Book of Abstracts and Program

Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium 2019





Contents

HIAS 2019 Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Code of Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

ANU Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Abstracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

List of Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79



 
 

 
 

 
  

 
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HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

1



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

Foreword

Dear HIAS 2019 Participants,

We are very glad to welcome you to Canberra for HIAS 2019, the seventh in the series of Heavy Ion
Accelerator Symposia on Fundamental and Applied Science.

These symposia were first instituted 2012 by the Department of Nuclear Physics at the Australian
National University. This year the symposium has an international focus with the following research
topics

• Nuclear Structure and Nuclear Data
• Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Applications
• Nuclear Astrophysics
• Nuclear Reactions
• New Instrumentation for Nuclear Science and Applications

We are delighted to have received a strong response with more than 80 participants attending the
Symposium. The contributions constitute a diverse program with a wide range of topics.

We gratefully acknowledge our sponsors Buckley Systems, Scitek Technologies for Science, the Re-
search School of Physics and NCRIS.We thank Stefan Pavetich for taking on the time-consuming task
of compiling this abstract booklet, Steve Tims for setting up the HIAS website and Petra Rickman for
her outstanding role conference secretary.

Details about Wi-Fi access can be found on the inside cover of this book. The conference proceedings
will be published in the EPJ Web of Conferences, referenced in SCOPUS and Web of Science, and
freely available on the web.

September brings spring to Canberra and we hope for good weather and lively discussions that bride
different research areas during this week. We wish you a productive and enjoyable time at the Sym-
posium.

Tibor Kibédi, Anton Wallner
Co-Chairs, organising committee

Contact Information

E-mail: hias@anu.edu.au
Tel: 02 612 52083

2



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

Code of Conduct

The Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium 2019 is dedicated to providing a positive respectful confer-
ence experience for everyone regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orien-
tation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, socio-economic background or religion.
We welcome diversity and recognise that the Symposium is better for it. We want to provide an en-
vironment that is free from discrimination, vilification, harassment, bullying and victimisation and
characterised by respect. Therefore, we do not tolerate harassment of Symposium participants
in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate at any time during the conference, in-
cluding talks. Symposium participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the
conference (without a refund) at the discretion of the conference organisers.

Harassment includes: offensive verbal or written comments (related to gender, gender identity and
expression sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion); sexual images
in public spaces; deliberate intimidation; stalking; following; harassing photography or recording;
sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual
attention including harassment by electronic (and social) media. Participants asked to stop behaviour
considered as harassing are expected to comply immediately.

All attendees are subject to the Code of Conduct policy. All presenters should ensure that they do not
use sexualized images, activities, or other material.

If a participant engages in harassing behaviour, the Symposium organizers may take any action they
deem appropriate, including warning the offender, cutting short their presentation or expulsion from
the conference. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any
other concerns, please contact one of the conference organisers immediately.

The organisers will be happy to help participants contact police, provide escorts, or otherwise assist
anyone experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the Symposium.

We value your attendance and appreciate your active support in making our Symposium inclusive.

Contact details:

E-mail address for organisers: hias@anu.edu.au
ANU Security: 02 6125 2249
Local police: 02 6256 7777
For all emergencies please call: 000

We expect participants to follow these rules at all event venues and event-related social events.

3



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

Conference Organisation

Local Organising Committee

Tibor Kibédi (Symposium Co-Chair)
Anton Wallner (Symposium Co-Chair)
Mahanda Dasgupta
Michaela Froehlich
Greg Lane
Nikolai Lobanov
AJ Mitchell
Stefan Pavetich
Petra Rickman
Cédric Simenel
Edward Simpson
Andrew Stuchbery
Stephen Tims

Conference Secretaries

Petra Rickman
Sonja Padrun

Scientific Advisory Committee

Mahananda Dasgupta
Michaela Froehlich
David Hinde
Tibor Kibédi
Greg Lane
Andrew Stuchbery
Anton Wallner

Proceedings Editorial Committee

AJ Mitchell
Dominik Koll
Stefan Pavetich

Conference Proceedings

We strongly encourage all presenters to contribute to the HIAS 2019 conference proceedings. These
will be published open source in electronic form as a regular volume of the journal EPJWeb of Confer-
ences (see Vol 123 for the HIAS 2015 conference proceedings). Contributions will be peer-reviewed
to assess their suitability for publication.

The ProceedingsGuidelines for authors preparingmanuscripts are available on the conferencewebsite.
Contributions should be prepared using the LaTeX (preferred) or Word templates provided. Please
note that the deadline for submission of contributions is Friday 1st of November 2019. Submissions
should be emailed to the conference secretary at hias@physics.anu.edu.au.

You should already have signed the appropriate copyright permissions form at the registration desk.
If not, please contact a member of the local organising committee.

4

https://www.epj-conferences.org/
https://www.epj-conferences.org/
https://www.epj-conferences.org/articles/epjconf/abs/2016/18/contents/contents.html
http://hias.anu.edu.au/2019/
mailto:hias@physics.anu.edu.au


HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

Acknowledgements

The organisers are grateful for the support of the Australian National University and the National
Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) for providing administrative and financial
support. We are also grateful for support from the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engi-
neering (AINSE) that provided student travel grants.

Australian
National
University

The organisers gratefuly aknowledge the support of the following sponsors:

5



Department of
Nuclear Physics Hedley Bull Building

Liversidge
Apartments

University
House

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

6



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

HIAS 2019 Program

Registration and all lunch and tea breakswill be held in the foyer of the Hedley Bull Centre, just outside
the lecture theatre. The welcome reception will be held at the Department of Nuclear Physics, which
is a 5-10 min walk from the Hedley Bull Centre. The symposium dinner will be held at University
House, across the road from the Hedley Bull Centre.

Monday, 9th September

08:30 -- 09:30 Registration

09:30 -- 10:00 Opening session Chair: T. Senden

09:30 W. Bell Traditional Welcome to Country

09:40 T. Kibédi, A. Wallner Welcome

K. Nugent (DVC-R) Conference Opening

10:00 -- 11:00 Session 1 Chair: J.M. Allmond

10:00 A. E. Stuchbery The Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility: Research Achieve-
ments and Aspirations

p69

10:30 J.L. Wood Universal, exclusive role of seniority and shape coexistence
at closed shells

p77

11:00 -- 11:30 Morning Tea

11:30 -- 12:40 Session 2 Chair: S. Courtin

11:30 K.J. Cook Unravelling the mechanisms for suppression of complete fu-
sion in reactions of 7Li

p26

12:00 C. Müller-Gatermann Shape coexistence in the neutron-deficient nuclei near Z=82 p52

12:20 M. Martschini Ion-Laser InterAction Mass Spectrometry and the quest for
AMS of 182Hf

p48

12:40 -- 14:00 Lunch

7



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

14:00 -- 15:30 Session 3 Chair: P. Collon

14:00 S. Antić Neutron stars from crust to core with quark-meson coupling
model

p18

14:30 S. Herb The status of the new AMS device for medium mass isotopes
at the Cologne University

p39

14:50 J. Gerl Status of the FAIR project p35

15:10 E.A. Maugeri Production of exotic radionuclides targets for nuclear as-
trophysics experiments

p49

15:30 -- 16:00 Afternoon Tea

16:00 -- 17:30 Session 4 Chair: R. Golser

16:00 D. Fink Constraining the age of Aboriginal rock art using cosmo-
genic 10Be and 26Al dating of rock shelter collapse in the
Kimberley region, Australia.

p32

16:30 T.J. Gray Enhanced collectivity of neutron-rich 129Sb beyond the
particle-core coupling scheme

p37

16:50 L.T. Bezzina Examining equilibration in heavy ion fusion using precision
cross section measurements of the compound nucleus 220Th

p23

17:10 J. Stuchbery The ANU Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility External Beam
Line

p70

17:30 Walk to Department of Nuclear Physics
18:00 Welcome reception at the Department of Nuclear Physics

8



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

Tuesday, 10th September

09:00 -- 10:30 Session 5 Chair: D. Fink

09:00 W. Kutschera The movements of Alpine glaciers throughout the last
10,000 years as sensitive proxies of temperature and climate
changes

p45

09:30 E. Prasad Effect of N/Z and dissipation in the fission of 212,214,216Ra
nuclei via neutron multiplicity measurements

p58

09:50 R. Banik Exploring the structure of Xe isotopes in A∼130 region:
Single particle and Collective excitations

p21

10:10 P. Papadakis A study of the excited 0+ states in 188Pb p54

10:30 -- 11:00 Morning Tea

11:00 -- 12:30 Session 6 Chair: F.G. Kondev

11:00 E. Ideguchi Shape coexistence in mass 40 region studied via E0 and
gamma transitions

p41

11:30 T. Tanaka Study of Barrier Distributions from Quasielastic Scattering
Cross Sections towards Superheavy Nuclei Synthesis

p73

11:50 G. Savard Constraining the conditions for r-process nucleosynthesis
via nuclear measurements at CARIBU

p61

12:10 D. Koll Evidence for Recent Interstellar 60Fe on Earth p42

12:30 -- 14:00 Lunch & Conference Photo

14:00 -- 15:30 Session 7 Chair: M.A.C. Hotchkis

14:00 S. Courtin News on the Carbon Burning at Astrophysical Energies p28

14:30 K.M. Wilcken Curious case of 26Al accelerator mass spectrometry p76

14:50 Z. Slavkovská Combining activation technique and AMS for s-process
measurements

p65

15:10 B.P. McCormick Modelling hyperfine interactions to perform picosecond-
lifetime Nuclear g-factor Measurements

p50

15:30 -- 16:00 Afternoon Tea

9



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

16:00 -- 17:30 Session 8 Chair: A.E. Stuchbery

16:00 J.M. Allmond Coulomb-Excitation and Beta-Decay Studies of 104,106Mo
at CARIBU with the New EBIS

p17

16:30 S.M. Mullins Sub-Saharan Climatic Catastrophe Forewarned by AMS p53

16:50 M. Schiffer Ion Beam Techniques for Nuclear Waste Management p63

17:10 B. Tee Penetration effect on internal conversion for the 35.5 keV
M1 l-forbidden transition in 125Te following the EC-decay
of 125I

p74

10



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

Wednesday 11th September

09:00 -- 10:30 Session 9 Chair: M. Dasgupta

09:00 B.B. Back Opportunities for detailed fission studies using light,
charged particle reactions

p20

09:30 R. Dressler Measurement of the 53Mn(n,γ) cross-section at stellar en-
ergies

p30

09:50 M. Caamaño Fresco Structure of superheavy 7H p24

10:10 S. Pavetich Single atom counting of 55Fe for explosive stellar nucle-
osynthesis studies

p57

10:30 -- 11:00 Morning Tea

11:00 -- 12:30 Session 10 Chair: H. Watanabe

11:00 F.G. Kondev Masses and Beta-Decay Spectroscopy of Neutron-Rich Nu-
clei: Isomers and Sub-shell Gaps with Large Deformation

p43

11:30 N. Grover Fragmentation analysis of 88Mo∗ compound nucleus in view
of different decay mechanisms

p38

11:50 T.K. Eriksen Improved precision on the experimental E0 decay branch-
ing ratio of the Hoyle state

p31

12:10 M. Schiffer Measurement of small and ultra-small 14C samples p62

12:30 -- 14:00 Lunch

14:00 -- 15:40 Session 11 Chair: M. Paul

14:00 A.M. Smith Cosmogenic radionuclides as signatures of past Solar storm
events

p66

14:30 S.W. Yates Relevance of the Nuclear Structure of the Stable Ge Isotopes
to the Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay of 76Ge

p78

15:00 B.M.A. Swinton-Bland Systematic Study of Quasifission in 48Ca-Induced Reactions p72

