We report the properties of the prompt dipole radiation, produced via a collective bremsstrahlung mechanism, in fusion reactions with exotic beams. We show that the gamma yield is sensitive to the density dependence of the symmetry energy below/around saturation. Moreover we find that the angular distribution of the emitted photons from such fast collective mode can represent a sensitive probe of its excitation mechanism and of fusion dynamics in the entrance channel.
The evolution of the PDR strength with the neutron excess is investigated in Sn isotopic and N=82 isotonic chains with regard to its possible connection with the neutron skin thickness. For this purpose a recently proposed method incorporating both HFB and multi-phonon QPM theory is applied. Analysis of the corresponding neutron and proton dipole transition densities is presented.
[Background] Reactions with stable beams have demonstrated a strong interplay between nuclear structure and fusion. Exotic beam facilities open new perspectives to understand the impact of neutron skin, large isospin, and weak binding energies on fusion. Microscopic theories of fusion are required to guide future experiments. [Purpose] To investigate new effects of exotic structures and dynamics in near-barrier fusion with exotic nuclei. [Method] Microscopic approaches based on the Hartree-Fock (HF) mean-field theory are used for studying fusion barriers in $^{40-54}$Ca+$^{116}$Sn reactions fo…
The isotopic dependence of the complete fusion (capture) cross section is analyzed in the reactions $^{130,132,134,136,138,140,142,144,146,148,150}$Xe+$^{48}$Ca with stable and radioactive beams. It is shown for the first time that the very neutron-rich nuclei $^{186-191}$W can be reached with relatively large cross sections by complete fusion reactions with radioactive ion beams at incident energies near the Coulomb barrier. A comparison between the complete fusion and fragmentation reactions for the production of neutron-rich W and neutron-deficient Rn isotopes is performed.
The excitation of the giant dipole resonance by fusion is studied with N/Z asymmetry in the entrance channel. the TDHF solution exhibits a strong dipole vibration which can be associated with a giant vibration along the main axis of a fluctuating prolate shape. The consequences on the gamma-ray emission from hot compound nuclei are discussed.
We estimate the dipole radiation emitted in fusion processes. We show that a classical bremsstrahlung approach can account for both the preequilibrium and the thermal photon emission. We give an absolute evaluation of the pre-equilibrium component due to the charge asymmetry in the entrance channel and we study the energy and mass dependence in order to optimize the observation. This dynamical dipole radiation could be a relevant cooling mechanism in the fusion path. We stress the interest in experiments with the new available radioactive beams.
The effect of inelastic excitation of exotic light projectiles (proton- as well as neutron-rich) $^{17}$F and $^{11}$Be on fusion with heavy target has been studied at near-barrier energies. The calculations have been performed in the coupled channels approach where, in addition to the normal coupling of the ground state of the projectile to the continuum, inelastic excitation of the projectile to the bound excited state and its coupling to the continuum have also been taken into consideration. The inclusion of these additional couplings has been found to have significant effect on the fusion …
We study theoretically fusion of the light proton-rich exotic nuclei $^{17}$F and $^8$B at near-barrier energies in order to investigate the possible role of breakup processes on their fusion cross sections. To this end, coupled channel calculations are performed considering the couplings to the breakup channels of these projectiles. In case of $^{17}$F, the coupling arising out of the inelastic excitation from the ground state to the bound excited state and its couplings to the continuum have also been taken into consideration. It is found that the inelastic excitation/breakup of $^{17}$F aff…
The equilibration of macroscopic degrees of freedom during the fusion of heavy nuclei, like the charge and the shape, are studied in the Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock theory. The pre-equilibrium Giant Dipole Resonance (GDR) is used to probe the fusion path. It is shown that such isovector collective state is excited in N/Z asymmetric fusion and to a less extent in mass asymmetric systems. The characteristics of this GDR are governed by the structure of the fused system in its preequilibrium phase, like its deformation, rotation and vibration. In particular, we show that a lowering of the pre-equ…
Heavy Ion Collisions (HIC) represent a unique tool to probe the in-medium nuclear interaction in regions away from saturation. In this work we present a selection of reaction observables in dissipative collisions particularly sensitive to the isovector part of the interaction, i.e. to the symmetry term of the nuclear Equation of State (EoS). At low energies the behavior of the symmetry energy around saturation influences dissipation and fragment production mechanisms. We will first discuss the recently observed Dynamical Dipole Radiation, due to a collective neutron-proton oscillation during t…
