R(2(1)(+)→0(1)(+)/2(1)(+)→0(2)(+))=1380(717). Gathering all information, a weak mixing with the 0(1)(+) and a large deformation parameter of β=0.29(4) are found for the 0(2)(+) state, in good agreement with shell model calculations using a new SDPF-U-MIX interaction allowing np-nh excitations across the N=20 shell gap.

Prolate-spherical shape coexistence at N=28 in 44S

The structure of 44S has been studied by using delayed γ and electron spectroscopy. The decay rates of the 02+ isomeric state to the 2(1)+ and 0(1)+ states, measured for the first time, lead to a reduced transition probability B(E2: 2(1)+→0(2)+)=8.4(26) e(2) fm4 and a monopole strength ρ2(E0: 0(2)+→0(1)+)=8.7(7)×10(-3). Comparisons to shell model calculations point towards prolate-spherical shape coexistence, and a two-level mixing model is used to extract a weak mixing between the two configurations.

Direct evaluation of erythrocyte aggregability in human, sheep and cow blood samples with a computerized image analysis

The non-Newtonian properties of blood are caused by the unique properties of red blood cells to aggregate and to deform. Aggregation mechanism of erythrocytes contributes significantly to blood viscosity. Techniques for the assessment of red cell aggregability have major implications for medical practice. A number of techniques based on various principles have been proposed by many researches. However, as yet, none of these techniques have been applied on a wide basis. The aim of the present paper is to determine red cell aggregability in sheep, cow and human blood samples. The red cells remain in the their natural environment (their own blood plasma). First, we had to transform an IBM-PC computer into an Image Acquisition System, so we designed a frame-grabber and the soft driver necessary to assure the image acquisition taken by the TV camera by means of the microscope. These images are digitized, transformed in a standard format BMP and can be compressed and stored or processed. The entire system software is written in C++ assembly language. To evaluate the aggregability index in the blood sample was determined the total area occupied by all automatically detected erythrocytes (Stot) and the overall area occupied by the aggregated erythrocytes (Saggreg). . EAI = (Saggreg/Stot) x 100%; EAI shows the tendency of red blood cell to form aggregates.