15:20 M.A.C. Hotchkis Achieving the ultimate sensitivity in Accelerator Mass Spec-
trometry of high mass isotopes

p40

15:40 -- 16:00 Afternoon Tea

16:00 -- 18:00 Break out discussion

11



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

18:00 Conference dinner at University House

19:30 L.L. Riedinger Changing Picture of EnergyGeneration in Australia and the
U.S.

p59

12



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

Thursday, 12th September

09:00 -- 11:00 Session 12 Chair: B.B. Back

09:00 K. Sekizawa Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock Theory and Its Extensions
for the Superheavy Element Synthesis

p64

09:30 R. Golser Ion Laser Interaction AMS: Why poor gas gives pure beams p36

10:00 P. Papadakis The MARA Low-Energy Branch – towards day 1 p55

10:20 D. Robertson Recent and Future Underground Low-Energy Nuclear As-
trophysics Experiments

p60

10:40 S. Merchel Sample preparation for AMS astrophysics projects – Size
does (not) matter

p51

11:00 -- 11:30 Morning Tea

11:30 -- 12:50 Session 13 Chair: A.M. Smith

11:30 M. Paul Study of Astrophysical s-Process Neutron Capture Reac-
tions at the High-Intensity SARAF-LiLiT Neutron Source

p56

12:00 R. Lozeva Beyond 132Sn p47

12:30 B.J. Coombes Emergence of nuclear collectivity through 4+1 g factors in
124−130Te

p27

12:50 -- 14:00 Lunch

14:00 -- 15:20 Session 14 Chair: T. Kibédi

14:00 A.J. Krasznahorkay Confirmation the existence of the X17 particle p44

14:30 G. Benzoni Shape Evolution in Ni isotopic chain p22

15:00 M.A. Stoyer Fission Product Yield Measurements from Neutron Induced
Fission of 235,238U and 239Pu

p68

15:20 -- 16:00 Afternoon Tea

13



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

16:00 -- 17:30 Session 15 Chair: S.W. Yates

16:00 A. Gargano Realistic shell model and nuclei around 132Sn p33

16:30 K. Stübner AMS measurements of cosmogenic nuclide concentrations
resolve mountain landscape evolution and the glacial his-
tory in the Pamir, Central Asia

p71

16:50 P.D. Stevenson Role of the surface energy in heavy-ion collisions p67

17:10 M.S.M. Gerathy Gamma-electron spectroscopy with Solenogam: Isomeric
Decay in 145Sm

p34

14



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

Friday 13th September

09:00 -- 10:20 Session 16 Chair: A. Gargano

09:00 H. Watanabe Shell evolution and isomers below 132Sn: Spectroscopy of
neutron-rich 46Pd and 47Ag isotopes

p75

09:30 P. Collon Low-energy injection and AMS beamline upgrade at the
NSL and 36Cl production in X-wind model revisited

p25

10:00 J.T.H. Dowie Exploring shape coexistence between doubly magic 40Ca
and 56Ni through pair-conversion spectroscopy

p29

10:20 -- 11:00 Morning Tea

11:00 -- 12:15 Session 17 Chair: A. Wallner

11:00 A. Arazi Iodine isotopes in rainwater from Argentina: First 129I de-
position rates reported for the Southern Hemisphere

p19

11:20 G.J. Lane SABRE and the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory:
DarkMatter Research at the Australian National University

p46

11:50 A. Wallner, T. Kibédi Closing

12:15 -- 13:00 Lunch

13:00 Departure

15



HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

Abstracts

16



Coulomb-Excitation and Beta-Decay Studies of 104,106Mo at CARIBU with 

the New EBIS 

J.M. Allmond1 
1 Physics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 

Collective shape degrees of freedom have been a major direction in the study of the nuclear 

finite many-body problem for over 50 years. There is widespread evidence for quadrupole 

deformations, primarily of large prolate spheroidal deformation with axially symmetric rotor 

degrees of freedom. This naturally leads to the question of whether or not axially asymmetric 

rotor degrees of freedom are exhibited by any nuclei, with the implication of triaxial shapes. 

With respect to best cases for observation of triaxial shapes near the ground state, two regions 

stand out. The first is the Os-Pt region and the second is the neutron-rich Mo-Ru region, 

where low-energy 22
+ states are consistent with such an interpretation. Furthermore, the 

neutron-rich Mo-Ru region is expected to undergo a relatively rare instance of prolate-to-

oblate shape evolution. Recent results from Coulomb-excitation and beta-decay studies of 

neutron-rich Mo-Ru isotopes will be presented. These experiments were conducted at the 

CARIBU-ATLAS facility of ANL using GRETINA-CHICO2. A survey of the equipment, 

techniques, and results will be presented. In addition, a comparison of 106Mo Coulomb-

excitation data with the old ECR and new EBIS ion sources will be highlighted. 

*This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of

Science, Office of Nuclear Physics. 

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

17



Neutron stars from crust to core with quark-meson 
coupling model

   S. Antic,1 and A.W. Thomas1

1CSSM, Department of Physics, University of Adelaide SA 5005 Australia

Recent years continue to be an exciting time for the neutron star physics, providing many new 
observations and insights to these natural ’laboratories’ of cold dense matter. To describe them, 
we are introducing the quark-meson coupling model that stands out among many others on the 
market with the natural inclusion of hyperons as dense matter building blocks and the small 
number of parameters necessary to obtain the nuclear matter equation of state [1]. The latest 
advances of QMC model and its application to the neutron star physics will be presented, starting 
from their outer crust nuclei content and moving inwards up to the high core densities of todays 
heaviest known neutron stars [2].

[1] P. A. M Guichon, J. Stone, A.W. Thomas, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 100, 262-297 (2018).

[2] T. Motta, A.M. Kalaitzis, S. Antić, P. A. M Guichon, J. Stone, A.W. Thomas, arXiv:1904.03794

(2019).

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

18



 Iodine isotopes in rainwater from Argentina: 

First 129I deposition rates reported for the Southern Hemisphere

A.E. Negri,1,2 A. Arazi,2,3  J. Fernández Niello,1,2,3 D. Martinez Heimann,1,2 M. Paparas,4

A. Wallner,5 M. Fröhlich,5 S. Pavetich,5 S.G. Tims,5 L.K. Fifield,5 and M.E. Barlasina4

1 Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San

Martín, Argentina
2 CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

3Laboratorio TANDAR, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, San Martín, Argentina
4 Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, Buenos Aires, Argentina

5 Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University, ACT 2601, Australia

Iodine  is  a  very  mobile  element  which follows  a  complex  geochemical  cycle,  including

evaporation,  dry and wet  deposition,  and transportation  by wind and ocean currents.  The

interchange  processes  in  this  cycle  can  be  experimentally  traced  by  the  long-lived

radionuclide  129I,  which  is  produced  by  natural  and  now  dominantly  by  anthropogenic

processes.  For using  129I as a global tracer, in particular, to assess the interchange between

Northern and Southern Hemispheres,  comprehensive  worldwide data are necessary. While

plenty of 129I concentration measurements were performed in the Northern Hemisphere, scarce

data  are  available  for  the  Southern  one.  In  this  work,  concentration  of  iodine  isotopes,

deposition  of  129I  and  129I/127I  ratios  in  rainwater  samples  from  several  stations  across

Argentina were analyzed aiming to assess current distribution patterns and potential sources

of  atmospheric  iodine  in  the  region.  The gathered  data  imply  a  higher  than  expected  129I

deposition flux, indicating the existence of another source besides natural contribution and

recycling from nuclear weapons fallout. Nuclear fuel reprocessing plants in western Europe

look as candidates as only a minute fraction of their emissions entering the austral hemisphere

would give account of the 129I excess found in this work.  Moreover, a four-year (2011-2014)

monthly sampled rainwater time series from Buenos Aires was studied. This set presents high

isotopic ratio variability, suggesting the mix of material from sources with different isotopic

mark in the region. Retrospective monthly  129I deposition flux in Buenos Aires after French

nuclear tests during 1960s and 1970s in Polynesia are also reported.

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

19



Opportunities for detailed fission studies using light, charged particle

reactions 

B.B. Back1

1Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA

Since  its  discovery  in  1939,  the  nuclear  fission  process  provides  much  insight  into  the

behavior of nuclei under many different conditions. As part of the nuclear chain reaction, the

fission process has had a profound impact on modern society and it has consequently attracted

much attention to the field of nuclear physics.

In this talk, I will argue that the time is ripe for a resumption of studies of the fission process

induced by light, charged particle reactions. Although nuclear fission can be induced in heavy

nuclei by several means, in some cases by forming highly excited nuclei by heavy-ion fusion

or multi-nucleon transfer reactions, these methods suffer from the complication that fission

can occur at several points during the decay chain thus mixing up contributions from different

excitation  energies.  Using  instead  light  charged  particle  reactions  to  excite  the  nuclei  in

question, the precise excitation energy from which fission takes place, can be determined. In

fact, a number of such studies we carried out previously, and a first set of results on fission

barrier heights, mass, energy and angular distributions were obtained.

Applying  detection  techniques  developed  over  the  last  decades,  will  allow researchers  to

obtain detailed, high-quality data from which to probe and refine our present understanding of

the process. In the meantime, more fundamental theories have been developed that will allow

for a deeper understanding of the fission process. Based on these observations, I suggest that

substantial  advances  in  the  study of  this  process  can  be  achieved  by using  simple  light,

charged-particle reactions.

This  material  is  based  on  work  supported  by  the  U.S.  Department  of  Energy,  Office  of

Science, Office of Nuclear Physics under contract number DEAC02-06CH11357.