We explore giant resonance spectra and low-lying dipole strength in the Ni and Sn chains from proton rich to very neutron rich isotopes, relevant in astrophysical reaction chains. For the theoretical description we employ the random-phase approximation (RPA) plus many-body effects through a phonon coupling model with optimized selection of phonons. The nuclear force is based on the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock energy functional carried consistently through all steps of modelling. The main effect of phonon coupling is a broadening of the spectral distributions (collisional width). This broadening is par…
The influence on fusion of coupling to the breakup process is investigated for reactions where at least one of the colliding nuclei has a sufficiently low binding energy for breakup to become an important process. Elastic scattering, excitation functions for sub-and near-barrier fusion cross sections, and breakup yields are analyzed for $^{6,7}$Li+$^{59}$Co. Continuum-Discretized Coupled-Channels (CDCC) calculations describe well the data at and above the barrier. Elastic scattering with $^{6}$Li (as compared to $^{7}$Li) indicates the significant role of breakup for weakly bound projectiles. …
The effect of breakup is investigated for the medium weight $^{6}$Li+$^{59}$Co system in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier. The strong coupling of breakup/transfer channels to fusion is discussed within a comparison of predictions of the Continuum Discretized Coupled-Channels model which is also applied to $^{6}$He+$^{59}$Co a reaction induced by the borromean halo nucleus $^{6}$He.
We studied firstly the ground state properties of C-isotopes using a deformed Hartree-Fock (HF)+ BCS model with Skyrme interactions. Shallow deformation minima are found in several neutron$-$rich C-isotopes. It is shown also that the deformation minima appear in both the oblate and the prolate sides in $^{17}$C and $^{19}$C having almost the same binding energies. Secondly, we carried out shell model calculations to study electromagnetic moments and electric dipole transitions of the C-isotopes. We point out the clear configuration dependence of the quadrupole and magnetic moments in the odd C…
We study the correlations between two neutrons in borromian nuclei $^{11}$Li and $^6$He by using a three-body model with a density-dependent contact two-body interaction. It is shown that the two neutrons show a compact bound feature at the nuclear surface due to the mixing of single particle states of different parity. We study the Coulomb breakup cross sections of $^{11}$Li and $^6$He using the same three-body model. We show that the concentration of the B(E1) strength near the threshold can be well reproduced with this model as a typical nature of the halo nuclei. The energy distributions o…
The influence on the fusion process of coupling to collective degrees of freedom has been explored. The significant enhancement of the fusion cross section at sub-barrier energies was compared to predictions of one-dimensional barrier penetration models. This was understood in terms of the dynamical processes arising from strong couplings to collective inelastic excitations of the target and projectile. However, in the case of reactions where at least one of the colliding nuclei has a sufficiently low binding energy, for breakup to become an important process, conflicting model predictions and…
We study the effect of a direct Giant Dipole Resonance ($GDR$) excitation in intermediate dinuclear systems with exotic shape and charge distributions formed in charge asymmetric fusion entrance channels. A related enhancement of the $GDR$ gamma yield in the evaporation cascade of the fused nucleus is expected. The dynamical origin of such $GDR$ extra strength will show up in a characteristic anisotropy of the dipole gamma-emission. A fully microscopic analysis of the fusion dynamics is performed with quantitative predictions of the $GDR$ photon yield based on a dynamics- statistics coupling m…
The recent availability of radioactive beams has opened up a new era in nuclear physics. The interactions and structure of exotic nuclei close to the drip lines have been studied extensively world wide, and it has been revealed that unstable nuclei, having weakly bound nucleons, exhibit characteristic features such as a halo structure and a soft dipole excitation. We here review the developments of the physics of unstable nuclei in the past few decades. The topics discussed in this Chapter include the halo and skin structures, the Coulomb breakup, the dineutron correlation, the pair transfer r…
The low-lying dipole and quadrupole states in neutron rich nuclei, are studied within the fully self-consistent relativistic quasiparticle random-phase approximation (RQRPA), formulated in the canonical basis of the Relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov model (RHB), which is extended to include the density dependent interactions. In heavier nuclei, the low-lying E1 excited state is identified as a pygmy dipole resonance (PDR), i.e. as a collective mode of excess neutrons oscillating against a proton-neutron core. Isotopic dependence of the PDR is characterized by a crossing between the PDR and one-n…
