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The Zirconium isotopes exhibit structural properties that present multiple challenges to nuclear theory. To shed light on the underlying causes of the observations, and to test the predictive power of a state-of-the-art nuclear structure approach, we have completed a large number of calculations of ground and excited-state properties of Zr isotopes. We performed systematic calculations of ground state properties for the $^{78-122}$Zr isotopes, using an axially-symmetric, deformed Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) framework. For selected spherical and deformed nuclei, we have also predicted excited state properties, utilizing the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA). We use a self-consistent approach that employs the same Gogny D1M force at both the HFB and QRPA levels. Our approach complements and extends earlier studies carried out using density-functional-based methods. Notably, we included the complete Coulomb interaction also in the pairing fields, i.e. we treat terms exactly that are approximated in typical calculations with Gogny D1 and D2 interaction families. The impact of these terms on the pairing energies, the binding energy, charge radius shifts, and on the evolution of the energy surface with neutron number is discussed. We compare this with the effect of using the D1S force and discuss the resulting shape predictions for $^{80}$Zr and $^{96,98}$Zr. For $^{90,96,98}$Zr, we perform QRPA calculations, implement angular-momentum symmetry restoration, and study both low-lying and giant-resonance states. For the deformed $^{98}$Zr nucleus, we confirm the existence of coupling between monopole and quadrupole excitations through the $K^{\pi} = 0^{+}$ QRPA components and demonstrate an analogous dipole-octupole coupling through the $K^{\pi} = 0^{-}$ and $K^{\pi} = 1^{-}$ components. Intrinsic transition densities and associated radial projections illustrate the coupling.

We present a new Gogny-type finite-range effective interaction including a third Gaussian in the central term. Based on simple arguments valid for an arbitrary radial form factor, the three ranges are fixed from physical grounds, relating them to one-boson exchange interactions. Moreover, some parameters of the longest range are fixed through the G-matrix elements of the One Pion Exchange Potential. On top of giving a fairly good description of atomic nuclei properties, the resulting interaction leads to a remarkable improvement of some infinite matter properties that are relevant for astrophysical calculations.

Inelastic ${}^{6}$Li scattering at 100 MeV/u on ${}^{12}$C and ${}^{93}$Nb have been measured with the high-resolution magnetic spectrometer Grand Raiden. The magnetic-rigidity settings of the spectrometer covered excitation energies from 10 to 40 MeV and scattering angles in the range $0^\circ < \theta_{\text{lab.}}< 2^\circ$. The isoscalar giant monopole resonance was selectively excited in the present data. Measurements free of instrumental background and the very favorable resonance-to-continuum ratio of ${}^{6}$Li scattering allowed for precise determination of the $E0$ strengths in ${}^{12}$C and ${}^{93}$Nb. It was found that the monopole strength in ${}^{12}$C exhausts $52 \pm 3^\text{(stat.)} \pm 8 ^\text{(sys.)}$\% of the energy-weighted sum rule (EWSR), which is considerably higher than results from previous $\alpha$-scattering experiments. The monopole strength in ${}^{93}$Nb exhausts $92 \pm 4^\text{(stat.)} \pm 10 ^\text{(sys.)}$\% of the EWSR, and it is consistent with measurements of nuclei with mass number of $A\approx90$. Such comparison indicates that the isoscalar giant monopole resonance distributions in these nuclei are very similar, and no influence due to nuclear structure was observed., Comment: 6 Figures

Shape coexistence in the $Z \approx 82$ region has been established in mercury, lead and polonium isotopes. Even-even mercury isotopes with $100 \leq N \leq 106$ present multiple fingerprints of this phenomenon, which seems to be no longer present for $N \geq 110$. According to a number of theoretical calculations, shape coexistence is predicted in the $^{188}$Hg isotope. The $^{188}$Hg nucleus was populated using two different fusion-evaporation reactions with two targets, $^{158}$Gd and $^{160}$Gd, and a beam of $^{34}$S, provided by the Tandem-ALPI accelerators complex at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro. The channels of interest were selected using the information from the Neutron Wall array, while the $\gamma$ rays were detected using the GALILEO $\gamma$-ray array. The lifetimes of the excited states were determined using the Recoil Distance Doppler-Shift method, employing the dedicated GALILEO plunger device. Using the two-bands mixing and rotational models, the deformation of the pure configurations was obtained from the experimental results. The extracted transition strengths were compared with those calculated with the state-of-the-art symmetry-conserving configuration-mixing (SCCM) and five-dimentional collective Hamiltonian (5DCH) approaches in order to shed light on the nature of the observed structures in the $^{188}$Hg nucleus. An oblate, a normal- and a super-deformed prolate bands were predicted and their underlying shell structure was also discussed., Comment: v1: 13 pages, 10 figures, comparison between IBM-CM and SCCM calculations; v2: 16 pages, 13 figures, discussion on the mixing amplitudes from the experimental B(E2) values, comparison between SCCM and 5DCH calculations