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

20



Exploring the structure of Xe isotopes in A~130 region: Single particle and

Collective excitations

R. Banik1,2 et. al.
1Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata, India

2Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India

The  existence  of  variety  of  nuclear  shapes  and  their  coexistences  are  the  results  of  the

complicated interplay between the single-particle and the collective motions of the nucleus.

The structures of nuclei around the doubly magic shell closure 132Sn (N = 82 and Z = 50) are

of  contemporary  interest  to  obtain  the  information  on both  single  particle  and  collective

modes of excitations. Isotopes with a few proton particles and neutron holes with respect to

the shell closure give us the unique opportunity to investigate the low lying single particle

level  structures,  which in  turn helps  us  to  understand the  effective  nucleon-nucleon shell

model residual interactions. The Xe (Z=54) nuclei in A~130 transitional region are important

links between the spherical and deformed shapes. Coupling of valance nucleons in high-j

orbitals in the high-spin regime forms a variety of band structures. In odd-A Xe nuclei, the

valence neutron in high-j orbital is responsible in generating different band structures. 125Xe is

known to have band structures based on prolate deformation [1], whereas 127,129Xe are reported

to have significant triaxiality [2, 3]. But data on the next Xe isotopes are very limited [4, 5]. In

this mass region, the even mass Xe isotopes are potential candidates for investigation of E(5)

symmetry  breaking  since  the  experimental  R4/2 ratios  are  very  close  to  the  theoretical

predicted values [6,7].

In the present work, excited levels of  130,131Xe were populated via the reaction  130Te (α, xn)
130,131Xe, at a beam energy of 38 MeV, delivered from the K-130 cyclotron at Variable Energy

Cyclotron  centre  (VECC),  Kolkata.  The  Indian  National  Gamma Array  (INGA)  setup  at

VECC, consisting of seven Compton suppressed Clover detectors, were used for the detection

of γ rays. Digital data acquisition system consisting of PIXIE-16 digitizer modules was used

to acquire the time stamped LIST mode data [8].

In the present work, 67 new transitions have been placed in the level scheme of  131Xe. The

Yrast negative parity band in 131Xe is seen above the band crossing frequency and the possible

signature partner of this band is also observed. Presence of several band structures is also

established from the present work. The new results are explained in terms of large scale shell

model (using NUSHELLX) and TRS calculations. New transitions are identified at lower spin

region in  130Xe which carries the information about E(5) symmetry breaking. Details of this

work will be presented at the conference.

[1] A. Al-Khatib et. al., Phys. Rev. C 83, 024306 (2011).

[2] S. Chakraborty et. al., Phys. Rev. C 97, 054311 (2018).

[3] Y. Huang et. al., Phys. Rev. C 93, 064315 (2016).

[4] A. Kerek et. al., Nucl. Phys. A 172, 603 (1971).

[5] L. Kaya et. al., Phys. Rev. C 98, 014309 (2018).

[6] R. M. Clark et. al., Phys. Rev. C 69, 064322 (2004).

[7] L. Goettig et. al. Nucl. Phys. A 357, 109 (1981).

[8] S. Das et. al, NIM, A 893, 138 (2018).

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

21



Shape Evolution in Ni isotopic chain 
G. Benzoni1

1INFN, Sez. Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy

Shape-transitional phenomena are indicators of alterations in the normal-order configuration

of protons and neutrons. For exotic nuclei, they may prelude the discovery of new nuclear

regions in which the ground states are dominated by deformed intruder configurations, the so-

called islands of inversion. Shape transitions can also take place with excitation energy or

angular momentum, leading to the coexistence of different shapes within the same nucleus [1].

The nuclear region around 78Ni, close to the classic shell closures with Z=28 and N=50, has

attracted great attention in recent years in particular addressing the evolution of nuclear shapes.

Going from the more stable to the very exotic systems a variety of phenomena are encountered,

starting from the existence of shape isomerisms found in 66Ni [2] to coexistence of shapes,

measured in the heavier systems 68−72Ni [3, 4].

The Ni isotopic chain has been investigated by the Milano gamma-spectroscopy group ex-

ploiting several mechanisms, starting from sub-barrier fusion to β decay, in campaigns per-

formed in world-leading facilities.

An overview of recent results in the Ni isotopic chain will be reported in this talk.

[1] K. Heyde, J. L. Wood, Rev. Mod. Phys. 83, 1467 (2011).

[2] S. Leoni et al., Phys.Rev.Lett. 118, 162502 (2017).

[3] A.I. Morales et al., Phys.Rev. C 93, 034328 (2016).

[4] A.I. Morales et al., Phys.Lett. B 765, 328 (2017).

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

22



Examining equilibration in heavy ion fusion using precision

cross section measurements of the compound nucleus 220Th

L.T. Bezzina,1 E.C. Simpson,1 M. Dasgupta,1 and D. J. Hinde1

1Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia

Heavy-ion fusion is a complex, many-body quantum process, whereby two separate nuclei

merge to form a single, compact compound nucleus. It is intrinsically dissipative, requiring the

kinetic energy of the collision to be dispersed into a multitude of internal nucleonic excitations.

Existing models of fusion, accounting for the coherent superposition of collective excited

states [1], have been quite successful in predicting the outcome of fusion at energies near

and below the fusion barrier. Crucially, however, these models do not explicitly treat the

progression of the system from a fully coherent quantum state to the thermalised, compact

compound nucleus. As a consequence, predictions of fusion cross sections at above barrier

energies with these models may disagree with experiment by up to a factor of 2 [2].

Determining the variables which control this thermalisation is a key step in understanding

the progression towards a fully energy-dissipated compound nucleus. One variable thought

to be important is the amount of nuclear matter overlap at barrier radius. This matter overlap

is controlled by the entrance channel charge product, ZpZt. Experimental studies of the

same compound nucleus formed using differing ZpZt will reveal how this variable influences

compound nucleus formation.

This talk will outline the experimental program designed to measure the outcomes following

compound nucleus formation: evaporation residue (ER) formation and fusion-fission. Measur-

ing the cross section of compound nucleus decay modes will then allow quantification of other

collision outcomes that are otherwise indistinguishable from the fusion-fission mode, in partic-

ular, quasi-fission, which is known to suppress fusion. A presentation of the development of the

method to extract high-precision ER cross sections will be included, along with benchmarking

reactions and initial data from the new 8T version of the SOLITAIRE experiment [3]. Prelim-

inary fission cross sections measured with the ANU CUBE fission spectrometer will also be

presented.

[1] M. Dasgupta et al. Measuring barriers to fusion, Annu. Rev. Nuc. Part. Sci. 48, 401 (1998).

[2] J. O. Newton, Systematic failure of the Woods-Saxon nuclear potential to describe both fusion and

elastic scattering: Possible need for a new dynamical approach to fusion, Phys. Rev. C. 70, 024605

(2004).

[3] M. D. Rodrı́guez et al., SOLITAIRE: A new generation solenoidal fusion product separator, Nucl. In-

strum. Meth. A 614, 119 (2010).

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

23



Structure of superheavy 7H

M. Caama  ño   Fresco1

1Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

While the foundations of our current knowledge in nuclear physics are based on the properties

of stable isotopes, the new phenomena that appear as we move away from stability, in systems

with unbalanced neutron–to–proton ratios, are key to improve the nuclear models and thus our

understanding of nuclear matter. In this respect, the most extreme neutron–to–proton ratio is

found in the  7H resonance, the heaviest of the hydrogen isotopes and, so far, the last of the

longest isotopic chain of nuclei outside the binding limits of the nuclear chart. The description

of its  basic  properties,  even its  sheer existence,  is  still  a challenge for current theoretical

models and experimental efforts. Here we discuss the first measurement of the characteristics

and structure of the  7H ground state.  These new and comprehensive experimental  results,

including the differential cross section, depict a low–lying, almost bound resonance with a

relatively long half–life. The measured properties are consistent with a 3H core surrounded by

an  extended  dineutron  condensate  that  decays  through  a  unique  four–neutron  emission,

showing the cohesive effect of neutron pairing within an almost–pure neutron environment.

These  properties  are  unique  inputs  and  a  stringent  test  for  models  dealing  with  extreme

nuclear  scenarios  such  as  neutron  condensates,  the  possible  existence  of  a  tetra–neutron

system or the conditions of nuclear matter in the crust of neutron stars.”

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

24



Low-energy injection and AMS beamline upgrade at the NSL and 36Cl

production in X-wind model revisited

P. Collon,1 T. Anderson,1 M. Caffee,2,3 L. Callahan,1 G. Chmiel,2 A. Clark,1 A. Nelson,1 

M. Paul,4 M. Skulski,1 and T. Woodruff2

1 Nuclear Science Laboratory, University of Notre Dame
2Department of Physics and Astronomy/PRIME Lab, Purdue University

3Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University

4 Physics Department, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

In conjunction with the upgrade of the Nuclear Science Laboratory’s (NSL) FN-tandem’s low

energy (LE) injection beamline in 2016-17, the AMS beamline was upgraded in 2018-19 and a

Time-of-Flight section was added. In addition to the improved selectivity, the new system also

provides off-axis Faraday cups for stable beam monitoring as well as sequential beam injection.

The new capabilities greatly improve the precision of  Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)

measurements and the talk will present new results made with the system, in particular results

associated with the production of 36Cl for X-Wind models in the Early solar system.

In  a  previous  measurement  performed  by  Bowers  et  al.  (2013)  [1],  the  cross  section  of

the 33S(α,p)36Cl reaction was studied using a combination of activation of a 4He gas cell  and

analyzing the produced 36Cl via AMS over an energy range of 0.7 – 2.42 MeV/A. The result of

this  measurement  was a  significantly higher  yield  of 36Cl than usually predicted  by Hauser-

Feshbach cross  section  calculations  [1]. A new experimental  campaign in  collaboration  with

PRIMELAB of Purdue University was started to confirm the production cross section of this

reaction, which contributes significantly to the abundance of 36Cl in the Early Solar System and

is an important input in solar irradiation models [2]. 

In addition a new campaign to measure the 34S(3He,p)36Cl production cross-section in the same

energy  range  was  recently  performed  at  Notre  Dame.  Results  of  the  33S(α,p)36Cl   re-

measurements [3] as well as the new 34S(3He,p)36Cl  campaign will be presented.

[1] “First experimental results of the 33S(α,p)36Cl cross section for production in the early

Solar System.” M. Bowers, P. Collon, Y. Kashiv, W. Bauder, K. Chamberlin, W. Lu, D.

Robertson, C. Schmitt. 2013, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B 294, pp. 491-495.