We report on systematical optical model (OM) and continuum discretized coupled channel (CDCC) calculations applied to describe the elastic scattering angular distributions of exotic and stable nuclei projectiles on heavy targets. Our optical potential (OP) is composed of the nuclear microscopic double folding São Paulo potential (SPP), derived from the nonlocal nature of the interaction, and the Coulomb dipole polarization (CDP) potential, derived from the semiclassical theory of Coulomb excitation. The OP is compared to the trivial equivalent local potential (TELP), extracted from CDCC calcul…
The current status of electric dipole moments of diamagnetic atoms which involves the synergy between atomic experiments and three different theoretical areas -- particle, nuclear and atomic is reviewed. Various models of particle physics that predict CP violation, which is necessary for the existence of such electric dipole moments, are presented. These include the standard model of particle physics and various extensions of it. Effective hadron level combined charge conjugation (C) and parity (P) symmetry violating interactions are derived taking into consideration different ways in which a …
We studied dipole excitations in $^{10}$Be based on an extended version of the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics, which can describe 1p-1h excitations and large amplitude cluster modes. Toroidal and compressive dipole operators are found to be good proves to separate the low-energy and high-energy parts of the isoscalar dipole excitations, respectively. Two low-energy $1^-$ states, the toroidal dominant $1^-_1$ state at $E\sim 8$ MeV and the $E1$ dominant $1^-_2$ state at $E\sim 16$ MeV, were obtained. By analysis of transition current densities, the $1^-_1$ states is understood as a toroidal…
The evolution of the giant dipole resonance's (GDR) width and shape at finite temperature $T$ and angular momentum $J$ is described within the framework of the phonon damping model (PDM). The PDM description is compared with the established experimental systematics obtained from heavy-ion fusion and inelastic scattering of light particles on heavy target nuclei, as well as with predictions by other theoretical approaches. Extended to include the effect of angular momentum $J$, its strength functions have been averaged over the probability distributions of $T$ and $J$ for the heavy-ion fusion-e…
[Background] While the tensor interaction has been shown to significantly affect the nuclear structure of exotic nuclei, its influence on nuclear reactions has only recently been investigated. The primary reason for this neglect is the fact that most studies of nuclear dynamics do not include the tensor force at all in their models. Indeed, only a few Skyrme parametrizations consider the tensor interaction in parameter determination. With modern research facilities extending our ability to probe exotic nuclei, a correct description of nuclear dynamics and heavy-ion fusion is vital to both supp…
The collective excitation phenomena in atomic nuclei are studied in two different formulations of the Random Phase Approximation (RPA): (i) RPA based on correlated realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions constructed within the Unitary Correlation Operator Method (UCOM), and (ii) relativistic RPA (RRPA) derived from effective Lagrangians with density-dependent meson-exchange interactions. The former includes the dominant interaction-induced short-range central and tensor correlations by means of an unitary transformation. It is shown that UCOM-RPA correlations induced by collective nuclear vibra…
Atomic nuclei are composite systems, and they may be dynamically excited during nuclear reactions. Such excitations are not only relevant to inelastic scattering but they also affect other reaction processes such as elastic scattering and fusion. The coupled-channels approach is a framework which can describe these reaction processes in a unified manner. It expands the total wave function of the system in terms of the ground and excited states of the colliding nuclei, and solves the coupled Shrödinger equations to obtain the $S$-matrix, from which several cross sections can be constructed. Thi…
The correlations between multiplicities in two separated rapidity windows, is studied in the framework of the Monte Carlo model based on the picture of string formation in elementary collisions of colour dipoles. The hardness of the elementary collisions is defined by a transverse size of the interacting dipoles. The dependencies of the forward-backward correlation strength on the width and position of the pseudorapidity windows, as well as on transverse momentum range of observed particles were studied. It is demonstrated that taking into account of the string fusion effects improves the agre…
We present a semiclassical and mostly analytical model of elastic neutron breakup reactions for exotic projectiles. Both nuclear and Coulomb induced reactions are considered and the potentials are treated to all orders in the interactions. Furthermore we introduce a technique which allows the use of the full Coulomb potential, thus including all multipoles besides the dipole. Results for deeply bound states as well as for halo initial states are presented and it is shown that experiments on heavy targets would be well suited to study exotic nuclei with tightly bound valence nucleons.