Nuclear magic numbers, which emerge from the strong nuclear force based on quantum chromodynamics, correspond to fully occupied energy shells of protons, or neutrons inside atomic nuclei. Doubly magic nuclei, with magic numbers for both protons and neutrons, are spherical and extremely rare across the nuclear landscape. While the sequence of magic numbers is well established for stable nuclei, evidence reveals modifications for nuclei with a large proton-to-neutron asymmetry. Here, we provide the first spectroscopic study of the doubly magic nucleus $^{78}$Ni, fourteen neutrons beyond the last stable nickel isotope. We provide direct evidence for its doubly magic nature, which is also predicted by ab initio calculations based on chiral effective field theory interactions and the quasi-particle random-phase approximation. However, our results also provide the first indication of the breakdown of the neutron magic number 50 and proton magic number 28 beyond this stronghold, caused by a competing deformed structure. State-of-the-art phenomenological shell-model calculations reproduce this shape coexistence, predicting further a rapid transition from spherical to deformed ground states with $^{78}$Ni as turning point.

Photon strength functions describing the average response of the nucleus to an electromagnetic probe are key input information in the theoretical modelling of nuclear reactions. Consequently they are important for a wide range of fields such as nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics, medical isotope production, fission and fusion reactor technologies. They are also sources of information for widely used reaction libraries such as the IAEA Reference Input Parameter Library and evaluated data files such as EGAF. In the past two decades, the amount of reaction gamma-ray data measured to determine photon strength functions has grown rapidly. Different experimental techniques have led to discrepant results and users are faced with the dilemma which (if any) of the divergent data to adopt. We report on a coordinated effort to compile and assess the existing experimental data on photon strength functions from the giant dipole resonance region to energies below the neutron separation energy. The assessment of the discrepant data at energies around or below the neutron separation energy has been possible only in a few cases where adequate information on the model-dependent analysis and estimation of uncertainties was available. In the giant dipole resonance region, we adopt the recommendations of the new IAEA photonuclear data library. We also present global empirical and semi-microscopic models that describe the photon strength functions in the entire energy region and reproduce reasonably well most of the experimental data. The compiled experimental photon strengths and recommended model calculations are available from the PSF database hosted at the IAEA (URL:www-nds.iaea.org/PSFdatabase)., Comment: IAEA Coordinated Research Project on Generating Reference Database for Photon Strength Functions (F41032)

Photoneutron cross sections were measured for $^{137}$Ba and $^{138}$Ba at energies below two-neutron threshold using quasi-monochromatic $\gamma$-ray beams produced in laser Compton-scattering at the NewSUBARU synchrotron radiation facility. The photoneutron data are used to constrain the $\gamma$-ray strength function on the basis of the Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov plus quasi-particle random phase approximation using the Gogny D1M interaction. Supplementing the experimentally constrained $\gamma$-ray strength function with the zero-limit E1 and M1 contributions which are unique to the deexcitation mode, we discuss radiative neutron capture cross sections relevant to the s-process nucleosynthesis of barium isotopes in the vicinity of the neutron magic number 82., Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1811.00291, arXiv:1804.07654

Particle-$\gamma$ coincidence experiments were performed at the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory with the $^{181}$Ta(d,X) and $^{181}$Ta($^{3}$He,X) reactions, to measure the nuclear level densities (NLDs) and $\gamma$-ray strength functions ($\gamma$SFs) of $^{180, 181, 182}$Ta using the Oslo method. The Back-shifted Fermi-Gas, Constant Temperature plus Fermi Gas, and Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov plus Combinatorial models where used for the absolute normalisations of the experimental NLDs at the neutron separation energies. The NLDs and $\gamma$SFs are used to calculate the corresponding $^{181}$Ta(n,$\gamma$) cross sections and these are compared to results from other techniques. The energy region of the scissors resonance strength is investigated and from the data and comparison to prior work it is concluded that the scissors strength splits into two distinct parts. This splitting may allow for the determination of triaxiality and a $\gamma$ deformation of $14.9^{\circ} \pm 1.8^{\circ}$ was determined for $^{181}$Ta.