[2] “Did Solar Energetic Particles Produce the Short-lived Nuclides Present in the Early

Solar System?” J.N. Goswami, K.K. Marhas and S. Sahijpal. 2001, Astrophys. J. 549, p.

1151. 

[3] “The  33S(α,p)36Cl cross section revisited” Tyler Anderson, Michael Skulski,  Adam

Clark, M. Beard, P. Collon, Y. Kashiv, Austin Nelson, K. Ostdiek, D. Robertson, Thomas

Woodruff, Phys. Rev C 96 015803 (2017)

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

25



Unravelling the mechanisms for suppression of complete

fusion in reactions of 7Li

K.J. Cook,1, 2 E.C. Simpson,1 L.T. Bezzina,1 M. Dasgupta,1

D.J. Hinde,1 K. Banerjee,1 A.C. Berriman,1 and C. Sengupta1

1Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia
2Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology,

2-12-1 O-Okayama, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan

A long-standing problem affecting the studies and uses of light weakly-bound nuclei is

the observed suppression of above-barrier complete fusion (e.g. [1]) by ∼ 30% relative to

calculations and to measurements for comparable well-bound systems. The mechanism for

the suppression of complete fusion has long been thought to be due to projectile breakup

prior to reaching the fusion barrier. However, recent work [2–5] has shown that the yields

and characteristic timescales of breakup cannot explain the degree of fusion suppression.

Therefore, an additional mechanism must be involved.

To investigate this mechanism, we performed comprehensive measurements of the energy

and angles of singles and coincidence protons, deuterons, tritons and α-particles produced in

above-barrier reactions of 7Li + 209Bi. By subtracting the double-differential cross-sections

for α-particles produced in no-capture breakup from those of the inclusive prompt α-particles,

we extract the double-differential cross-sections for α-particles unaccompanied by any other

charged fragment. These unaccompanied α-particles are produced in the same reactions

forming the polonium incomplete fusion product (whose presence is associated with complete

fusion suppression).

We demonstrate that characteristics of these unaccompanied α-particles are inconsistent with

the conventional picture of breakup of 7Li followed by capture of a Z=1 fragment. We show that

the measured distributions are in fact consistent with direct triton cluster transfer. Furthermore,

coincidence measurements between projectile-like fragments and decay α-particles from the

short-lived ground-state decay of 212Po allows the first direct determination of their production

mechanism, namely, triton transfer.

Crucially, our results [6] indicate that the suppression of complete fusion is primarily a conse-

quence of innate clustering of weakly-bound nuclei, rather than of breakup [7].

[1] M. Dasgupta, D.J. Hinde, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 1395 (1999)

[2] K. J. Cook, E. C. Simpson, et al., Phys. Rev. C 93, 064604 (2016)

[3] E. C. Simpson, K. J. Cook, et al., Phys. Rev. C 93, 024605 (2016)

[4] Sunil Kalkal, E. C. Simpson, et al., Phys. Rev. C 93, 044605 (2016)

[5] K. J. Cook, I. P. Carter, et al., Phys. Rev. C 97, 021601(R) (2018)

[6] K.J. Cook, E.C. Simpson, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 102501 (2019)

[7] Jin Lei and Antonio M. Moro, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 042503 (2019)

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

26



Emergence of nuclear collectivity through 4
+
1 g factors in

124−130Te

B.J. Coombes,1 A.E. Stuchbery,1 J.M. Allmond,2 J.T.H. Dowie,1 G. Georgiev,3

M.S.M. Gerathy,1 T.J. Gray,1 T. Kibédi,1 G.J. Lane,1 A.J. Mitchell,1 N.J. Spinks,1 and B. Tee1

1Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia
2Physics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN37831, USA

3CSNSM, CNRS/IN2P3; Université Paris-Sud,

UMR8609, F-91405 ORSAY-Campus, France

The emergence of collectivity along isotopic chains gives essential information as to the degrees

of freedom important in creating collectivity. Typically, the onset of collectivity has been stud-

ied through E2 observables which are not very sensitive to the underlying particle structure.

The measurement of g factors allows the underlying single-particle structure to be sensitively

probed. The 2+, 4+, and 6+ states in the Te isotopes begin as (πg7/2)
2 states in the semi-magic

134Te. As neutrons are removed below N = 82, the single particle nature of the low-lying states

becomes more mixed and collective structures emerge. The objective of this work is to observe

the origin of collective degrees of freedom by comparing experimental g factors to shell-model

calculations.

Shell-model calculations of the even Te isotopes have predicted that along the isotopic chain

the ratio of g(4+1 )/g(2
+

1 ) proceeds from ∼1 in the semi-magic 134Te to ∼2 near the closed shell,

before converging to the collective limit g(2+) ≈ g(4+) ≈ 0.8Z/A. (See e.g. the effective

field theory calculations of Coello-Perez and Papenbrock for vibrational nuclei [1]). A similar

pattern has been observed in 130−136Xe [2, 3]. Transient-field g-factor measurements have been

performed using the ANU Hyperfine Spectrometer on separated even isotope 124−130Te targets

to measure the 4+1 state g factors relative to the g factors of the 2+1 states.

g 
fa

ct
or

A
122 124 126 128 130 132 134

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0
Te isotopes

?
2+

1

4+

6+

2+
2?

?

2+ expt.1

FIG. 1: Experimental g factors of the 2
+
1

states in 122−134Te. Shell-model g factors for 128−134Te are

shown as hollow points.

[1] E.A. Coello-Pérez and T. Papenbrock, Phys. Rev. C 92, 064309 (2015).

[2] G. Jakob et al, Phys. Rev. C 65, 024316 (2002).

[3] E.E. Peters et al, Phys. Rev. C Accepted (2019).

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

27



News on the Carbon Burning at Astrophysical Energies

S. Courtin1 for the STELLA collaboration
1 IPHC and University of Strasbourg, France

Fusion reactions play an essential  role in understanding the energy production,  the

nucleosynthesis  of chemical  elements and the evolution of massive stars.  Thus, the direct

measurement of key fusion reactions at thermonuclear energies is of very high interest. The

carbon burning in stars is essentially driven by the  12C+12C fusion reaction. This reaction is

known to show prominent resonances at energies ranging from a few MeV/nucleon down to

the sub-Coulomb regime, possibly due to molecular  12C-12C configurations in  24Mg [1]. The

persistence of such resonances down to the Gamow energy window is an interesting question.

This  reaction  could  also be subject  to  the fusion hindrance  phenomenon  which  has  been

evidenced for medium mass nuclei and measured in numerous systems [2].

This contribution will discuss recent measurements performed in the 12C+12C system at deep

sub-barrier energies using the newly developed STELLA apparatus associated with the UK

FATIMA detectors for the exploration of fusion cross-sections of astrophysical interest [3].

Gamma-rays have been detected in an array of LaBr3 detectors and protons and alpha particles

were identified in double-sided silicon-strip detectors. A novel rotating target system has been

developed able to sustain high intensity carbon beams delivered by the Andromede facility of

the  University  Paris-Saclay  and  IPN-Orsay  (France).  The gamma-particle  coincidence

technique as well as nanosecond timing conditions have been used in the analysis in order to

minimize background. This has allowed to obtain astrophysical S factors down to the Gamow

window which will be presented and discussed in the frame of previous experimental results

and theoretical calculations on the deep sub-barrier 12C+12C fusion reaction. 

[1] D. Jenkins and S. Courtin J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 42  034010 (2015).

[2] C.L. Jiang et al., Phys.Rev. Lett. 89  052701(2002).

[3] M. Heine et al., Nucl. Inst. Methods A 903, 1 (2018).

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

28



Exploring shape coexistence between doubly magic 40Ca and
56Ni through pair-conversion spectroscopy

J.T.H. Dowie,1 T. Kibédi,1 H. Hoang,2 M. Kumar Raju,2 E. Ideguchi,2 A. Avaa,3, 4 M.V.

Chisapi,3, 5 P. Jones,3 A.A. Akber,1 B. Coombes,1 T.K. Eriksen,1 M.S.M. Gerathy,1

T.J. Gray,1 G.J. Lane,1 B.P. McCormick,1 A.J. Mitchell,1 and A.E. Stuchbery1

1Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia
2RCNP, University of Osaka, Japan

3iThemba LABS, South Africa
4University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

5University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

The phenomenon of shape coexistence, whereby excited states of an atomic nucleus exhibit

shapes that deviate dramatically from their ground states, appears to be ubiquitous across the

nuclear landscape. Electric monopole (E0) transitions, the only possible decay paths between

J
π
= 0

+ states, provide a unique probe into nuclear structure. The E0 strength is large when

there is a large change in the nuclear mean-square charge radius, and when there is strong

mixing between states of different deformation. E0 transitions give us a probe to examine and

understand shape coexistence [1, 2].

The region between 40Ca and 56Ni is virtually unexplored from the perspective of E0 tran-

sitions. Only the Ca isotopes and 54Fe have been investigated [3]. Recent developments in

the nuclear shell model allow for the calculation of the complete low-energy level structure and

transition rates, including E0 transitions [4]. This region is then a perfect case to explore nuclear

structure and shape coexistence through the lens of E0 transitions. In addition, the low-lying

(<4 MeV) level structure of 50Cr is not complete: there is a controversy over the position of the

0
+ states in 50Cr [5, 6]. In searching for a non-analog branch in the superallowed beta decay of

50Mn, two 0
+ states in 50Cr at 3895.0(5) and 4733(5) keV were observed by Leach et al. [6].

We sought to confirm these 0
+ states through the observation of their E0 transitions.

The 0+ states and E0 transitions in 40Ca, 50,52,54Cr, 54,56,58Fe and 58,60,62Ni were investigated

with the Super-e pair spectrometer at the ANU [8, 9] using beams from the 14UD tandem ac-

celerator. The Super-e pair spectrometer is a superconducting, magnetic-lens spectrometer for

the measurement of conversion electrons and electron-positron pairs with excellent background

suppression [7]. We will present the first pair spectra for 50,52,54Cr, 54,56,58Fe and the E0 transi-

tion strengths for these nuclei.

