Quantal diffusion approach for multinucleon transfer processes in the $^{58,64}$Ni+$^{208}$Pb reactions: Toward the production of unknown neutron-rich nuclei
Background: In recent years, substantial efforts have been made for the study of multinucleon transfer reactions at energies around the Coulomb barrier both experimentally and theoretically, aiming at the production of unknown neutron-rich heavy nuclei. It is crucial to provide reliable theoretical predictions based on microscopic theories with sufficient predictive power.
Purpose: This paper aims to clarify the applicability of the quantal diffusion approach based on the stochastic mean-field (SMF) theory for multinucleon transfer processes. Isotope production cross sections are evaluated for the reactions of $^{64}$Ni+$^{208}$Pb at $E_{c.m.}$=268 MeV and $^{58}$Ni+$^{208}$Pb at $E_{c.m.}$=270 MeV and are compared with available experimental data.
Methods: Three-dimensional time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) calculations are carried out for a range of initial orbital angular momenta with Skyrme SLy4d functional. Quantal diffusion equations, derived based on the SMF theory, for variances and covariance of neutron and proton numbers of reaction products are solved, with microscopic drift and diffusion coefficients obtained from the time evolution of occupied single-particle orbitals in TDHF. Secondary deexcitation processes, both particle evaporation and fission, are simulated by a statistical model, GEMINI++.
Results: We find that the quantal diffusion approach reproduces the measured cross sections for abundant reaction products, including both projectile-like and target-like fragments, as well as fragments of transfer-induced fission. The results underline the importance of beyond mean-field effects in describing multinucleon transfer processes. We emphasize that the quantal diffusion description does not involve any adjustable parameters, once an energy density functional is given. Possible future directions are discussed.
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As an extension of previous work, we calculate the production cross-section of heavy neutron-rich isotopes by employing the quantal diffusion description to ${}^{48} \text{Ca} + {}^{238} \text{U}$ collisions. The quantal diffusion is deduced from stochastic mean-field approach, and transport properties are determined in terms of time-dependent single-particle wave functions of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory. As a result, the approach allows for prediction of production cross-sections without any adjustable parameters. The secondary cross-sections by particle emission are calcula…
Description of multinucleon transfer mechanism for ${}^{48} \mathrm{Ca}+{ }^{244} \mathrm{Pu}$ and ${ }^{86} \mathrm{Kr}+{}^{198} \mathrm{Pt}$ reactions in quantal transport approach
Production cross-sections of heavy neutron-rich isotopes are calculated by employing quantal transport description in ${}^{250}\text{Cf}+{}^{232}\text{Th}$ collisions. This quantal transport description is based on the stochastic mean-field (SMF) approach, and it provides a microscopic approach beyond time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory to include mean-field fluctuations. De-excitation of primary fragments is determined by employing the statistical GEMINI++ code. Calculations provide predictions for production cross-sections of neutron rich transfermium isotopes without any adjustable pa…
We investigate heavy-ion multinucleon transfer reactions using the coupled-channels formalism. We first use the semi-classical approximation and show that a direct coupling between the entrance and the pair transfer channels improves a fit to the experimental one- and two-neutron transfer cross sections for the 40Ca+96Zr and 60Ni+116Sn systems. We then discuss the validity of the perturbative approach and highlight the effect of high order terms. The effect of absorption is also investigated for energies around the Coulomb barrier. Finally, we use a quantal coupled-channels approach to achieve…
The main progresses in the multinucleon transfer reactions at energies close to the Coulomb barrier are reviewed. After a short presentation of the experimental progress and theoretical progress,the predicted production cross sections for unknown neutron-rich heavy nuclei and the trans-uranium nuclei are presented.
Low-energy multinucleon transfer reactions are shown to be very effective tool for the production and spectroscopic study of light exotic nuclei. The corresponding cross sections are found to be significantly larger as compared with high energy fragmentation reactions. Several optimal reactions for the production of extremely neutron rich isotopes of elements with Z=6-14 are proposed.
