$\beta^-$-Decay Study of the Deformed, Neutron-Rich Nucleus $^{160}$Eu
ORAL
Abstract
A new experimental program at Argonne National Laboratory has been initiated in the pursuit of understanding the structure of deformed nuclei in the $A\approx 160$ region. Of particular interest is the evolution of collectivity towards mid shell ($N=104$). In addition, these results will provide valuable information for understanding the rare-earth ``pygmy peak" in the r-process abundance distribution. A high-purity beam of $^{160}$Eu from the CARIBU facility was directed onto the SATURN moving tape system. The X-Array spectrometer (with multiple Ge clover detectors and plastic scintillators) was placed around the tape system for $\gamma$ and $\beta$ detection. Two $\beta$-decaying states in $^{160}$Eu were observed, and the decay scheme of the $^{160}$Gd daughter nucleus was greatly extended. Multi-quasiparticle blocking calculations were performed to help interpret the structure of the parent and daughter states.
*This work is funded by the NSF (PHY-1502092) and the US DOE, Office of Science (DE-AC02-06CH11357). This research used resources of Argonne National Laboratory's ATLAS facility, which is a DOE, Office of Science User Facility
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