[1] J.L. Wood et al., Nucl. Phys. A 651, 323 (1999)

[2] E.F. Zganjar, J. Phys. G 43, 024013 (2016)

[3] T. Kibdi and R.H. Spear, At. Data and Nucl. Data Tables 89, 77 (2005)

[4] B.A. Brown et al., Phys. Rev. C 95, 011301(R) (2017)

[5] Z. Elekes, J. Timr, B. Singh, Nucl. Data Sheets 112, 1 (2011)

[6] K.G. Leach et al., Phys. Rev. C 91, 011304(R) (2016)

[7] T. Kibdi et al., The Astrophysical Journal 489, 951 (1997)

[8] L.J. Evitts et al., Phys. Lett. B 779, 396 (2018)

[9] L.J. Evitts et al., Phys. Rev. C 99, 024306 (2019)

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

29



Measurement of the 53Mn (n, γ) cross-section at stellar energies 

J. Ulrich,1 M. Airanov,1 O. Aviv,2 A. Barak,2 Y. Buzaglo,2 H. Dafna,2 R. Dressler,1 
B. Kaizer,2 N. Kievel,1 D. Kijel,2 A. Kreisel,2 M. Paul,3 E. Peretz,3 D. Schumann,1 

P. Sprung,1 M. Tessler,2 L. Weissman,2 and Z. Yungrais2 

1 Department of Nuclear Energy and Safety, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, 
Switzerland 

2 Soreq NRC, 81800 Yavne, Israel 
3 Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel 

53Mn (t1/2 ≈ 3.7 Ma) is expected to be one of the major short-lived radioisotopes produced 
during type II supernovae explosions [1, 2]. It can undergo further nuclear reactions due to its 
long half-life, which may influence the isotopic abundances of neighboring stable isotopes. 
Additionally, it can serve as a sensitive chronometer to date processes in the early solar 
system [3] and to determine the exposure time of terrestrial material to high energetic cosmic 
radiation [4]. 

We report here on the first measurement of the Maxwellian Averaged Cross-Section (MACS) 
of 53Mn at stellar neutron energies performed at the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator 
Facility (SARAF) facility at the Soreq nuclear research center. 

The target containing ~1018 atoms 53Mn was prepared using a stock solution previously 
extracted and purified from activated accelerator waste in the course of the ERAWAST 
initiative [5] at PSI. The total number of 53Mn atoms in the target was deduced from a 
retained sample via multi-collector ICP-MS measurements at PSI. 

The activation of 53Mn with neutrons of a quasi-Maxwellian spectrum of about 40 keV was 
performed using the Liquid-Lithium Target LiLiT) installation at the Soreq Applied Research 
Accelerator Facility (SARAF-) [6]. The 53Mn target was encapsulated in an aluminum holder 
and introduced into a vacuum chamber in close proximity to the neutron entrance window 
immediately behind the liquid Lithum film. 

The total accumulated neutron fluence was deduced from γ-measurements of co-activated 
gold foils mounted externally on the target holder and of natural cobalt added to the target 
material as an internal flux monitor. The 54Mn, 60Co and 198Au activities were measured 
before and after the irradiation using high-resolution γ-spectroscopy.  

[1] F.K. Thielemann, et al., Astrophys J. 460, 408 (1996) 
[2] S. Sahijpal, J. Astrophys. Astr. 35 121 (2014) 
[3] D.P. Glavin, et al., Meteor. & Planet. Sci. 39, 693 (2004) 
[4] J.M. Schaefer, et al., Earth and Planet. Sci. Lett 251, 334 (2006) 
[5] D. Schumann, et al., Radiochim. Acta 97, 123 (2009) 
[6] M. Paul, et al., Eur. Phys. J. A, 55, 44 (2019) 

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

30



Improved precision on the experimental E0 decay branching

ratio of the Hoyle state

T.K. Eriksen,1, ∗ T. Kibédi,1 M.W. Reed,1 A.E. Stuchbery,1 A. Akber,1 B. Alshahrani,1

A. Avaa,2 K. Banerjee,1 A. Berriman,1 L. Bezzina,1 L. Bignell,1 K. Cook,1, † B.J.

Coombes,1 J.T.H. Dowie,1 M. Dasgupta,1 L.J. Evitts,3, 4 A.B. Garnsworthy,3

M.S.M. Gerathy,1 T.J. Gray,1 D. Hinde,1 T. Hoang,5 D. Hodge,6 S.S. Hota,1 E.

Ideguchi,5 P. Jones,2 G.J. Lane,1 B.P. McCormick,1 A.J. Mitchell,1 P. Nyaladzi,1

T. Palazzo,1 M. Ripper,1 J. Smallcombe,3 M. Taylor,6 T.G. Tornyi,1, ‡ and M. de Vries1

1Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physics and Engineering,

The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
2iThemba LABS, Somerset West, South Africa

3TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
4Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom

5Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan
6Nuclear Physics Group, School of Physics and Astronomy,

The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

Stellar carbon synthesis occurs exclusively via the 3α process, in which three α particles fuse

to form 12C in the excited Hoyle state followed by electromagnetic decay to the ground state.

The Hoyle state is energetically above the α threshold, and the rate of stellar carbon production

depends directly on the radiative width of this state. The radiative width cannot be measured

directly, and must instead be deduced by combining three separately measured quantities. One

of these quantities is the E0 decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state, and the current ≈ 10%

uncertainty on the radiative width stems mainly from the uncertainty of this ratio. The rate of

the 3α process is an important input parameter in astrophysical calculations on stellar evolution,

and a high precision is imperative to constrain the possible outcomes of different astrophysical

models. We have carried out a series of pair conversion measurements of the E0 and E2 tran-

sitions depopulating the Hoyle state and 2+1 state in 12C, respectively, with the aim to deduce a

new, more precise value on the E0 decay branching ratio. The excited states were populated by

the 12C(p, p′) reaction at 10.5 MeV beam energy, and the pairs were detected with the electron-

positron pair spectrometer, Super-e, at the Australian National University. The deduced branch-

ing ratio required knowledge on the proton population of the two states, as well as the alignment

of the 2+1 state in the reaction. For this purpose, proton scattering and γ-ray angular distribution

experiments were also performed. An averaged E0 branching ratio of ΓE0
π
/Γ = 7.47(46) ·10−6,

with an uncertainty of 6%, was deduced. Based on a weighted average of previous literature

values and the new result we recommend a value of ΓE0
π
/Γ = 7.21(37) · 10−6. The new recom-

mended value on the E0 branching ratio is about 7% larger than the previous adopted value of

ΓE0
π
/Γ = 6.7(6) ·10−6, and the uncertainty has been reduced from 9% to 5%. The experimental

methods, results, and implications will be discussed in this presentation.

∗Current address: Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Norway
†Current address: Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, O-Okayama, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
‡Current address: Institute for Nuclear Research, The Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Debrecen, Hungary

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

31



Constraining the age of Aboriginal rock art using cosmogenic Be-10 and 

Al-26 dating of rock shelter collapse in the Kimberley region, Australia.

G. Cazes,1 D. Fink,2 R.-H. Fülöp,1,2 and A. T. Codilean1

1 School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, 

Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia, 
2 Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Menai 2234, Australia

The  Kimberley  region,  northwest  Australia,  possesses  an  extensive  and  diverse

collection  of  aboriginal  rock  art  that  potentially  dates  to  more  than  40,000  years  ago.

However, dating of such art using conventional techniques remains problematic.  Here, we

develop a new approach which makes use of the difference in production rates of in-situ 10Be

and 26Al between intact rock walls and exposed surfaces of detached slabs from rock art

shelters to constrain the age of Aboriginal rock-art. In the prevailing sandstone lithology of

the Kimberley region, open cave-like rock shelters with cantilevered overhangs evolve by the

collapse of unstable,  partially rectangular, blocks weakened typically along joint-lines and

fractures. On release, those slabs which extend outside the rock face perimeter will experience

a higher production rate of cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al than the adjacent rock which remains

intact within the shelter. 

The dating of these freshly exposed slabs can help reconstruct rock-shelter formation

and provide either maximum or minimum ages for the rock art within the shelter. At each site,

both the upper-face of the newly exposed fallen slab and the counterpart intact rock surface on

the ceiling need to be sampled at their exact matching-point to ensure that the initial  pre-

release cosmogenic nuclide concentration on slab and ceiling are identical.

The calculation of the timing of the event of slab release is strongly dependent on the local

production rate, the new shielding of the slab surface and the post-production that continues

on the  ceiling  sample  at  the  matching  point.  The  horizon,  ceiling  and slab  shielding  are

estimated  by modelling  the  distribution  of  neutron  and muon  trajectories  in  the  irregular

shaped rock-shelter and slab using 3D photogrammetric reconstruction from drone flights and

a MATLAB code (modified from G. Balco, 2014) to estimate attenuation distances and model

the production rate at each sample. Five rock-art sites have been dated and results range from

9.8±1.9 ka to 180.8±22.3 ka. While the date obtained for the youngest site can be interpreted

as both a maximum and minimum age for the art due to its positioning over different walls of

this specific shelter, all the other sites give maximum art ages which are significantly older

than  presumed  human  occupation  in  Australia.  However,  within  the  context  of  regional

landscape geomorphology, these relatively young ages give new insights into the contrasting

modes of landscape evolution in the Kimberley, and the importance of episodic escarpment

retreat  overprinted  by  passive  basin-wide  denudation  which  from  numerous  previous

measurements  are  as  low as  1-5  mm/ka  (i.e.  averaging  timescales  of  ~400 kyr).  A large

number of similar sites in the region have been mapped and are potential candidates for this

new  approach  which  can  constrain  the  controversial  relative  chronology  of  the  various

aboriginal rock art styles.

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

32



Realistic shell model and nuclei around 
132

Sn

A. Gargano,1 L. Coraggio,1 and N. Itaco1,2

1 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Complesso Universitario di Monte S. Angelo, Via

Cintia, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
2 Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi

Vanvitelli”, viale Abramo Lincoln 5, I-81100 Caserta, Italy

In the last ten years or so, nuclei in the mass region around 132Sn have become accessible to

experimental studies thanks to new radioactive ion beam facilities and the development of

sophisticated detection techniques.  These nuclei represent a crucial  opportunity to test  the

main ingredients of the nuclear-shell model and investigate the evolution of the shell structure

when going far from stability valley in heavy-mass nuclei.

In the light- and medium-mass regions, structural changes have been evidenced for nuclei

with a large excess of neutrons, leading to the breakdown of the traditional magic numbers

and the appearance  of  new ones.  These  findings  have driven a great  theoretical  effort  to

understand the microscopic mechanism underlying the shell evolution, with special attention

to the role of the different components of the nuclear force (see, for instance, [1]).

The  available  experimental  data  for  nuclei  around  132Sn,  which  are,  however  still  scarce

especially  for  systems  with  N>82,  have  shown  peculiar  properties  although  no  clear

signatures of modifications in the shell structure.

In this  contribution,  I  shell  focus on some selected  results  for nuclei  with a  few valence

particles and/or holes with respect to  132Sn, that have been obtained within the shell-model

framework by using a microscopic effective interaction [2]. 

