Fission barrier of superheavy nuclei and persistence of shell effects at high spin: cases of 254No and 220Th.

We report on the first measurement of the fission barrier height in a heavy shell-stabilized nucleus. The fission barrier height of 254No is measured to be Bf=6.0±0.5 MeV at spin 15ℏ and, by extrapolation, Bf=6.6±0.9 MeV at spin 0ℏ. This information is deduced from the measured distribution of entry points in the excitation energy versus spin plane. The same measurement is performed for 220Th and only a lower limit of the fission barrier height can be determined: Bf(I)>8 MeV. Comparisons with theoretical fission barriers test theories that predict properties of superheavy elements.

Non-Markovian diffusion over a parabolic potential barrier: Influence of the friction-memory function.

The over-passing probability across an inverted parabolic potential barrier is investigated according to the classical and quantal generalized Langevin equations. It is shown that, in the classical case, the asymptotic value of the over-passing probability is determined by a single dominant root of the "characteristic function," and it is given by a simple expression. The expression for the over-passing probability is quite general, and details of dissipation mechanism and memory effects enter into the expression only through the dominant root of the characteristic equation.

Development of a 1+/N+ setup for the production of multicharged radioactive alkali ions in SPIRAL.

In the framework of the production of radioactive ion beams by the isotope separator online method, a new system has been developed at GANIL/SPIRAL I to produce multicharged alkali ions. The principle, referred to as the "direct 1+/N+ method," consists of a surface ionization source associated with a multicharged electron-cyclotron-resonance ion source without an intermediate mass separator. This new system has been tested online using a (48)Ca primary beam at 60.3 A MeV. The experimental evidence of the direct 1+/N+ process has been obtained for a potential difference between the two sources of 11 V and with a 1+/N+ charge breeding efficiency of 0.04% for (47)K(5+). This value is significantly lower than the value of 6% obtained for stable K ions with the standard 1+/N+ method. A possible explanation is given in the text.

Diffusion over a saddle with a langevin equation

The diffusion problem over a saddle is studied using a multidimensional Langevin equation. An analytical solution is derived for a quadratic potential and the probability to pass over the barrier deduced. A very simple solution is given for the one-dimensional problem and a general scheme is shown for higher dimensions.