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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 94 » Issue 11
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 112501 (2005) [4 pages]

Half-Life of the Doubly Magic r-Process Nucleus 78Ni

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P. T. Hosmer1,2, H. Schatz1,2,3, A. Aprahamian3,4, O. Arndt5, R. R. C. Clement1,*, A. Estrade1,2, K.-L. Kratz5,6, S. N. Liddick1,7, P. F. Mantica1,7, W. F. Mueller1, F. Montes1,2, A. C. Morton1,†, M. Ouellette1,2, E. Pellegrini1,2, B. Pfeiffer5, P. Reeder8, P. Santi1,‡, M. Steiner1, A. Stolz1, B. E. Tomlin1,7, W. B. Walters9, and A. Wöhr4
1National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
3Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
4Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556-5670, USA
5Institut für Kernchemie, Universität Mainz, Fritz-Strassmann Weg 2, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
6HGF Virtuelles Institut für Kernstruktur und Nukleare Astrophysik, Mainz, Germany
7Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
8Richland, Washington 99352, USA
9Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

Received 22 November 2004; published 24 March 2005

Nuclei with magic numbers serve as important benchmarks in nuclear theory. In addition, neutron-rich nuclei play an important role in the astrophysical rapid neutron-capture process (r process). 78Ni is the only doubly magic nucleus that is also an important waiting point in the r process, and serves as a major bottleneck in the synthesis of heavier elements. The half-life of 78Ni has been experimentally deduced for the first time at the Coupled Cyclotron Facility of the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University, and was found to be 110-60+100  ms. In the same experiment, a first half-life was deduced for 77Ni of 128-33+27  ms, and more precise half-lives were deduced for 75Ni and 76Ni of 344-24+20  ms and 238-18+15  ms, respectively.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.112501
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.112501
PACS:
21.10.Tg, 23.40.–s, 26.30.+k, 27.50.+e

*Current affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue Livermore, CA 94550, USA.

†Current affiliation: TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1R9 Canada.

‡Current affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Safeguards Science and Technology Group (N-1), E540, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA.

 
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