| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Ciemala, M., et al.
(author)
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Testing ab initio nuclear structure in neutron-rich nuclei : Lifetime measurements of second 2(+) state in C-16 and O-20
- 2020
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In: Physical Review C. - : AMER PHYSICAL SOC. - 2469-9985 .- 2469-9993. ; 101:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To test the predictive power of ab initio nuclear structure theory, the lifetime of the second 2(+) state in neutron-rich O-20, tau(2(2)(+)) = 150(-30)(+80) fs, and an estimate for the lifetime of the second 2(+) state in C-16 have been obtained for the first time. The results were achieved via a novel Monte Carlo technique that allowed us to measure nuclear state lifetimes in the tens-to-hundreds of femtoseconds range by analyzing the Doppler-shifted gamma-transition line shapes of products of low-energy transfer and deep-inelastic processes in the reaction O-18 (7.0 MeV/u) + Ta-181. The requested sensitivity could only be reached owing to the excellent performances of the Advanced gamma-Tracking Array AGATA, coupled to the PARIS scintillator array and to the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer. The experimental lifetimes agree with predictions of ab initio calculations using two- and three-nucleon interactions, obtained with the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group for O-20 and with the no-core shell model for C-16. The present measurement shows the power of electromagnetic observables, determined with high-precision gamma spectroscopy, to assess the quality of first-principles nuclear structure calculations, complementing common benchmarks based on nuclear energies. The proposed experimental approach will be essential for short lifetime measurements in unexplored regions of the nuclear chart, including r-process nuclei, when intense beams, produced by Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) techniques, become available.
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| 3. |
- Avigo, R., et al.
(author)
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Low-lying electric dipole gamma-continuum for the unstable Fe-62,64 nuclei : Strength evolution with neutron number
- 2020
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In: Physics Letters B. - : ELSEVIER. - 0370-2693 .- 1873-2445. ; 811
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The gamma-ray emission from the nuclei Fe-62,Fe-64 following Coulomb excitation at bombarding energy of 400-440 AMeV was measured with special focus on E1 transitions in the energy region 4-8 MeV. The unstable neutron-rich nuclei Fe-62,Fe-64 were produced at the FAIR-GSI laboratories and selected with the FRS spectrometer. The gamma decay was detected with AGATA. From the measured gamma-ray spectra the summed E1 strength is extracted and compared to microscopic quasi-particle phonon model calculations. The trend of the E1 strength with increasing neutron number is found to be fairly well reproduced with calculations that assume a rather complex structure of the 1(-) states (three-phonon states) inducing a strong fragmentation of the E1 nuclear response below the neutron binding energy.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Fernández, A., et al.
(author)
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Reinterpretation of excited states in 212Po: Shell-model multiplets rather than α-cluster states
- 2021
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In: Physical Review C. - : American Physical Society. - 2469-9985 .- 2469-9993. ; 104:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A γ-ray spectroscopic study of 212Po was performed at the Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds, using the inverse kinematics α-transfer reaction 12C(208Pb,212Po)8Be and the AGATA spectrometer. A careful analysis based on γγ coincidence relations allowed us to establish 14 new excited states in the energy range between 1.9 and 3.3 MeV. None of these states, however, can be considered as candidates for the levels with spins and parities of 1− and 2− and excitation energies below 2.1 MeV, which have been predicted by recent α-cluster model calculations. A systematic comparison of the experimentally established excitation scheme of 212Po with shell-model calculations was performed. This comparison suggests that the six states with excitation energies (spins and parities) of 1744 (4−), 1751 (8−), 1787 (6−), 1946 (4−), 1986 (8−), and 2016 (6−) keV, which previously were interpreted as α-cluster states, may in fact be of positive parity and belong to low-lying shell-model multiplets. This reinterpretation of the structure of 212Po is supported by experimental information with respect to the linear polarization of γ rays, which suggests a magnetic character of the 432-keV γ ray decaying from the state at an excitation energy of 1787 keV to the 6+ yrast state, and exclusive reaction cross sections.
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| 6. |
- Girard-Alcindor, V., et al.
