"Forbidden" R-Decay Branch Found in Cobalt-54 Facility Summary
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
/1 INIS-mf —H NEWSLETTER 1992 January VOL.6 NO. 1 Mews about Chalk River s Tandem Accelerator Superconducting Cyclotron facility for users and potential users Distributed 1992 Mar 2 "Forbidden" R-decay branch study single-event upsets with a 15 MeV-per- nucleon iodine beam was cancelled because of found in cobalt-54 Tandem accelerator problems. The experiment has been rescheduled. A study of very weak beta decay branches in The Tandem tank was opened for brief cobalt-54 has yielded conclusive evidence of a periods twice early in the month; the first time second O+-» O+ branch at the 45-parts-pcr- we repositioned a shorting bar and the second million level. time we replaced a steerer fuse and reloaded The well-known O+—» O+ supcrallowed terminal stripper foils. Voltages up to 14.5 MV branch lo the iron-54 ground state connects were being produced again by month-end. analogue states and, in the absence of charge- Tests were performed with several dependent mixing, branches to other O+ states Tandem beams to determine the transmission in iron-54 should be forbidden. The observation through the accelerator. Values were found to be of such a branch provides a direct measure of 86% for low-current beams, falling to below charge-dependent mixing and is an important 73% for high currents. As a result of these test of theoretical calculations. findings, improvements to the emittance from This is the second case we have the ion source will be undertaken. observed at TASCC of a "forbidden" branch Cyclotron activity for January centred seen in competition with a supcrallowed branch around the successful production of a 5.6 MeV- and only the third one known world-wide. The per-nucleon gold beam and a 4.35 MeV-per- result is important in helping to determine a nucleon germanium-76 beam for two physics precise value for the vector coupling constant. experiments. For these sensitive studies we made use Although access to the cyclotron vault was of equipment that was specially developed at restricted between these runs by high-field beams TASCC. The successful experiment involved the from the Tandem, we were still able to install a collaboration of a scientist from Tohoku new diagnostic radial-probe head that incorpor- University in Japan as well as researchers from ates a thin wire for better resolution of individual the University of Manitoba. turns. In addition, we were able to make modif- ications to the electrostatic deflector. A new shield of 1.5 mm thick titanium was placed Facility summary between the back of the deflector and the copper walls of the dee to provide a cover over the large We produced the following beams for exper- copper anode surface of the dee. Test-stand iments in January: 15 MeV protons; 250 MeV results previously had shown that titanium is a copper-63; 4.35 McV-pcr-nuclcon germanium-76 much better anode surface than copper because and 5.6 MeV-pcr-nucleon gold-197. of reduced micro-discharges on titanium. Experiments included: a study of track First tests of this modified deflector at formation in high-Tc superconductors; a high voltage were made with a 9 mm wide search for isospin-forbidden beta-decay deflector gap and a 5 to 6 mm gap between the branches in chromium-54; a study of very high high-voltage electrode and the new back shield. spin in isotopes of hafnium; and irradiation of Results show that voltages of over 90 kV can be 30 mineral and natural-glass samples to study reliably maintained with this arrangement. decay tracks. Work is now underway to replace the A planned experiment by Defence septum and its mounting rail with titanium to test Research Establishment Ottawa scientists to whether similiar gradients can be maintained across the operating gap of the deflector. January experiments Experiment Study of track formation in 33 high-Tc superconductor samples Researchers A.D. Marwick (IBM, Yorktown Heights); J.S. Forster (TASCC) Beam 5.6 MeV/u Duration 3 days Experiment : Search for forbidden beta-decay branches in cobalt-54 Researchers : E. Hagberg, V.T. Koslowsky, G. Savard and J.C. Hardy (TASCC); T. Shinozuka (Tohoku U.): J. Hykawy and P. Unger (U. of Manitoba) Beam : 15 MeV protons Duration : 4 days Experiment : Study of very high spin states in isotopes of hafnium with the 87c spectrometer Researchers : D. Ward, D.C. Radford, A. Galindo-Uribarri, H.R. Andrewsf7>15CC;; V.P. Janzen (TASCCIMcMaster V.); T.E. Drake, M. Cromaz (U. 0/Toronto); J.C. Waddington, S. Mullins and G. Hackman (McMaster U.) Beam : 4.35 MeV/u 76Ge+12 Duration : 6 days * ) Experiment : Irradiation of volcanic glass samples to study annealing properties of damage tracks Researchers : A. Sandhu and S. Gichile (U. of Toronto); H.R. Andrews (TASCC) Beam : 250 MeV 63Cu+19 Duration : 1 day Next month Facility operating record • Spcctroscopy of antimony-109 Elapsed Time (Year-to-date) 792 h • Development of 4.17 MeV/u bromine-81, Beam Available 6 and 7 MeV/u silicon-28 Tandem Only 208.0 Tandem + Cyclotron 179.0 • Radiolysis of water samples with deuterons Beam Development 166.0 Planned Shutdown 125.0 • Search for superdeformation in mercury and Forced Shutdown 114.0 lead • Beta-decay studies with ISOL > Search for superdeformation at A~60 i 1 Editor: Larrie Thomson Tandem Accelerator Superconducting Cyclotron Facility AECL Research, Chalk River Laboratories Mail Station 49A Chalk River, Ontario, Canada KOJ 1J0 Phone (613) 584-3311, extension 4131. FAX 613-584-4024 Bitnet [email protected] A AECL EACL AECL Research EACL Recherche.