Speaker
Description
A systematic experimental investigation of the phenomenon of fine structure, with emphasis on the region of the Isoscalar Giant Quadrupole Resonance (ISGQR), in nuclei across stable even-even neodymium isotopes has been performed. Measurements were made using the K600 Magnetic Spectrometer of iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences, a facility which is situated at Faure near Cape Town, South Africa. Unique high energy-resolution inelastic proton scattering experiments were performed at an incident proton energy of Ep = 200 MeV on targets 142,144,146,148,150Nd. Nuclei with mass number A ≈ 150 and neutron number N ≈ 90 are of special interest since they occupy that region of the nuclide chart wherein the onset of permanent prolate deformation occurs. The stable neodymium (Z = 60) isotopes have been chosen in the present study, in order to investigate the effects accompanying the onset of deformation, on the excitation energy spectra in the ISGQR region (10 ≤ Ex ≤ 25 MeV), since they extend from the semi-magic N = 82 nucleus (142Nd) to the permanently deformed N = 90 (150Nd) nucleus. An important further step is to test the effect that the transition from spherical to deformed nuclei has on level densities. Experimental details, data extraction and analysis techniques, together with preliminary results will be presented.
Level (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD, other)? | PhD |
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Consider for a student <br> award (Yes / No)? | Yes |
Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)? | Yes |