Photoneutron cross sections were measured for $^{203}$Tl and $^{205}$Tl at energies between the one- and two-neutron thresholds using quasi-monochromatic $\gamma$-ray beams produced in laser Compton-scattering at the NewSUBARU synchrotron radiation facility. Our new measurement results in cross sections significantly different from the previously reported bremsstrahlung experiment, leading to rather different GDR parameters, in particular to lower GDR peak energies and higher peak cross sections. The photoneutron data are used to constrain the $\gamma$-ray strength function on the basis of the Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov plus quasi-particle random phase approximation using the Gogny D1M interaction. Supplementing the experimentally constrained $\gamma$-ray strength function with the zero-limit E1 and M1 contributions for the de-excitation mode, we estimate the Maxwellian-averaged cross section for the s-process branching-point nucleus $^{204}$Tl in the context of the $^{205}$Pb - $^{205}$Tl chronometry., Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, to be submitted to PRC

Photoneutron cross sections were measured for $^{58}$Ni, $^{60}$Ni, $^{61}$Ni, and $^{64}$Ni at energies between the one-neutron and two-neutron thresholds using quasi-monochromatic $\gamma$-ray beams produced in laser Compton-scattering at the NewSUBARU synchrotron radiation facility. The new photoneutron data are used to extract the $\gamma$-ray strength function above the neutron threshold complementing the information obtained by the Oslo method below the threshold. We discuss radiative neutron capture cross sections and the Maxwellian-averaged cross sections for Ni isotopes including $^{63}$Ni, a branching point nucleus along the weak s-process path. The cross sections are calculated with the experimentally constrained $\gamma$-ray strength functions from the Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov plus quasi-particle-random phase approximation based on the Gogny D1M interaction for both $E1$ and $M1$ components and supplemented with the $M1$ upbend., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, re-submitted to PRC

The photo-neutron cross sections of $^{162,163}\rm{Dy}$ have been measured for the first time in an energy region from the neutron threshold ($S_n$) up to $\approx$ $13$~MeV. The ($\gamma$,n) reaction was induced with quasi-monochromatic laser Compton-scattered $\gamma$ rays, produced at the NewSUBARU laboratory. The corresponding $\gamma$-ray strength functions ($\gamma$SF) have been calculated from the photo-neutron cross sections. The data are compared to reanalyzed $\gamma$SFs of $^{160-164}\rm{Dy}$, which are measured below $S_n$. The excellent agreement with the photo-neutron data at $S_n$ confirms the principle of detailed balance. Thus, a complete $\gamma$SF is established covering in total the energy region of 1 MeV $\leq$ E$_{\gamma}$ $\leq$ 13 MeV. These mid-shell well-deformed dysprosium isotopes all show scissors resonances with very similar structures. We find that our data predict the same integrated scissors strength as ($\gamma,\gamma^\prime$) data when integrated over the same energy range, which shows that the scissors mode very likely is consistent with the generalized Brink hypothesis. Finally, using the $\gamma$SFs as input in the reaction code TALYS, we have deduced radiative neutron-capture cross sections and compared them to direct measurements. We find a very good agreement within the uncertainties, which gives further support to the experimentally determined $\gamma$SFs.

Valuable theoretical predictions of nuclear dipole excitations in the whole chart are of great interest for different nuclear applications, including in particular nuclear astrophysics. Here we present large-scale calculations of the $E1$ $\gamma$-ray strength function obtained in the framework of the axially-symmetric deformed QRPA based on the finite-range Gogny force. This approach is applied to even-even nuclei, the strength function for odd nuclei being derived by interpolation. The convergence with respect to the adopted number of harmonic oscillator shells and the cut-off energy introduced in the 2-quasiparticle (2-$qp$) excitation space is analyzed. The calculations performed with two different Gogny interactions, namely D1S and D1M, are compared. A systematic energy shift of the $E1$ strength is found for D1M relative to D1S, leading to a lower energy centroid and a smaller energy-weighted sum rule for D1M. When comparing with experimental photoabsorption data, the Gogny-QRPA predictions are found to overestimate the giant dipole energy by typically $\sim$2 MeV. Despite the microscopic nature of our self-consistent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov plus QRPA calculation, some phenomenological corrections need to be included to take into account the effects beyond the standard 2-$qp$ QRPA excitations and the coupling between the single-particle and low-lying collective phonon degrees of freedom. For this purpose, three prescriptions of folding procedure are considered and adjusted to reproduce experimental photoabsorption data at best. All of them are shown to lead to rather similar predictions of the $E1$ strength, both at low energies and for exotic neutron-rich nuclei. Predictions of $\gamma$-ray strength functions and Maxwellian-averaged neutron capture rates for the whole Sn isotopic chain are also discussed and compared with previous theoretical calculations.