Calculations  have  been  carried  out  by  assuming  a  closed  132Sn  core  and  including  the

0g9/21d2s0h11/2  and  0h9/21f2p0i13/2 orbitals  for  proton  particles/neutron  holes  and  neutron

particles,  respectively.  A  unique  shell-model  Hamiltonian  is  adopted,  with  the  single-

particle(hole) energies taken from experiment and the two-body effective interaction derived

by means  of  the  many-body perturbation  theory  [3]  from the  CD-Bonn  nucleon-nucleon

potential [4] renormalized by means of the Vlow-k approach [5].

Results are compared with experiments, and predictions that may provide guidance to future

experiments are also discussed.

[1] T. Otsuka, A. Gade, O. Sorlin, T. Suzuki, Y. Utsuno, arXiv:1805.06501. 

[2] L. Coraggio, A. Covello, A. Gargano, and N. Itaco, Phys. Rev. C 90, 044322 (2014), and 

      references therein.

[3] L. Coraggio, A. Covello, A. Gargano, N. Itaco, and T. T. S. Kuo, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 

     62, 135 (2009).

[4] R. Machleidt, Phys. Rev. C 63, 024001 (2001).

[5] S. Bogner, T. T. S. Kuo, L. Coraggio, A. Covello, and N. Itaco, Phys. Rev. C 65,    

     051301(R) (2002).

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

33



Gamma-electron spectroscopy with Solenogam:

Isomeric Decay in 145Sm

M.S.M. Gerathy,1 G.J. Lane,1 M.W. Reed,1 A. Akber,1 B.J. Coombes,1 J.T.H.

Dowie,1 T.J. Gray,1 T. Kibédi,1 A.J. Mitchell,1 T. Palazzo,1 and A.E. Stuchbery1

1Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia

Solenogam is a recoil spectrometer designed for electron and gamma-ray spectroscopy at the

ANU Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility. The design enables the study of nuclear excitations

populated in the decay of long-lived states such as isomers and radioactive ground states. First

used on a 6.5 T gas-filled solenoid for the study of isomeric decays in 189Pb [1], Solenogam is

now installed on an 8 T gas-filled solenoid and preliminary results for this configuration have

been reported [2]. The solenoid is used to transport the products of fusion-evaporation reactions

to a focal plane where Solenogam is situated, consisting of high-sensitivity gamma-ray and

electron detector arrays for singles and coincidence measurements.

Among the N=83 isotones, high-spin isomers have been reported at ∼8 MeV for Z=60-68 [3].

Based on experimental g-factor measurements and quadrupole moments in 147Gd [4], these

states have been interpreted previously as shape isomers; however, in most cases the spin and

parity assignments remain tentative. We have studied the decay of the high-spin, t1/2=0.96 µs

isomer in 145Sm [5], using the 124Sn(26Mg,5n) reaction at a beam energy of 115 MeV. Microsec-

ond chopped beams were used to isolate the isomeric decay resulting in a (longer) revised life-

time, while conversion coefficients were measured with Solenogam to confirm the isomer spin

and parity for the first time. In addition, a significantly revised level scheme has been con-

structed. These results will be presented, together with an interpretation of the level structures

supported by shell-model calculations performed using the K-Shell code [6].

[1] G.D. Dracoulis, G.J. Lane, T. Kibédi and P. Nieminen, Phys. Rev. C 79, (2009) 031202(R).

[2] M.S.M. Gerathy, M.W. Reed, G.J. Lane, T. Kibédi, S.S. Hota, and A.E. Stuchbery, EPJ Web of Conf.

123 (2016) 04007.

[3] Y. Gono, A. Odahara, T. Fukuchi, E. Ideguchi, T. Kishida, T. Kubo, H. Watanabe, S. Motomura, K.

Saito, O. Kashiyama, T. Morikawa, B. Cederwall, Y. H. Zhang, X. H. Zhou, M. Ishihara, H. Sagawa,

Eur. Phys. J. A 13 (1-2) (2002) 5.

[4] O. Bakander, C. Baktash, J. Borggreen, J. Jensen, K. Kownacki, J. Pedersen, G. Sletten, D. Ward,

Nucl. Phys. A 89 (1982) 93.

[5] A. Odahara et al, Nucl. Phys. A 620 (1997) 363.

[6] N. Shimizu, Nuclear shell-model code for massive parallel computation, ”KSHELL” (25870168)

(2013) 23. arXiv:1310.5431.

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

34



Status of the FAIR project

J. Gerl1

1FAIR/GSI, Darmstadt, Germany

The international FAIR project at GSI aims for an unprecedented facility for research with

stable and radioactive ion and anti-proton beams. It will comprise of ion beam accelerators,

storage rings, an anti-proton source, a fragment separator and experimental set-ups for four

research pillars.  These pillars  are organized in large collaborations involving almost  3000

scientists:  APPA for  atomic  and  plasma  physics,  biology and material  science,  CBM for

studies  of  compressed  baryonic  matter,  NUSTAR  for  nuclear  structure,  reactions  and

astrophysics  investigations,  and  PANDA for  anti-proton  studies.  After  a  reorganisation  in

2015,  the  FAIR  project  is  progressing  vigorously.  Construction  of  the  buildings  and

production of the machine and experiment components are on-going. Moreover, a scientific

phase-0 program with the upgraded GSI accelerators and the already available FAIR sub-

systems, e.g. the many NUSTAR set-ups has started. 

NUSTAR  relies  primarily  on  the  availability  of  exotic  rare  isotope  beams  produced  by

fragmentation reactions and fission of relativistic heavy ions. The fragment separator FRS and

a versatile set of instruments, including gamma arrays, particle spectrometers and a storage

ring enable unique experiments at  GSI.  The Super-FRS at  the FAIR facility will  provide

several  orders  of  magnitude  stronger  beams,  enabling  access  to  the  extremes  of  nuclear

stability.  Continuous  R&D efforts  result  in  improved  detectors  and  enable  the  NUSTAR

collaboration to steadily enhance the sensitivity and selectivity limit of their  experiments.

Beyond providing new insights  into the nature of atomic nuclei  and their  creation in  the

universe,  important  technological  applications  for  the  benefit  of  our  society  arise  from

NUSTAR developments.

The  status  of  FAIR  and  NUSTAR  will  be  reported,  the  opportunities  for  NUSTAR

experiments  in  FAIR phase-0 at  GSI and at  Day-1 at  FAIR will  be discussed,  and novel

applications will be introduced.

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

35



Ion Laser Interaction AMS: Why poor gas gives pure beams

R. Golser,1 K. Hain,1 J. Lachner,1 M. Martschini,1 A. Priller,1 and P. Steier1

1University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Isotope Physics, VERA Laboratory, Austria, Europe

Isobars, i.e. atomic or molecular ions of almost the same mass as the ion of interest, are the

challenge in (Accelerator) Mass Spectrometry. Exploiting electronic properties of the isobaric

anions at sub-eV kinetic energies is becoming a breakthrough for isobar suppression. Key of a

new method implemented at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) is the

photo-detachment of the unwanted isobars in a linear, gas-filled radio-frequency quadrupole

(gf-RFQ) by a suitable laser. Isobar suppression by more than ten orders of magnitude has

been reached, e.g. for Cl-36 over S-36. The fundamental prerequisite is: the negative ions of

interest  must  remain  unaffected  by the interaction.  For laser light  this  is  the case if  their

electron affinity is greater than the photon energy. The use of pure Helium as the stopping

medium - another prerequisite for slow anions to pass the gf-RFQ unaffected - turned out not

to be fundamentally important. In fact, we see in several cases that ion-molecule reactions

with small "impurities" (a few percent) of Hydrogen or Oxygen in Helium gas can reduce

unwanted isobaric molecules by orders of magnitude with little effect on the molecules of

interest. This "reaction cell chemistry" is highly welcome, but needs to be better understood.

So far,  we get  sufficient  and  reliable  isobar  suppression  only  in  combination  with  laser-

photodetachment.

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

36



Enhanced collectivity of neutron-rich 129Sb beyond the particle-core

coupling scheme

T.J. Gray,1 J.M.Allmond,2 A.E. Stuchbery,1 C.-H. Yu,2 C. Baktash,2 J.C. Batchelder,3

J.R. Beene,2 C. Bingham,4 M. Danchev,4 A. Galindo-Uribarri,2 C.J. Gross,2 P.A.

Hausladen,2 W. Krolas,5 J.F. Liang,2 E. Padilla,5 J. Pavan,2 and D.C. Radford2

1Research School of Physics and Engineering,

The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 Australia
2Physics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA

3Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
4University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37966, USA

5The Joint Institute For Heavy Ion Research, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA

The region around the double-magic 132Sn has been of interest in recent years, with Radioactive

Ion Beam accelerator facilities allowing experiments to be conducted in neutron-rich nuclei.

Experimental evidence shows 132Sn to be one of the best doubly magic nuclei, providing a

testing ground for the shell model and investigations into the onset of collectivity.

Coulomb excitation data from the Holifield Radioactive Beam Facility (HRIBF) at Oak

Ridge National Laboratory will be presented. 11 HPGe Clover detectors in the Clarion array

and 54 CsI particle detectors in the BareBall array were used to study 129Sb, a radioactive

nucleus near 132Sn. The measurements provide a test of particle-core coupling schemes.

FIG. 1: Fragmentation of the B(E2) strength in the 128Sn core into the d5/2 proton and 2+ ⊗ g7/2
multiplet members is shown.

The results indicate that the total electric quadruple strength exciting the 2
+
⊗ g7/2 multiplet

of 129Sb is a factor of 1.39(11) larger than that of the 2
+ excitation of the 128Sn core. This is

in stark contrast to the expectations of particle-core coupling schemes [1, 2]. The odd proton

must polarize the core. Two state-of-the-art shell-model calculations were performed, which

account for some but not all of the enhanced collectivity.

[1] A. de Shalit, Phys. Rev. 122, 1530 (1961)

[2] A. Bohr and B. R. Mottleson, Nuclear Structure, Vol II (W. A. Benjamin, New York, 1975) p. 360

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

37



Fragmentation analysis of 88Mo∗ compound nucleus in view
of different decay mechanisms

N. Grover,1 Bhaktima,1 and M.K. Sharma1

1School of Physics and Materials Science,
Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala 147004, Punjab, India

In reference to the experimental data [1], the decay mechanism of 88Mo∗ compound system
formed in 48Ti+40Ca reaction is investigated at three beam energies (Ebeam=300, 450, and 600
MeV) using the collective clusterization approach of Dynamical Cluster decay Model (DCM)
[2, 3]. The calculations are done for spherical choice of fragmentation and with the inclusion
of quadrupole (β2) deformations having optimum orientations (θopti ). According to the exper-
imental evidence [1] 88Mo∗ decays via fusion-evaporation (FE) and fusion-fission (FF) pro-
cesses, thus the decay cross-sections of this hot and rotating compound system are calculated
for both FE and FF channels. In FF decay mode, the explicit contribution of intermediate mass
fragments (IMF), heavy mass fragments (HMF) and symmetric fission fragments is extracted
within DCM framework. The calculated FE and FF decay cross-sections find nice agreement
with the available experimental data [1] for both the choices of fragmentation (spherical as well
as β2-deformed). Experimentally, it has been observed that the total contribution of FE and FF
decay cross-sections is much less than the total reaction cross-sections (estimated according to
[4]), suggesting the presence of some nCN component such as deep inelastic collisions (DIC),
which generally contributes at higher ℓ-values or above critical angular momentum (ℓcr). In
view of this, DIC contribution is also investigated.