The production of new proton-rich nuclei in the vicinity of 100Sn is investigated via multinucleon transfer reactions within the framework of microscopic time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) and statistical model GEMINI++. The TDHF+GEMINI method has demonstrated the reliable description in the multinucleon transfer dynamics and the agreement between theoretical results and experimental data is quite satisfactory in the observed transfer reactions. We reveal the production cross sections of proton-rich nuclei in 100Sn region via multinucleon transfer reactions to be several orders of magnitude hi…
An increasing interest in multinucleon transfer processes in low-energy deep inelastic (damped) collisions of heavy ions appeared in recent years is due, in part, to by the possibility of using them as a method of production of heavy neutron-enriched nuclei. Possible promising projectile-target combinations include nuclei deformed in the ground state (e.g., actinides). Mutual orientations of such the nuclei in the entrance channel of the reaction may significantly influence the reaction dynamics. Available experimental data on multinucleon transfer reactions with statically deformed as well as…
\item[Background] Multinucleon transfer reaction at low-energy collisions is considered to be a promising method for the production of new exotic nuclei, which are difficult to be produced by other methods. The theoretical studies are required to provide reliable predictions for the experiments and promote the understanding of the microscopic mechanism in multinucleon transfer reactions. \item[Purpose] We provide a predictive approach for production cross sections, and testify how and to what extent the microscopic approach works well in multinucleon transfer reaction. \item[Methods] We employ…
The multinucleon transfer reactions in collisions of $^{136}$Xe+$^{198}$Pt at incident energies $E_{\textrm{lab}}=$5.25, 6.20, 7.98, 10.0, and 15.0 MeV/nucleon are investigated by using the improved quantum molecular dynamics model. It is found that 6.20 MeV/nucleon is the optimal incident energy for producing the neutron-rich heavy nuclei. About 80 unknown neutron-rich nuclei might be produced in this reaction with cross sections from 10$^{-6}$ to 10$^{-2}$ mb. The angular distributions of the neutron-rich isotopes are predicted.
Within the framework of the dinuclear system model, the production mechanism of neutron-rich heavy nuclei around N = 162 has been investigated systematically. The isotopic yields in the multinucleon transfer reaction of $^{238}$U + $^{248}$Cm was analyzed and compared the available experimental data. Systematics on the production of superheavy nuclei via $^{238}$U on $^{252,254}$Cf, $^{254}$Es and $^{257}$Fm is investigated. It is found that the shell effect is of importance in the formation of neutron-rich nuclei around N=162 owing to the enhancement of fission barrier. The fragments in the m…
Multinucleon transfer mechanism in the collision of ${}^{238}\text{U}+{}^{238}\text{U}$ system is investigated at $E_\text{c.m.} =833$ MeV in the framework of the quantal diffusion description based on the stochastic mean-field approach (SMF). Double cross-sections $σ(N,Z)$ as a function of the neutron and proton numbers, the cross-sections $σ(Z)$ and $σ(A)$ as a function of the atomic numbers and the mass numbers are calculated for production of the primary fragments. The calculation indicates the ${}^{238} \text{U}+{}^{238} \text{U}$ system may be located at an unstable equilibrium state at …
The mechanism of multinucleon transfer (MNT) reactions for producing neutron-rich heavy nuclei around N = 126 is investigated within two different theoretical frameworks: dinuclear system (DNS) model and isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics (IQMD) model. The effects of mass asymmetry relaxation, N=Z equilibration, and shell closures on production cross sections of neutron-rich heavy nuclei are investigated. For the first time, the advantages for producing neutron-rich heavy nuclei around N = 126 is found in MNT reactions based on 238U target. We propose the reactions with 238U target f…
Background: Multinucleon transfer reactions at energies around the Coulomb barrier offer a vital opportunity to study rich physics of nuclear structure and dynamics. Despite the continuous development in the field, we have still limited knowledge about how deformation - one of the representative nuclear structures - affects multinucleon transfer reactions. Purpose: To shed light on the effect of deformation in multinucleon transfer processes, we study the $^{16}$O+$^{154}$Sm reaction at $E_{\rm lab}$=85 MeV (around the Coulomb barrier) and 134 MeV (substantially above the Coulomb barrier), whe…
The dynamical mechanism of multinucleon transfer (MNT) reactions has been investigated within the dinuclear system (DNS) model, in which the sequential nucleon transfer is described by solving a set of microscopically derived master equations. Production cross sections, total kinetic energy spectra, angular distribution of formed fragments in the reactions of $^{124,132}$Sn+ $^{238}$U/$^{248}$Cm near Coulomb barrier energies are thoroughly analyzed. It is found that the total kinetic energies of primary fragments are dissipated from the relative motion energy and rotational energy of the two c…