The charge-exchange excitations in nuclei are studied within the fully self-consistent proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation using the finite-range Gogny interaction. No additional parameters beyond those included in the effective nuclear force are included. Axially symmetric deformations are consistently taken into account, both in the description of the ground states and spin-isospin excitations. We focus on the isobaric analog and Gamow-Teller resonances. A comparison of the predicted strength distributions to the existing experimental data is presented and the role of nuclear deformation analyzed. The Gamow-Teller strength is used to estimate the beta-decay half-life of nuclei for which experimental data exist. A satisfactory agreement with experimental half-lives is found and justifies the additional study of the exotic neutron-rich N=82, 126 and 184 isotonic chains of relevance for the r-process nucleosynthesis.

We report on the observation of a new isomeric state in $^{68}$Ni. We suggest that the newly observed state at 168(1) keV above the first 2$^+$ state is a $\pi(2p-2h)$ 0$^{+}$ state across the major Z=28 shell gap. Comparison with theoretical calculations indicates a pure proton intruder configuration and the deduced low-lying structure of this key nucleus suggests a possible shape coexistence scenario involving a highly deformed state., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review C

Low-energy dipole excitations in neon isotopes and N=16 isotones are calculated with a fully consistent axially-symmetric-deformed quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA) approach based on Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov (HFB) states. The same Gogny D1S effective force has been used both in HFB and QRPA calculations. The microscopical structure of these low-lying resonances, as well as the behavior of proton and neutron transition densities, are investigated in order to determine the isoscalar or isovector nature of the excitations. It is found that the N=16 isotones 24O, 26Ne, 28Mg, and 30Si are characterized by a similar behavior. The occupation of the 2s_1/2 neutron orbit turns out to be crucial, leading to nontrivial transition densities and to small but finite collectivity. Some low-lying dipole excitations of 28Ne and 30Ne, characterized by transitions involving the neutron 1d_3/2 state, present a more collective behavior and isoscalar transition densities. A collective proton low-lying excitation is identified in the 18Ne nucleus.

A systematic study of low energy nuclear structure at normal deformation is carried out using the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory extended by the Generator Coordinate Method and mapped onto a 5-dimensional collective quadrupole Hamiltonian. Results obtained with the Gogny D1S interaction are presented from dripline to dripline for even-even nuclei with proton numbers Z=10 to Z=110 and neutron numbers N less than 200. The properties calculated for the ground states are their charge radii, 2-particle separation energies, correlation energies, and the intrinsic quadrupole shape parameters. For the excited spectroscopy, the observables calculated are the excitation energies and quadrupole as well as monopole transition matrix elements. We examine in this work the yrast levels up to J=6, the lowest excited 0^+ states, and the two next yrare 2^+ states. The theory is applicable to more than 90% of the nuclei which have tabulated measurements. The data set of the calculated properties of 1712 even-even nuclei, including spectroscopic properties for 1693 of them, are provided in CEA website and EPAPS repository with this article \cite{epaps}., Comment: 51 pages with 26 Figures and 4 internal tables; this version is accepted by Physical Review C

Fully consistent axially-symmetric-deformed Quasi-particle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA) calculations have been performed, in which the same Gogny D1S effective force has been used for both the Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov mean field and the QRPA approaches. Giant resonances calculated in deformed $^{26-28}$Si and $^{22-24}$Mg nuclei as well as in the spherical $^{30}$Si and $^{28}$Mg isotopes are presented. Theoretical results for isovector-dipole and isoscalar monopole, quadrupole, and octupole responses are presented and the impact of the intrinsic nuclear deformation is discussed., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures and 4 tables, accepted in PRC

Theoretical results for giant resonances in the three doubly magic exotic nuclei $^{78}$Ni, $^{100}$Sn and $^{132}$Sn are obtained from Hartree-Fock (HF) plus Random Phase Approximation (RPA) calculations using the D1S parametrization of the Gogny two-body effective interaction. Special attention is paid to full consistency between the HF field and the RPA particle-hole residual interaction. The results for the exotic nuclei, on average, appear similar to those of stable ones, especially for quadrupole and octupole states. More exotic systems have to be studied in order to confirm such a trend. The low energy of the monopole resonance in $^{78}$Ni suggests that the compression modulus in this neutron rich nucleus is lower than the one of stable ones., Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures