Probing the limit of nuclear existence : Proton emission from Re-159

• The observation of the new nuclide Re-159(75)84 provides important insights into the evolution of single-particle structure and the mass surface in heavy nuclei beyond the proton drip line. This nuclide, 26 neutrons away from the nearest stable rhenium isotope, was synthesised in the reaction Cd-106(Ni-58, p4n) and identified via its proton radioactivity using the RITU gas-filled separator and the GREAT focal-plane spectrometer. Comparisons of the measured proton energy (E-p = 1805 +/- 20 keV) and decay half-life (t(1/2) = 21 +/- 4 mu s) with values calculated using the WKB method indicate that the proton is emitted from an h(11/2) state. The implications of these results for future experimental investigations into even more proton unbound nuclei using in-flight separation techniques are considered.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

NUCLEAR REACTIONS Ni-58+Cd-106 at 300 MeV beam energy

enriched targets

gas-filled recoil separator

Si detectors

measured E (p)

(t)1 / 2

Physics

Fysik

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)