The multinucleon transfer reactions has been investigated within the dinuclear system model. The nucleon transfer is coupled to the dissipation of relative motion energy and angular momentum by solving a set of microscopically derived master equations. A barrier distribution approach is implemented in the model in order to including the contributions of different orientations and dynamical effects. The available data of fragment production via multinucleon transfer reactions could be understood with the model for the reactions of $^{136}$Xe + $^{198}$Pt/$^{208}$Pb near Coulomb barrier energies…
The multinucleon transfer reaction in the collisions of $^{40}$Ca+$^{124}$Sn at $E_{\textrm{c.m.}}=128.5$ MeV is investigated by using the improved quantum molecular dynamics model. The measured angular distributions and isotopic distributions of the products are reproduced reasonably well by the calculations. The multinucleon transfer reactions of $^{40}$Ca+$^{112}$Sn, $^{58}$Ni+$^{112}$Sn, $^{106}$Cd+$^{112}$Sn, and $^{48}$Ca+$^{112}$Sn are also studied. It shows that the combinations of neutron-deficient projectile and target are advantageous to produce the exotic neutron-deficient nuclei n…
Time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory has been a powerful tool in describing a variety of complex nuclear dynamics microscopically without empirical parameters. In this contribution, recent advances in nuclear dynamics studies with TDHF and its extensions are briefly reviewed, along the line with the study of multinucleon transfer (MNT) reactions. The latter lies at the core of this Research Topic, whose application for production of extremely neutron-rich nuclei has been extensively discussed in recent years. Having in mind the ongoing theoretical developments, it is envisaged how microsc…
Background: Multinucleon transfer (MNT) and quasifission (QF) processes are dominant processes in low-energy collisions of two heavy nuclei. They are expected to be useful to produce neutron-rich unstable nuclei. Nuclear dynamics leading to these processes depends sensitively on nuclear properties such as deformation and shell structure. Purpose: We elucidate reaction mechanisms of MNT and QF processes involving heavy deformed nuclei, making detailed comparisons between microscopic time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) calculations and measurements for the $^{64}$Ni+$^{238}$U reaction. Methods: T…
We investigate the interaction of neutrinos and antineutrinos with nuclei. We explore in particular the role played by the multinucleon excitations which can contaminate the quasielastic cross section. For neutrinos the multinucleon term produces a sizable increase of the quasielastic cross section. Part of the effect arises from tensor correlations. For antineutrinos this influence is smaller owing to the axial-vector interference which increases the relative importance of the terms which are not affected by these multinucleon excitations.
Within the framework of the dinuclear system model, the reaction mechanisms for synthesizing target-like isotopes from Bk to compound nuclei Lv are thoroughly investigated in complete and incomplete fusion reaction of $^{48}$Ca +$^{248}$Cm around Coulomb barrier energies. Production cross-section of $^{292,293}$Lv as a function of excitation energy in fusion-evaporation reactions and target-like isotopic yields in multinucleon transfer reactions are evaluated, in which a statistical approach is used to describe the decay process of excited nuclei. The available experimental data can be reprodu…
Within the dinuclear system model, unknown neutron-deficient isotopes Np, Pu, Am, Cm, Bk, Cf, Es, Fm are investigated in $^{40}$Ca, $^{36,40}$Ar, $^{32}$S, $^{28}$Si,$^{24}$Mg induced fusion-evaporation reactions and multinucleon transfer reactions with radioactive beams $^{59}$Cu,$^{69}$As,$^{90}$Nb,$^{91}$Tc, $^{94}$Rh, $^{105,110}$Sn, $^{118}$Xe induced with $^{238}$U near Coulomb barrier energies. The production cross sections of compound nuclei in the fusion-evaporation reactions and fragments yields in the multinucleon transfer reactions are calculated within the model. A statistical app…
Quantal diffusion mechanism of nucleon exchange is studied in the central collisions of several symmetric heavy-ion collisions in the framework of the Stochastic Mean-Field (SMF) approach. Since at bombarding energies below the fusion barrier, di-nuclear structure is maintained, it is possible to describe nucleon exchange as a diffusion process familiar from deep-inelastic collisions. Quantal diffusion coefficients, including memory effects, for proton and neutron exchanges are extracted microscopically employing the SMF approach. The quantal calculations of neutron and proton variances are co…
We theoretically investigate multinucleon transfer (MNT) processes in $^{238}$U+$^{124}$Sn reaction at $E_\mathrm{lab}=5.7$ MeV/$A$ using the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory. For this reaction, measurements of MNT processes have been reported, showing substantial MNT cross sections accompanying more than ten protons. From the calculation, we find that the amount of transferred nucleons depends much on the relative orientation between the deformation axis of $^{238}$U and the relative vector connecting centers of $^{238}$U and $^{124}$Sn nuclei. We find a formation of thick neck when …