[1] S. Valdré, S. Piantelli, G. Casini, S. Barlini et al., Phys. Rev. C 93, 034617 (2016).
[2] G. Kaur, D. Jain, R. Kumar, M. K.Sharma, Nucl. Phys. A 916, 260274 (2013).
[3] N. Grover, K. Sharma, and M. K. Sharma, Eur. Phys. J. A 53: 239 (2017).
[4] S. K. Gupta et al., Z. Phys. A 317, 75 (1984).

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
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Australian
National
University

38



The status of the new AMS device for medium mass isotopes at the Cologne 
University  

S. Herb,1 M. Schiffer,1 R. Spanier,1 S. Heinze,1 C. Müller-Gatermann, A. Stolz,1 
G. Hackenberg,1 L. Bussmann,1 D. Schumann,2 and A. Dewald1

1Institute of Nuclear Physics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany 
2Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111,Villigen, Switzerland 

A new device has been set up at the Cologne 10 MV FN accelerator to perform medium mass 
AMS measurements, e. g. 53Mn and 60Fe. It consists of an achromatic injector with an MC-
SNICS ion source (electrostatic analyzer and magnet radius of 0.435 m) with a fast injection 
system for the switching between the stable and rare ion beam. With the accelerator ion 
energies of 100 MeV are accessible by the use of the 10+ charge state and reliable terminal 
voltages of 9.5 MV. The achromatic high energy mass spectrometer consists of a 90° 
analyzing magnet (r=1.1 m) followed by a multi Faraday offset cup chamber and a 30° 
electrostatic analyzer (r=3.5 m). The isobar separation will be done with an isotope specific 
multi step energy loss measurement with combinations of silicon-nitride foils, the ESA, a 4 m 
time-of-flight system and a gas ionization detector. Additionally a 135° magnet (r=0.9 m) can 
be used in gas-filled mode for measurements like 60Fe.  
The current project intends to use the production of 53Mn and 3He in iron-tianium-oxides for 
the isochron burial dating technique with an upper dating range of 25 Ma for long term 
erosion processes. So far we are able to measure (53Mn/55Mn) isotopic ratios with a blank 
value of 1.55x10-12. 

After the first successful 53Mn and 60Fe test measurements it revealed that some 
improvements of the new set-up should be made: (i) A larger entrance window at the 
ionization detector will increase the overall transmission. (ii) The Installation of time of flight 
detectors for the gas-filled magnet will increase the suppression. (iii) Modification of the 
cathode electrodes are planned to reach a better angular resolution, which will enable to 
discriminate scattered beam particles. By these improvements we expect to optimize the 
system so that we can meet the design values for the geological applications with a blank 
level of 1.0x10-13. 

In addition further improvements on the FN-AMS-setup will be performed: e.g. increasing the 
efficiency of the injector, especially of the ion source.  

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

39



Achieving the ultimate sensitivity in Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of high

mass isotopes

M.A.C. Hotchkis,1 D.P. Child,1 M. Williams,2 A. Wallner,3 M. Froehlich,3 D. Koll3

1 ANSTO, Lucas Heights, NSW 2234, Australia
2 University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia

3 Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University, ACT 2601, Australia

The  VEGA AMS system at  ANSTO,  based  on  a  1MV tandem accelerator,  was  custom-

designed to achieve the highest possible sensitivity for high mass isotopes [1].  It incorporates

multiple medium-resolving power analysing elements: one magnetic element for the injected

negative ions, followed by magnetic, electrostatic and second magnetic elements for positive

ions after acceleration.  This design, with mass and energy resolving powers in the range 500

to 1000, separates isotopes and suppresses backgrounds that may originate from a variety of

ion species.  The gas stripper in the high-voltage terminal is key both to system efficiency and

to background suppression.  Helium gas stripping is used, providing around 40% ion yield to

the most abundant charge state (3+).  The stripper pressure must be sufficient to break up all

molecules while minimising the scattering angle of the ions as they undergo charge-changing

collisions.  Our recent work [1] has demonstrated that the need for production of negative

molecular ions in AMS of actinides is not such a barrier to high efficiency: the VEGA sputter

ion source can achieve greater than 1% efficiency for production of plutonium oxide negative

ions and so overall sensitivity to a few hundred atoms in a sample is possible.

We are involved in  a number  of projects  requiring high sensitivity and low backgrounds.

Examples  include  (1)  the  detection  of  244Pu  of  extraterrestrial  origin  in  deep  oceanic

ferromanganese  crusts  [2,3];  (2)  radioecology of plutonium in the environment  of former

nuclear  test  sites  [4,5];  (3)  detection  of  nuclear  signatures  for  nuclear  safeguards  and

forensics; use of Pu in global fallout as a chrono-marker in environmental studies [6]; (4)

measurement of platinum-group-element isotope ratios in meteorites;  (5) evaluation of the

radio-purity of materials for use in dark matter searches.

Each of these projects presents their own particular challenges.  In some cases, sensitivity is

limited by background from scattered ions of species other than the one of interest.  In other

situations, cross-contamination between samples, in the sample prep lab or ion source, limits

sensitivity.  Other projects or previous uses of laboratories may leave residual contamination.

For  stable  and  very  long-lived  species,  such  as  PGEs  and  major  uranium  isotopes,  the

ubiquity of those species at low levels in almost all materials sets limits.

[1] M.A.C. Hotchkis et al., Nucl. Instr. Meth. B 438, 70 (2019).

[2] A. Wallner et al., Nat. Commun. 6, 5956 (2015).

[3] A. Wallner et al., to be published.

[4] M.P. Johansen et al., J. Environ. Radioact. 151, 387 (2016).

[5] M.P. Johansen et al., to be published.

[6] E. Field et al., Quat. Geochronol. 43, 50 (2018).

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

40



Shape coexistence in mass 40 region studied via E0 and gamma transitions 

E. Ideguchi,1 T. Kibédi,2 J.T.H. Dowie,2 T.H. Hoang,1 M. Kumar Raju,1 A.A. Akber,2  
L. Bignell,2 B. Coombes,2 T.K. Eriksen,2 M.S.M Gerathy,2 T.J. Gray,2 G.J. Lane,2  
B.P. McCormick,2 A.J. Mitchell,2 A.E. Stuchbery,2 N. Shimizu,3 and Y. Utsuno4 

1 RCNP, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan  
2 Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University, ACT 2601, Australia 

3 CNS, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan 
4 ASRC, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1195, Japan 

The advent of shape coexistence is a unique feature of atomic nucleus. This phenomenon 

particularly occurs near spherical closed shell nucleus, where the onset of shape coexistence is 

based on the balance between stabilizing effect of closed shells to retain spherical shape and 

the residual interaction which drives the nucleus to deformed shape [1].  

  The spherical doubly magic nucleus, 40Ca, is a best example exhibiting such shape 

coexistence. A unique feature of 40Ca is an appearance of low-lying 0+ states. First excited 

state is 0+ at 3.3 MeV and the second excited 0+ state closely locates at 5.2 MeV. These states 

are understood as band heads of the normal deformed and the superdeformed bands, 

respectively [2], which corresponds to the multiple shape coexistence in 40Ca. Similarly, low-

lying 0+ SD band heads are also observed in neighboring nuclei of mass 40 region [3,4,5]. 

  Existence of the superdeformed (SD) band starting from the 0+ band head is another unique 

feature of 40Ca. Although the existence of superdeformed nuclei are reported in many nuclei 

of various mass regions, A=60, 80, 130, 150, 190 [3], the superdeformed band head 0+ states 

are only observed in mass 40 region [4,5], and in the fission isomer region [3]. Such situation 

makes it difficult to understand the property of superdeformed state, such as the mixing of the 

states with different configurations. Therefore, 40Ca is a quite unique nucleus where one can 

study the electric monopole (E0) transition strength between the band head of superdeformed 

state and the spherical ground state, which directly reflects the shape mixing [6].  

  In order to study the property of superdeformed state of 40Ca, we have performed an 

experiment to measure the E0 transition from the excited 0+ states. Experiment was carried 

out using a 40Ca(p,p’) reaction at the 14UD tandem accelerator facility in Australian National 

University. The Super-e pair spectrometer [7,8,9], a superconducting magnetic-lens 

spectrometer, is employed to measure conversion electrons and electron-positron pairs with 

excellent background suppression. A single germanium detector was also used to measure 

gamma transitions from the excited states simultaneously.  

  In the presentation, the experimental results on E0 transition strength from the normal 

deformed and superdeformed band in 40Ca and the theoretical studies based on the large-scale 

shell model calculation will be discussed. Recent results studied via gamma transitions in 

mass 40 region will be also presented and discussed.  

  This work is partially supported by the International Joint Research Promotion Program of 

Osaka University and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP 17H02893. 

[1] K. Heyde and J.L. Wood, Rev. of Mod. Phys. 83, 1467 (2011) 

[2] E. Ideguchi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 222501 (2001) 

[3] B. Singh, R. Zywina, R.B. Firestone, Nucl. Data Sheets 97, 241 (2002) 

[4] C.E. Svensson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2693 (2000) 

[5] E. Ideguchi et al., Phys. Lett. B 686, 18 (2010) 

[6] J.L. Wood et al., Nucl. Phys. A 651, 323 (1999) 

[7] T. Kibèdi et al., The Astrophysical Journal 489, 951 (1997) 

[8] L.J. Evitts et al., Phys. Lett. B 779, 396 (2018) 

[9] L.J. Evitts et al., Phys. Rev. C (in press) 

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

41



Evidence for Recent Interstellar 
60

Fe on Earth 

D. Koll,1,2 T. Faestermann,2 J. Feige,1,3 L.K. Fifield,1 M.B. Froehlich,1 M.A.C. Hotchkis,4 
G. Korschinek,2 S. Merchel,5 S. Panjkov,1 S. Pavetich,1 S.G. Tims,1 and A. Wallner1  

1 Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia 
2 Physics Department, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany 

3 Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, TU Berlin, Berlin, Germany 
4 Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Sydney, Germany 

5 Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany 

Over the last 20 years the long-lived radionuclide 60Fe with a half-life of 2.6 Myr was shown 

to be an expedient astrophysical tracer to detect freshly synthesized stardust on Earth. 