(author)
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New narrow resonances observed in the unbound nucleus F 15
- 2022
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In: Physical Review C. - : American Physical Society (APS). - 2469-9985 .- 2469-9993. ; 105:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The structure of the unbound F15 nucleus is investigated using the inverse kinematics resonant scattering of a radioactive O14 beam impinging on a CH2 target. The analysis of H1(O14,p)O14 and H1(O14,2p)N13 reactions allowed the confirmation of the previously observed narrow 1/2- resonance, near the two-proton decay threshold, and the identification of two new narrow 5/2- and 3/2- resonances. The newly observed levels decay by 1p emission to the ground of O14, and by sequential 2p emission to the ground state of N13 via the 1- resonance of O14. Gamow shell model (GSM) analysis of the experimental data suggests that the wave functions of the 5/2- and 3/2- resonances may be collectivized by the continuum coupling to nearby 2p- and 1p-decay channels. The observed excitation function H1(O14,p)O14 and resonance spectrum in F15 are well reproduced in the unified framework of the GSM.
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| 7. |
- Perez-Vidal, R. M., et al.
(author)
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Evidence of Partial Seniority Conservation in the pi g9/2 Shell for the N=50 Isotones
- 2022
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In: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 129:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The reduced transition probabilities for the 4+1 -2+1 and 2+1 -0+1 transitions in 92Mo and 94Ru and for the 4+1 -2+1 and 6+1 -4+1 transitions in 90Zr have been determined in this experiment making use of a multinucleon transfer reaction. These results have been interpreted on the basis of realistic shell-model calculations in the f5=2, p3=2, p1=2, and g9=2 proton valence space. Only the combination of extensive lifetime information and large scale shell-model calculations allowed the extent of the seniority conservation in the N = 50 g9=2 orbital to be understood. The conclusion is that seniority is largely conserved in the first 71g9=2 orbital.
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| 8. |
- Zanti, Maria, et al.
(author)
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A Likelihood Ratio Approach for Utilizing Case-Control Data in the Clinical Classification of Rare Sequence Variants : Application to BRCA1 and BRCA2
- 2023
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In: Human Mutation. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1059-7794 .- 1098-1004. ; 2023
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A large number of variants identified through clinical genetic testing in disease susceptibility genes are of uncertain significance (VUS). Following the recommendations of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the frequency in case-control datasets (PS4 criterion) can inform their interpretation. We present a novel case-control likelihood ratio-based method that incorporates gene-specific age-related penetrance. We demonstrate the utility of this method in the analysis of simulated and real datasets. In the analysis of simulated data, the likelihood ratio method was more powerful compared to other methods. Likelihood ratios were calculated for a case-control dataset of BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) and compared with logistic regression results. A larger number of variants reached evidence in favor of pathogenicity, and a substantial number of variants had evidence against pathogenicity-findings that would not have been reached using other case-control analysis methods. Our novel method provides greater power to classify rare variants compared with classical case-control methods. As an initiative from the ENIGMA Analytical Working Group, we provide user-friendly scripts and preformatted Excel calculators for implementation of the method for rare variants in BRCA1, BRCA2, and other high-risk genes with known penetrance.
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| 9. |
- Clement, E., et al.
(author)
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Spectroscopic quadrupole moments in 124Xe
- 2023
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In: Physical Review C. - : American Physical Society. - 2469-9985 .- 2469-9993. ; 107:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The Xe isotopic chain with four valence protons above the Z = 50 shell closure is an ideal laboratory for the study of the evolution of nuclear deformation. At the N = 82 shell closure, 136Xe presents all characteristics of a doubly closed shell nucleus with a spherical shape. In the very neutron-deficient isotopes close to N = 50, the alpha-decay chain of Xe was investigated to probe the radioactive decay properties near the drip-line and the magicity of 100Sn. Additionally, the Xe isotopes present higher order symmetries in the nuclear deformation such as the octupole degree of freedom near N = 60 and N = 90 or O(6) symmetry in stable isotopes.Purpose: The relevance of the O(6) symmetry has been investigated by measuring the spectroscopic quadrupole moment of the first excited states in 124Xe. In the O(6) symmetry limit, the spectroscopic quadrupole moment of collective states is expected to be null.Method: A stable 124Xe beam with energies of 4.03A MeV and 4.11A MeV was used to bombard a natW target at the GANIL facility. Excited states were populated via the safe Coulomb excitation reaction. The collision of the heavy ions with a large Z at low energy make this reaction sensitive to the diagonal E2 matrix element of the excited states. The recoils were detected in the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer and the gamma rays in the AGATA tracking array. The least squares fitting code GOSIA was used for the analysis to extract both E2 and M1 transitional and E2 diagonal matrix elements.Results: The rotational ground state band was populated up to the 8+1 state as well as the 2+2 and 4+2 states. Using high precision spectroscopic data to constrain the GOSIA fit, the spectroscopic quadrupole moments of the 2+1 , 4+1 , and 6+1 states were determined for the first time.Conclusions: The spectroscopic quadrupole moments were found to be negative, large, and constant in the ground state band underlining the prolate axially deformed ground state band of 124Xe. The present experimental data confirm that the is broken in 124Xe.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Mueller, Stefanie H., et al.
