0000000001224394
AUTHOR
Jenni-mari Kotila
Occupation probabilities of single particle levels using the microscopic interacting boson model: Application to some nuclei of interest in neutrinoless double-β decay
We have developed a new method to calculate the occupancies of single particle levels in atomic nuclei. This method has been developed in the context of the microscopic interacting boson model, in which neutron and proton degrees of freedom are treated explicitly. The energies of the single particle levels constitute a very important input for the calculation of the occupancies in this method. In principle these energies can be considered as input parameters that can be fitted to reproduce the experimental occupancies. Instead of fitting, in this study we have extracted the single particle energies from experimental data on nuclei with a particle more or one particle less than a shell closu…
Collective features of Cr and Fe isotopes
The question of the sudden increase of collectivity in neutron-rich nuclei when approaching N = 40 has recently interested both experimentalists and theorists. In this paper we study the development of collectivity along the chromium and iron isotopic chains. The calculations are performed within two different perspectives, namely, the proton-neutron interacting boson model (IBM-2) and interacting shell model (ISM) and compared with the available experimental data. The onset of collectivity is studied through nuclear quantities and observables that suggest differences in the nuclear structure of Cr and Fe isotopical chains. Furthermore, a prediction for the shape transition from a spherical…
The NUMEN project @ LNS : Status and perspectives
The aim of the NUMEN project is to access the Nuclear Matrix Elements (NME), involved in the half life of the neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ), by measuring the cross sections of Heavy Ions (HI) induced Double Charge Exchange (DCE) reactions with high accuracy. First evidence of the possibility to get quantitative information about NME from experiments is shown in the reaction 40Ca(18O,18Ne)40Ar at 270 MeV, performed with MAGNEX spectrometer using Superconducting Cyclotron (CS) beams at INFN - Laboratory Nazionali del Sud (LNS) in Catania. Preliminary tests on 116Sn and 116Cd target are already performed. High beam intensity is the new frontiers for these studies. peerReviewed
Phase-space factors and half-life predictions for Majoron-emitting β−β− decay
A complete calculation of phase space factors (PSFs) for Majoron-emitting 0νβ − β − decay modes is presented. The calculation makes use of exact Dirac wave functions with finite nuclear size and electron screening and includes lifetimes, single-electron spectra, summed electron spectra, and angular electron correlations. Combining these results with recent microscopic interacting boson model nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) we make half-life predictions for the ordinary Majoron decay (spectral index n=1 ). Furthermore, comparing theoretical predictions with the obtained experimental lower bounds for this decay mode we are able to set limits on the effective Majoron-neutrino coupling constant …
0νββ and 2νββ nuclear matrix elements in the interacting boson model with isospin restoration
We introduce a method for isospin restoration in the calculation of nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) for 0νββ and 2νββ decay within the framework of the microscopic interacting boson model (IBM-2). With this method, we calculate the NMEs for all processes of interest in 0νβ−β− and 2νβ−β− and in 0νβ+β+, 0νECβ+, R0νECEC, 2νβ+β+, 2νECβ+, and 2νECEC. With this method, the Fermi matrix elements for 2νββ vanish, and those for 0νββ are considerably reduced. peerReviewed
Spectrum-shape method and the next-to-leading-order terms of the β-decay shape factor
Effective values of the axial-vector coupling constant gA have lately attracted much attention due to the prominent role of gA in determining the half-lives of double β decays, in particular their neutrinoless mode. The half-life method, i.e., comparing the calculated half-lives to the corresponding experimental ones, is the most widely used method to access the effective values of gA. The present paper investigates the possibilities offered by a complementary method: the spectrum-shape method (SSM). In the SSM, comparison of the shapes of the calculated and measured β electron spectra of forbidden nonunique β decays yields information on the magnitude of gA. In parallel, we investigate the…
Quenching of gA and its impact in double beta decay
The theory of double beta decay is briefly reviewed. The most recent (2015) results for 0νβ −β − nuclear matrix elements in the interacting boson model (IBM-2) with light and heavy neutrino exchange are given for all nuclei of interest from 48Ca to 238U. The question of quenching of the axial vector coupling constant gA in nuclei is discussed. Possible additional scenarios, such as Majoron emission, and mechanisms, such as sterile neutrino exchanges, are also discussed. nonPeerReviewed