The unprecedented sensitivity of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry for 60Fe at The Australian 

National University (ANU) and Technical University of Munich (TUM) allowed us to detect 

minute amounts of 60Fe in deep-sea crusts, nodules, sediments and on the Moon [1-5]. These 

signals, around 2-3 Myr and 6.5-9 Myr before present, were interpreted as a signature from 

nearby Supernovae which synthesized and ejected 60Fe into the local interstellar medium. 

Triggered by these findings, ANU and TUM independently analyzed recent surface material 

for 60Fe, deep-sea sediments and for the first time Antarctic snow, respectively [6, 7]. 

We find in both terrestrial archives corresponding amounts of recent 60Fe.  

We will present these discoveries, evaluate the origin of this recent influx and bring it into 

line with previously reported ancient 60Fe findings. 

[1] K. Knie et. al. “Indication for supernova produced 60Fe activity on Earth”  

Phys. Rev. Lett. 83 (1999) 18. 

[2] K. Knie et. al. “60Fe anomaly in a deep-sea manganese crust and implications for a nearby 

supernova source”  

Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 171103. 

[3] P. Ludwig et. al. “Time-resolved 2-million-year-old super-nova activity discovered in 

Earth's microfossil record”,  

PNAS 113 (2016) 9232. 

[4] A. Wallner et. al. “Recent near-Earth supernovae probed by global deposition of 

interstellar radioactive 60Fe” 

Nature 532 (2016) 69. 

[5] L. Fimiani et. al. “Interstellar 60Fe on the surface of the Moon”  

Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 (2016) 151104. 

[6] D. Koll et. al. “Interstellar 60Fe in Antarctica”  

Phys. Rev. Lett., submitted 

[7] A. Wallner et al. in preparation 

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

42



Masses and Beta-Decay Spectroscopy of Neutron-Rich Nuclei:

Isomers and Sub-shell Gaps with Large Deformation ∗

F.G. Kondev1

1Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA

The structure of deformed, neutron-rich nuclei in the rare-earth region is of significant interest

for both the nuclear-structure and astrophysics fields. Although much progress is being made

in our understanding of the r-process, a satisfactory explanation for the elemental peak in

abundance near A=160 is still elusive. Understanding the origin of this peak may be a key

to correctly identifying the astrophysical conditions for the r-process. Theoretical models of

element production are dependent on masses and lifetimes of neutron-rich, deformed rare-earth

nuclei in this region where little or no information is known. The available nuclear structure

information is also scarce, owing to difficulties in the production of these nuclei. In order

to address these issues, an experimental program has been initiated at Argonne National

Laboratory using high-purity radioactive beams produced by the CARIBU facility. Mass mea-

surements using the Canadian Penning Trap (CPT) and beta-gamma coincidence studies using

the SATURN moving tape system and the X-Array spectrometer, comprising of five Ge clover

detectors, were carried out. A number of two-quasiparicle isomers were discovered in odd-odd

nuclei using CPT and in several cases their properties were elucidated by complementary

beta-decay studies. Evidences were found for changes in the single-particle structure, which in

turn resulted in the formation of a sizable sub-shell gap at N=98 and large deformation. Results

from these measurements will be presented, together with predictions based on deformed shell

model that includes effects of pairing and spin-depended, nucleon-nucleon interactions. The

newly-commissioned beta-decay station at Gammasphere will also be discussed and results

from the first experimental campaign will also be presented.

∗ This work is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, under

Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357 (ANL) and the National Science Foundation under Grant

No. PHY-1203100 (USNA). This research used resources of Argonne National Laboratory’s

ATLAS facility, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

43



Confirmation the existence of the X17 particle 

A.J. Krasznahorkay,1 M. Csatlós,1 L. Csige,1 A. Krasznahorkay,2 Á. Nagy,1 N. Sas,1
 B.M. Nyakó, and J. Timár1 

1Inst. for Nucl. Res., Hungarian Acad. of Sci., Debrecen, Hungary,
2CERN, Geneva, Switzerland

Recently, we used the 7Li(p,e+e-)8Be reaction to excite an 18.15 MeV excited state in 8Be and 
observed its internal pair (e+e-) decay to the ground state. An anomaly in the form of peak-like 
enhancement relative to the internal pair creation was observed at large angles in the angular 
correlation [1]. It turned out that this could be a first hint for a 17 MeV X-boson (X17), which 
may connect our visible world with Dark Matter [2]. The possible relation of the X17 to the 
Dark Matter problem triggered great theoretical and experimental interest in the particle, 
hadron, nuclear and atomic physics communities. Zhang and Miller discussed in detail 
whether a possible explanation of nuclear physics origin could be found [3].  They have not 
found any of such explanation. 

Using a significantly modified and improved experimental setup, we reinvestigated the 
anomaly observed in the e+e- angular correlation by using a new tandetron accelerator of our 
institute. This setup has different efficiency curve as a function of the correlation angle, and 
different sensitivity to cosmic rays yielding practically independent experimental results. In 
this experiment, the previous data were reproduced within the error bars.  

To confirm the existence of the X17 boson, we conducted a search for similar anomaly 
in another nuclear transition. The 0   −  0+ transition in 4He, which energy is 21.1 MeV, was 
chosen. If X17 is a vector boson with Jπ=1+ [2] then the emission can be done with L=1 
angular momentum, while in case of the X17 is an axion like particle (ALP) [4] then it can be 
emitted with L=0. The 21.1 MeV (Jπ=0−) state is broad, Γ=0.84 MeV, and it overlaps with the 
first excited state located at Ex=20.21 MeV (Jπ=0+, Γ=0.50 MeV), but it did not complicate 
our results. 

We used proton resonant capture reaction on 3H target at a beam energy of Ep= 0.90 
MeV, and this way, we excited both of the above overlapping states.  We observed e+e- pairs 
with an angular correlation characteristic basically to the external pair creation (EPC) of the γ-
rays created in the direct capture process of the 3H(p,γ)4He reaction and no contribution from 
the week  0+     0+ E0 process. On top of the EPC background a peak at Θ≈115° is clearly 
visible with larger than 5σ confidence. According to our simulations performed with 
GEANT4, this peak corresponds to the decay of the X17 boson created in the 0   −  0+ 

transition.  

[1] A.J. Krasznahorkay et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 042501 (2016) 
 [2] J. Feng et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 071803 (2016) 
 [3] Xilin Zhang and Gerald A. Miller, Phys. Lett. B773, 159 (2017) 
 [4] Ulrich Ellwanger and Stefano Moretti, JHEP 11, 039 (2016) 
 [5] Jonathan Kozaczuk, David E. Morrissey, and S. R. Stroberg, Phys. Rev. D 95, 115024 (2017)

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

44



The movements of Alpine glaciers throughout the last 10,000 years

as sensitive proxies of temperature and climate changes 

W. Kutschera1

1Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA)

Faculty of Physics – Isotope Physics, University of Vienna

Vienna, Austria

It is well known that the Holocene, i.e. the geological time period of the last 10,000 years
following the end of the Ice Age,  enjoyed relatively stable temperatures.  But glaciers  are
sensitive  proxies  to  even  small  temperature  and/or  climate  changes.  Thus,  the  globally
observed retreat of Alpine glaciers and polar ices sheets since 1850 AD (the end of the so-
called Little Ice Age) has been linked to the temperature increase caused by human activities,
particularly due to the steady increase of CO2 in the atmosphere [1]. On the other hand, it is
now evident  that  considerable  glacial  fluctuations  occurred  already at  much earlier  times
when human impact was negligible.

In a way, the interest in Alpine glaciers of the past started with the accidental discovery of the
famous Iceman Ötzi in 1991, a naturally mummified body which was well preserved for 5200
years in the icy environment of a high mountain pass (3210 m a.s.l.) in the Ötztal Alps [2].
Since then, several forward and backward movements of glaciers in the European Alps and in
the New Zealand Southern Alps throughout the last 10,000 years have been established with
the  help  of  dendrochronology,  radiocarbon  dating,  surface  exposure  dating  of  rocks  and
moraines with various cosmogenic radionuclides (10Be, 14C, 26Al, 36Cl), and geomorphological
considerations [3]. 

It is possible that small solar activity variations, enhanced by (hitherto largely unknown) feed-
back processes on Earth, caused the observed glacial fluctuations. These natural fluctuations
constitute  a  “background”,  which  is  now  being  modified  in  a  complex  way  by  human
activities. It is hoped that research on the movement of Alpine glaciers before man’s influence
may actually help to better assess the anthropogenic influence on climate change in our time. 

[1] The Keeling Curve: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/
[2] W. Kutschera et al., The Tyrolean Iceman and his glacial environment during the 
      Holocene, Radiocarbon 59/2 (2017) 395-405.
[3] A.E. Putnam et al., Regional climate control of glaciers in New Zealand and Europe 
      during the pre-industrial Holocene, Nature Geoscience 5 (2012) 628-630.

HIAS Heavy Ion Accelerator Symposium
9–13 September 2019

Australian
National
University

45



SABRE and the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory: 

Dark Matter Research at the Australian National University 

G.J. Lane,1 L.J. Bignell,1 M. Froehlich,1 I. Mahmood,2 F. Nuti,2 M.S. Rahman,3 C. Simenel,1 
N.J. Spinks,1 A.E. Stuchbery,1 H. Timmers,3 A. Wallner,1 Y.Y. Zhong,1  

(and the SABRE South collaboration) 
1
 Department of Nuclear Physics, The Australian National University 

2
 School of Physics, The University of Melbourne,  

3
 School of Science, The University of New South Wales, UNSW Canberra 

The direct detection of dark matter is a key problem in astroparticle physics that generally 

requires the use of deep-underground laboratories for a low-background environment where 

the rare signals from dark matter interactions can be observed. The dark matter interaction 

rate from Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) in an Earth-based detector, is 

expected to modulate yearly due to the change of the Earth’s speed relative to the galactic 

halo reference frame. There is a long-standing result from the DAMA experiment at the Gran 

Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) in Italy that used NaI(Tl) scintillator for the detector 

medium; their observed results are consistent with this scenario [1,2,3]. However, the 

magnitude of the signal is in tension with a number of other direct detection measurements 

that use different detector technologies [4]. 

SABRE (Sodium-iodide with Active Background REjection) is a new NaI(Tl) 

experiment [5,6] designed to search for galactic dark matter through the annual modulation 

signature. Arrays of N