The effects of string fusion on the correlations in strange particles production in proton-proton collisions at high energy are studied in the framework of a Monte Carlo string-parton model. The model is based on the strings formation in elementary dipole-dipole collisions. The hardness of the elementary interaction is defined by a transverse size of the colliding dipoles. The interaction between strings is realized in the accordance with the string fusion model prescriptions by the introduction of the lattice in the impact parameter plane and taking into account the finite rapidity length of …
Photofission of actinides is studied in the region of nuclear excitation energies that covers the entire giant dipole resonance (GDR) region. The mass distributions of $^{238}$U photofission fragments have been explored theoretically for eight different endpoint bremsstrahlung energies from 11.5 MeV to 67.7 MeV which correspond to average photon energy of 9.09 MeV to 15.90 MeV. Among these energies, the 29.1 MeV corresponds to the average photon energy of 13.7$\pm$0.3 MeV which coincides with GDR peak for $^{238}$U photofission. The integrated yield of $^{238}$U photofission as well as charge …
We investigate the reaction path followed by Heavy Ion Collisions with exotic nuclear beams at low energies. We will focus on the interplay between reaction mechanisms, fusion vs. break-up (fast-fission, deep-inelastic), that in exotic systems is expected to be influenced by the symmetry energy term at densities around the normal value. The evolution of the system is described by a Stochastic Mean Field transport equation (SMF), where two parametrizations for the density dependence of symmetry energy (Asysoft and Asystiff) are implemented, allowing one to explore the sensitivity of the results…
In this review paper we present a detailed account of the extraction and the calculation of the total reaction cross section of strongly bound and weakly bound, stable and unstable, exotic, nuclei. We discuss the optical model and the more general coupled channels model of direct reactions. The effect of long-range absorption due to the coupling to excited states in the target and to the breakup continuum in the projectile is also discussed. The generalized optical theorem for charged particle scattering and the resulting sum-of differences method is then discussed. The so-called "quarter-poin…
It is the aim of this paper to discuss the impact of nuclear fusion on the EOS. This is a timely subject given the expected availability of increasingly exotic beams at rare isotope facilities\,\cite{balantekin2014}. In practice, we focus on $^{48}$Ca+$^{48}$Ca fusion. We employ three different approaches to calculate fusion cross-sections for a set of energy density functionals with systematically varying nuclear matter properties. Fusion calculations are performed using frozen densities, using a dynamic microscopic method based on density-constrained time-dependent Hartree-Fock (DC-TDHF) app…
We study pre-equilibrium giant dipole resonance excitation and fusion in the neutron-rich system $^{132}$Sn+$^{48}$Ca at energies near the Coulomb barrier, and we compare photon yields and total fusion cross sections to those of the stable system $^{124}$Sn+$^{40}$Ca. The dynamic microscopic calculations are carried out on a three-dimensional lattice using both the Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock method and the Density Constrained TDHF method. We demonstrate that the peak of the GDR excitation spectrum occurs at a substantially lower energy than expected for an equilibrated system, thus reflecting…
I undertake an anatomy of the nuclear electric-dipole spectrum and discuss selected observations. First, using data and calculations on 208Pb as a representative case, I identify five conspicuous structures in the spectra of heavy nuclei: (1) the giant dipole resonance (GDR), (2) the dipole compression mode, (3) the isoscalar low-energy dipole mode (IS-LED),(4) the isoscalar mode in the region of the GDR, and (5) a concentration of "pygmy" dipole strength (PDS) between the latter two. Next, compiling the data from Texas A&M I show that the energy of (4) follows roughly a A^{-1/6} dependence on…