(author)
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Aggregation tests identify new gene associations with breast cancer in populations with diverse ancestry
- 2023
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In: Genome Medicine. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1756-994X. ; 15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Low-frequency variants play an important role in breast cancer (BC) susceptibility. Gene-based methods can increase power by combining multiple variants in the same gene and help identify target genes.Methods: We evaluated the potential of gene-based aggregation in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium cohorts including 83,471 cases and 59,199 controls. Low-frequency variants were aggregated for individual genes' coding and regulatory regions. Association results in European ancestry samples were compared to single-marker association results in the same cohort. Gene-based associations were also combined in meta-analysis across individuals with European, Asian, African, and Latin American and Hispanic ancestry.Results: In European ancestry samples, 14 genes were significantly associated (q < 0.05) with BC. Of those, two genes, FMNL3 (P = 6.11 x 10(-6)) and AC058822.1 (P = 1.47 x 10(-4)), represent new associations. High FMNL3 expression has previously been linked to poor prognosis in several other cancers. Meta-analysis of samples with diverse ancestry discovered further associations including established candidate genes ESR1 and CBLB. Furthermore, literature review and database query found further support for a biologically plausible link with cancer for genes CBLB, FMNL3, FGFR2, LSP1, MAP3K1, and SRGAP2C.Conclusions: Using extended gene-based aggregation tests including coding and regulatory variation, we report identification of plausible target genes for previously identified single-marker associations with BC as well as the discovery of novel genes implicated in BC development. Including multi ancestral cohorts in this study enabled the identification of otherwise missed disease associations as ESR1 (P = 1.31 x 10(-5)), demonstrating the importance of diversifying study cohorts.
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| 13. |
- Siciliano, M., et al.
(author)
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Pairing-quadrupole interplay in the neutron-deficient tin nuclei : First lifetime measurements of low-lying states in Sn-106,Sn-108
- 2020
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In: Physics Letters B. - : ELSEVIER. - 0370-2693 .- 1873-2445. ; 806
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The lifetimes of the low-lying excited states 2(+) and 4(+) have been directly measured in the neutron-deficient Sn-106,Sn-108 isotopes. The nuclei were populated via a deep-inelastic reaction and the lifetime measurement was performed employing a differential plunger device. The emitted gamma rays were detected by the AGATA array, while the reaction products were uniquely identified by the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer. Large-Scale Shell-Model calculations with realistic forces indicate that, independently of the pairing content of the interaction, the quadrupole force is dominant in the B(E2; 2(1)(+) -> 0(g.s)(+)) values and it describes well the experimental pattern for Sn104-114 ; the B(E2;(+)(4) -> 2(1)(+)) values, measured here for the first time, depend critically on a delicate pairing-quadrupole balance, disclosed by the very precise results in Sn-108.
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| 14. |
- Yakushev, A., et al.
(author)
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First Study on Nihonium (Nh, Element 113) Chemistry at TASCA
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Chemistry. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-2646. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nihonium (Nh, element 113) and flerovium (Fl, element 114) are the first superheavy elements in which the 7p shell is occupied. High volatility and inertness were predicted for Fl due to the strong relativistic stabilization of the closed 7p1/2 sub-shell, which originates from a large spin-orbit splitting between the 7p1/2 and 7p3/2 orbitals. One unpaired electron in the outermost 7p1/2 sub-shell in Nh is expected to give rise to a higher chemical reactivity. Theoretical predictions of Nh reactivity are discussed, along with results of the first experimental attempts to study Nh chemistry in the gas phase. The experimental observations verify a higher chemical reactivity of Nh atoms compared to its neighbor Fl and call for the development of advanced setups. First tests of a newly developed detection device miniCOMPACT with highly reactive Fr isotopes assure that effective chemical studies of Nh are within reach.
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| 15. |
- Yakushev, A., et al.