In terrestrial laboratory with existing accelerators, the maximum multinucleon system produced so far is limited to that with total nucleon number being less than the sum of two colliding nuclei. Such situation may hinder our studies on the properties of nuclear many-body system. Here a way of producing large multinucleon system via multi-nucleus collision device Collider Plus in terrestrial laboratory is proposed. It is shown that large chunk of nucleonic matter can be produced through nuclear ternary fusion reactions at lower beam energies and also large block of dense matter can be formed v…
We present a general discussion of the mean field dynamics of finite nuclei prepared under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. We compare the prediction of semi-classical approximation with complete quantum simulations. Many features of the dynamics are carefully studied such as the collective expansion, the evaporation process, the different time-scale... This study points out many quantitative differences between quantum and semi-classical approaches. Part of the differences are related to numerical features inherent in semi-classical simulations but most of them are a direct con…
To show the existence of precursor phenomena of the transition order$\ to$chaos in atomic nuclei a simple analysis has been made, based on a recent criterion proposed by Pavli\-chenkov. The basic idea is that nonlinear effects in rotational bands should lead to bifurcation, which qualitatively changes the spectrum for one of the nuclear excitation branches. Experimental data concerning the isotopes of Er, Hf, Yb, Os, Dy, W strongly support the above criterion.
In a realistic application of the SPA + RPA theory for calculation of the nuclear level densities we find that quantal fluctuation corrections (RPA) are important even up to temperature $T = 2.0 MeV$. This leads to a good agreement between calculated numbers and the available experimental data for $^{104}Pd$ and $^{114}Sn$, particularly the excitation energy ($E^*$) dependence. Furthermore, we also argue that $a=S^2/4E^*$ is the only correct definition of the level density parameter in the present context which is also consistent with the Bethe like level density formula.
Multinucleon transfer processes in low-energy heavy ion reactions have attracted increasing interest in recent years aiming at production of new neutron-rich isotopes. Clearly, it is an imperative task to further develop understanding of underlying reaction mechanisms to lead experiments to success. In this paper, from systematic time-dependent Hartree-Fock calculations for the $^{238}$U+$^{124}$Sn reaction, it is demonstrated that transfer dynamics depend strongly on the orientations of $^{238}$U, quantum shells, and collision energies. Two important conclusions are obtained: (i) Experimental…
The multinucleon transfer reactions near barrier energies has been investigated with a multistep model based on the dinuclear system (DNS) concept, in which the capture of two colliding nuclei, the transfer dynamics and the de-excitation process of primary fragments are described by the analytical formula, the diffusion theory and the statistical model, respectively. The nucleon transfer takes place after forming the DNS and is coupled to the dissipation of relative motion energy and angular momentum by solving a set of microscopically derived master equations within the potential energy surfa…
We have calculated the multinucleon transfer reactions of $^{208}$Os, $^{208}$Pt, $^{208}$Hg, $^{208}$Pb,$^{208}$Po, $^{208}$Rn, $^{208}$Ra,$^{132,136}$Xe bombarding on $^{232}$Th and $^{248}$Cm at Coulomb barrier energies within the dinuclear system model, systematically. The results are in good agreement with the available experimental data. Coulomb effect and shell effect on production of actinides in these reactions have been investigated thoroughly. Potential energy surface and total kinetic energy mass distributions in the reactions $^{208}$Hg, $^{208}$Pb and$^{208}$Po colliding on $^{24…
The multinucleon transfer process is one promising approach for producing neutron-rich heavy nuclei. The favorable projectile-target combinations play a key role in experiments. As one important approach to investigate the multinucleon transfer process, one new version of the dinuclear system (DNS) model is developed. The improved version of the DNS model is shown in detail. Based on deformation degree of freedom in the improved DNS model, one way of calculating excitation energies of primary fragments is proposed. And the remarkable improvements for describing experimental data of producing t…
We analyze charged-current electron-neutrino cross sections on Carbon. We consider two different theoretical approaches, on one hand the Continuum Random Phase Approximation (CRPA) which allows a description of giant resonances and quasielastic excitations, on the other hand the RPA-based calculations which are able to describe multinucleon emission and coherent and incoherent pion production as well as quasielastic excitations. We compare the two approaches in the genuine quasielastic channel, and find a satisfactory agreement between them at large energies while at low energies the collectiv…
