Extension of the particle x-ray coincidence technique: The lifetimes and branching ratios apparatus

Abstract

The particle x-ray coincidence technique (PXCT) was originally developed to measure average lifetimes in the $10^{-17}-10^{-15}$~s range for proton-unbound states populated by electron capture (EC). We have designed and built the Lifetimes and Branching Ratios Apparatus (LIBRA) to be used in the stopped-beam area at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams that extends PXCT to measure lifetimes and decay branching ratios of resonances populated by EC/${\beta }^{+}$ decay. The first application of LIBRA aims to obtain essential nuclear data from ${}^{60}$Ga EC/${\beta }^{+}$ decay to constrain the thermonuclear rates of the ${}^{59}$Cu$(p,\gamma {)}^{60}$Zn and ${}^{59}$Cu$(p,\alpha {)}^{56}$Ni reactions, and in turn, the strength of the NiCu nucleosynthesis cycle, which is predicted to significantly impact the modeling of type I x-ray burst light curves and the composition of the burst ashes. Detailed theoretical calculations, Monte Carlo simulations, and performance tests with radioactive sources have been conducted to validate the feasibility of employing LIBRA for the ${}^{60}$Ga experiment. LIBRA can be utilized to measure most essential ingredients needed for charged-particle reaction rate calculations in a single experiment, in the absence of direct measurements, which are often impractical for radioactive reactants.

References in corpus (20)

• Dependence of X-Ray Burst Models on Nuclear Reaction Rates
• X-ray binaries
• The Effects of Variations in Nuclear Processes on Type I X-Ray Burst Nucleosynthesis
• Nucleosynthesis in Type I X-ray Bursts
• Influence of Nuclear Reaction Rate Uncertainties on Neutron Star Properties Extracted From X-ray Burst Model-Observation Comparisons
• Statistical Methods for Thermonuclear Reaction Rates and Nucleosynthesis Simulations
• The Status and Future of Direct Nuclear Reaction Measurements for Stellar Burning
• Reaction Rate Sensitivity of the Production of $\gamma$-ray Emitting Isotopes in Core-Collapse Supernova
• Beta decay of the very neutron-deficient ${}^{60}$Ge and ${}^{62}$Ge nuclei
• Thermonuclear reaction rate of ${}^{18}$Ne($\alpha$,$p$)${}^{21}$Na from Monte-Carlo calculations
• Constraining the ${}^{30}$P($p,\gamma {)}^{31}$S reaction rate in ONe novae via the weak, low-energy, $\beta$-delayed proton decay of ${}^{31}$Cl
• First direct measurement of ${}^{59}$Cu(p,$\alpha$)${}^{56}$Ni: A step towards constraining the Ni-Cu cycle in the Cosmos
• Doppler Broadening in ${}^{20}$Mg($\beta p\gamma$)${}^{19}$Ne Decay
• Direct measurement of hexacontatetrapole, $\text{E6}$ γ decay from ${}^{\text{53m}}$Fe
• ${}^{25}$Si ${\beta }^{+}$-decay spectroscopy
• Determination of the ${}^{60}$Zn level density from neutron evaporation spectra
• Time Projection Chamber for GADGET II
• Relativistically calculated K-shell level widths and fluorescence yields for atoms with 20$\le$Z$\le$30
• New ${}^{63}$Ga(p,$\gamma$)${}^{64}$Ge and ${}^{64}$Ge(p,$\gamma$)${}^{65}$As reaction rates corresponding to the temperature regime of thermonuclear X-ray bursts
• Charged-particle optical potentials tested by first direct measurement of 59Cu(p,alpha)56Ni reaction

Cited by in corpus (1)

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