(author)
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On the adsorption and reactivity of element 114, flerovium
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Chemistry. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-2646. ; 10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Flerovium (Fl, element 114) is the heaviest element chemically studied so far. To date, its interaction with gold was investigated in two gas-solid chromatography experiments, which reported two different types of interaction, however, each based on the level of a few registered atoms only. Whereas noble-gas-like properties were suggested from the first experiment, the second one pointed at a volatile-metal-like character. Here, we present further experimental data on adsorption studies of Fl on silicon oxide and gold surfaces, accounting for the inhomogeneous nature of the surface, as it was used in the experiment and analyzed as part of the reported studies. We confirm that Fl is highly volatile and the least reactive member of group 14. Our experimental observations suggest that Fl exhibits lower reactivity towards Au than the volatile metal Hg, but higher reactivity than the noble gas Rn.
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| 16. |
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| 17. |
- Zanon, I., et al.
(author)
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High-Precision Spectroscopy of 20O Benchmarking Ab Initio Calculations in Light Nuclei
- 2023
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In: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 131:26
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The excited states of unstable 20O were investigated via γ-ray spectroscopy following the 19O(d,p)20O reaction at 8 AMeV. By exploiting the Doppler shift attenuation method, the lifetimes of the 2+2 and 3+1 states were firmly established. From the γ-ray branching and E2/M1 mixing ratios for transitions deexciting the 2+2 and 3+1 states, the B(E2) and B(M1) were determined. Various chiral effective field theory Hamiltonians, describing the nuclear properties beyond ground states, along with a standard USDB interaction, were compared with the experimentally obtained data. Such a comparison for a large set of γ-ray transition probabilities with the valence space in medium similarity renormalization group ab initio calculations was performed for the first time in a nucleus far from stability. It was shown that the ab initio approaches using chiral effective field theory forces are challenged by detailed high-precision spectroscopic properties of nuclei. The reduced transition probabilities were found to be a very constraining test of the performance of the ab initio models.
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| 18. |
- Ahearn, Thomas U., et al.
(author)
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Common variants in breast cancer risk loci predispose to distinct tumor subtypes
- 2022
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In: Breast Cancer Research. - : Springer Nature. - 1465-5411 .- 1465-542X. ; 24:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified multiple common breast cancer susceptibility variants. Many of these variants have differential associations by estrogen receptor (ER) status, but how these variants relate with other tumor features and intrinsic molecular subtypes is unclear.MethodsAmong 106,571 invasive breast cancer cases and 95,762 controls of European ancestry with data on 173 breast cancer variants identified in previous GWAS, we used novel two-stage polytomous logistic regression models to evaluate variants in relation to multiple tumor features (ER, progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and grade) adjusting for each other, and to intrinsic-like subtypes.ResultsEighty-five of 173 variants were associated with at least one tumor feature (false discovery rate < 5%), most commonly ER and grade, followed by PR and HER2. Models for intrinsic-like subtypes found nearly all of these variants (83 of 85) associated at p < 0.05 with risk for at least one luminal-like subtype, and approximately half (41 of 85) of the variants were associated with risk of at least one non-luminal subtype, including 32 variants associated with triple-negative (TN) disease. Ten variants were associated with risk of all subtypes in different magnitude. Five variants were associated with risk of luminal A-like and TN subtypes in opposite directions.ConclusionThis report demonstrates a high level of complexity in the etiology heterogeneity of breast cancer susceptibility variants and can inform investigations of subtype-specific risk prediction.
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Stryjczyk, M., et al.
(author)
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Decay studies of the long-lived states in Tl 186
- 2020
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In: Physical Review C. - 2469-9985. ; 102:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Decay spectroscopy of the long-lived states in Tl186 has been performed at the ISOLDE Decay Station at ISOLDE, CERN. The α decay from the low-spin (2-) state in Tl186 was observed for the first time and a half-life of 3.4-0.4+0.5 s was determined. Based on the α-decay energy, the relative positions of the long-lived states were fixed, with the (2-) state as the ground state, the 7(+) state at 77(56) keV, and the 10(-) state at 451(56) keV. The level scheme of the internal decay of the Tl186(10(-)) state [T1/2=3.40(9) s], which was known to decay solely through emission of 374-keV γ-ray transition, was extended and a lower limit for the β-decay branching bβ>5.9(3)% was determined. The extracted retardation factors for the γ decay of the 10(-) state were compared to the available data in neighboring odd-odd thallium isotopes indicating the importance of the πd3/2 shell in the isomeric decay and significant structure differences between Tl184 and Tl186.
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| 21. |
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