In this article, we derive a quantal self-consistent time-reversal invariant parameter-free cranking model for isoscalar monopole excitation coupled to intrinsic motion in even-even light nuclei. The model uses a wavefunction that is a product of monopole and intrinsic wavefunctions and a constrained variational method to derive, from a many-particle Schrodinger equation, a pair of coupled self-consistent cranking-type Schrodinger equations for the monopole and intrinsic systems. The monopole co-ordinate used is the trace of the quadrupole tensor and hence describes the overall deformation of …
In this article, we transform the previously-derived microscopic rotational-model Schrodinger equation into a form suitable for describing oscillations-coupled-to-intrinsic motion in spherical nuclei. The resulting equation is decomposed into two coupled cranking-type equations, one for the oscillation and another for the intrinsic motion, using a product wavefunction and a constrained variational method. The energy and cranking parameters in the coupled equations are self-consistently determined as functions of the system parameters by the solutions of the equations themselves. This self-cons…
Symmetry breaking is an importance concept in nuclear physics and other fields of physics. Self-consistent coupling between the mean-field potential and the single-particle motion is a key ingredient in the unified model of Bohr and Mottelson, which could lead to a deformed nucleus as a consequence of spontaneous breaking of the rotational symmetry. Some remarks on the finite-size quantum effects are given. In finite nuclei, the deformation inevitably introduces the rotation as a symmetry-restoring collective motion (Anderson-Nambu-Goldstone mode), and the rotation affects the intrinsic motion…
With the help of the static and dynamic mean field spectroscopic amplitudes, taking into account successive and simultaneous transfer channels properly corrected because of non-orthogonality effects, as well as describing the associated elastic channels in terms of experimentally determined optical potentials, one obtains absolute, two-particle transfer differential cross sections which provide an overall account of the data within experimental errors. One of the first results connected with such quantitative studies of pairing correlations in nuclei is the observation of phonon mediated pairi…
Multinucleon transfer processes in heavy-ion reactions at energies slightly above the Coulomb barrier are investigated in a fully microscopic framework of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory. Transfer probabilities are calculated from the TDHF wave function after collision using the projection operator method which has recently been proposed by Simenel (C. Simenel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 192701 (2010)). We show results of the TDHF calculations for transfer cross sections of the reactions of $^{40,48}$Ca+$^{124}$Sn at $E_{lab}=$ 170, 174 MeV, $^{40}$Ca+$^{208}$Pb at $E_{lab}=$ 235, 249…
Background: At the forefront of the nuclear science, production of new neutron-rich isotopes is continuously pursued at accelerator laboratories all over the world. To explore the currently-unknown territories in the nuclear chart far away from the stability, reliable theoretical predictions are inevitable. Purpose: To provide a reliable prediction of production cross sections taking into account secondary deexcitation processes, both particle evaporation and fission, a new method called TDHF+GEMINI is proposed, which combines the microscopic time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory with a so…
We describe a semiclassical treatment of nuclear fusion reactions involving weakly bound nuclei. In this treatment, the complete fusion probabilities are approximated by products of two factors: a tunneling probability and the probability that the system is in its ground state at the strong absorption radius. We investigate the validity of the method in a schematic two-channel application, where the channels in the continuum are represented by a single resonant state. Comparisons with full coupled-channels calculations are performed. The agreement between semiclassical and quantal calculations…
Effective charged neutrons involved in one- and two- nucleon tunneling processes in heavy ion collisions between superfluid nuclei are expected to emit photons. Although the centroid, width and integrated energy area characterizing the associated gamma-strength functions are rather similar, the corresponding line shapes reflect the thermal equilibrated-like character of the quasiparticle transfer (1n-channel, blackbody spectral functional dependence), and the quantal coherent character of the Cooper pair transfer (2n-channel, Gaussian functional dependence) respectively. The predicted angular …
Background: Production of neutron-rich nuclei is of vital importance to both understanding nuclear structure far from stability and to informing astrophysical models of the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). Multinucleon transfer (MNT) in heavy-ion collisions offers a possibility to produce neutron-rich nuclei far from stability. Purpose: The $^{176}\mathrm{Yb}+{}^{176}\mathrm{Yb}$ reaction has been suggested as a potential candidate to explore the neutron-rich region surrounding the principal fragments. The current study has been conducted with the goal of providing guidance for futur…