Intermediate energy Coulomb excitation and dissociation is a useful tool for nuclear structure and astrophysics studies. Low-lying strength in nuclei far from stability was discovered by this method. The effective range theory for low-lying strength in one-neutron halo nuclei is summarized and extended to two-neutron halo nuclei. This is of special interest in view of recent rather accurate experimental results on the low-lying electric dipole strength in $^{11}$Li. Another indirect approach to nuclear astrophysics is the Trojan horse method. It is pointed out that it is a suitable tool to inv…
With an extreme neutron-to-proton ratio of N/Z=3, 8He provides an ideal laboratory for the study of a variety of exotic phenomena, such as the emergence of a soft dipole mode that is dominated by transitions into the continuum. In this contribution, a covariant density functional theory (DFT) framework is used to compute ground-state properties and the dipole response of 8He. Although 8He is admittedly too light for DFT to be applicable, the great merit of the approach is that the spurious contamination associated with the center-of-mass motion is guaranteed to decouple from the physical respo…
We review recent studies of the evolution of collective excitations in atomic nuclei far from the valley of $β$-stability. Collective degrees of freedom govern essential aspects of nuclear structure, and for several decades the study of collective modes such as rotations and vibrations has played a vital role in our understanding of complex properties of nuclei. The multipole response of unstable nuclei and the possible occurrence of new exotic modes of excitation in weakly-bound nuclear systems, present a rapidly growing field of research, but only few experimental studies of these phenomena …
Using an isospin-dependent Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (IBUU) transport model, we have studied the connection between the symmetry energy and features of the dynamical dipole mode in fusion reactions with charge-asymmetric entrance channel. The yield and angular distribution of the prompt photon emission are extracted by a bremsstrahlung approach. The experimental data of $^{36}$Ar+$^{96}$Zr at 16 MeV/nucleon and $^{32}$S + $^{100}$Mo at 9.3 MeV/nucleon are compared with IBUU model calculations, and the soft symmetry energy is found to describe the data reasonably well.
The several types of strongly intensive correlation variables are studied in nuclear collisions at LHC energy. These quantities are expected not to depend on centrality class width. They have been calculated in the dipole-based parton-string Monte Carlo model with string fusion. The centrality dependence of the mean transverse momentum correlation coefficient and strongly intensive quantity $Σ$ between multiplicity and $P_T$ have been obtained. Dynamical charge fluctuation $ν_{dyn}$ has been also calculated and compared with experimental data. It is shown that string fusion improves agreement …
The study of exotic nuclei---nuclei with the ratio of neutron number $N$ to proton number $Z$ deviating much from that of those found in nature---is at the forefront of nuclear physics research because it can not only reveal novel nuclear properties and thus enrich our knowledge of atomic nuclei, but also help us to understand the origin of chemical elements in the nucleosynthesis. With the development of radioactive ion beam facilities around the world, more and more unstable nuclei become experimentally accessible. Many exotic nuclear phenomena have been observed or predicted in nuclei far f…
Since the discovery of molecular resonances in $^{12}$C+$^{12}$C in the early sixties a great deal of research work has been undertaken to study alpha-clustering. Our knowledge on physics of nuclear molecules has increased considerably and nuclear clustering remains one of the most fruitful domains of nuclear physics, facing some of the greatest challenges and opportunities in the years ahead. Occurrence of "exotic" shapes and Bose-Einstein Condensates in light alpha-cluster nuclei are investigated. Various approaches of superdeformed/hyperdeformed shapes associated with quasimolecular resonan…
