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This work features preliminary results from a recent experimental campaign at IFIN-HH, Romania, aimed at measuring lifetimes of excited states in the neutron-rich 180Hf, by means of the RDDS technique. The 181Ta(11B,12C)180Hf proton pick-up reaction was used to populate excited states in the 180Hf nucleus. The ROSPHERE array loaded with 25 HPGe detectors was employed for the detection of the γ transitions depopulating the levels of interest. The array was coupled to the SORCERER particle detector and a plunger device enabling the study of p-γ and p-γ-γ coinciding events. Six different plunger foil distances were chosen, allowing for the construction of the decay curves of the observed γ transitions of interest, from which the corresponding level lifetimes can subsequently be deduced.

The presence of active hydrothermal vent fields near residential areas and their possible link to volcanic activity pose a potential natural hazard to the environment, to society, and to the economy. Despite the importance of risk assessment and mitigation, the monitoring of volcanic activity is hindered by the remoteness and extreme conditions of underwater volcanoes. By developing a mathematical model for geological and physical processes in these environments we shed light on the underlying dynamics of chemical products emitted from the vents and point to the underlying mechanisms that govern potentially hazardous, underwater volcanic environments. Santorini and Nisyros both belong to the Hellenic Volcanic Arc but appear to have different underlying mechanisms. The Generalized Moments Method (GMM) was applied to data gathered from the Northern Caldera of Santorini and the Nisyros caldera, Avyssos, for the purpose of this work, where we focus on the high-frequency recorded CTD data (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) in the water column over the hydrothermal vents. The data from Santorini were collected in 2017 using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) during the POS510 mission led by GEOMAR, while the data from Nisyros were gathered with the help of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) in 2010, during the Nautilus expedition.

The mass region of rare-earth nuclei in the nuclear chart is riddled with well-deformed nuclei, exhibiting rotational properties and many interesting nuclear structure-related phenomena. The scarcity of experimental data as the neutron number increases and the exotic phenomena such as shape coexistence, which are strongly connected with the underlying symmetries of the Hamiltonian and are predicted to take place in this region, make this mass region a fertile ground for experimental and theoretical studies of nuclear structure. In this work, we investigate the structure of the even–even 162–184Hf (hafnium) isotopes through a calculation of various observables such as B(E2;01+→21+) reduced transition matrix elements and quadrupole moments. Six different nuclear models are employed in the calculations of the observables for these nuclei, the shapes of which deviate from spherical symmetry, and as such, are characterized by Hamiltonians, which break the rotational invariance of the exact nuclear many-body Hamiltonian. The results of the present study are expected to establish some concrete guidelines for current and future experimental endeavors. Along these lines, the results for the 162–180Hf isotopes are compared with existing experimental data where available, showing an overall good agreement.

The reaction network in the neutron-deficient part of the nuclear chart around A ≈ 100 contains several nuclei of importance to astrophysical processes, such as the p–process. This work reports on the results from recent experimental studies of the radiative proton–capture reactions 112,114Cd(p, γ)113,115 In. Experimental cross sections for the reactions have been measured for proton beam energies residing inside the respective Gamow windows for each reaction, using isotopically enriched 112Cd and 114Cd targets. Two different techniques, the in–beam γ–ray spectroscopy and the activation method have been implemented, where the latter is considered mandatory to account for the presence of low–lying isomers in 113In (E ≈ 392 keV, t1/2 ≈ 100 min), and 115In (E ≈ 336 keV, t1/2 ≈ 4.5 h). Following the measurement of the cross sections, the astrophysical S factors have been subsequently

The g factor of the 44Cl ground state is measured at the LISE fragment separator at the Grand Accelerateur National d’Ions Lourds (GANIL) using the β nuclear magnetic resonance technique, resulting in g(44Cl) = (−)0.2749(2). An analysis of the g factor value and of the theoretical level scheme in the shell‐model framework reveals the presence of odd‐proton s1/2 configurations and neutron excitation across the N = 28 shell gap in the 44Cl ground state. In addition, the measured g factor strongly supports a 2− spin assignment for the 44Cl ground state.