No Arabic abstract
Background: Recent developments in {it ab initio} nuclear theory demonstrate promising results in medium- to heavy-mass nuclei. A particular challenge for many of the many-body methodologies, however, is an accurate treatment of the electric-quadrupole, $E2$, strength associated with collectivity. Purpose: In this work we present high-precision $E2$ data for the mirror nuclei $^{23}$Mg and $^{23}$Na for comparison with such theory. We interpret these results in combination with other recent measurements performed by the collaboration and the available literature. Methods: Coulomb-excitation measurements of $^{23}$Mg and $^{23}$Na were performed at the TRIUMF-ISAC facility using the TIGRESS spectrometer and were used to determine the $E2$ matrix elements of mixed $E2$/$M1$ transitions. Results: $E2$ transition strengths were extracted for $^{23}$Mg and $^{23}$Na. Transition strength ($B(E2)$) precision was improved by factors of approximately six for both isotopes, while agreeing within uncertainties with previous measurements. Conclusions: A comparison was made with both shell-model and {it ab initio} valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group calculations. Valence-Space In-Medium Similarity-Renormalization-Group calculations were found to underpredict the absolute $E2$ strength - in agreement with previous results - but a full analysis of $sd$-shell nuclei found no indication of an isovector component to the missing strength. Comparison with full configuration interaction and coupled cluster calculations in the case of $^{14}$C indicates that correlated multi-particle multi-hole excitations are essential to the reproduction of quadrupole excitation amplitudes.
Electromagnetic observables are able to give insight into collective and emergent features in nuclei, including nuclear clustering. These observables also provide strong constraints for ab initio theory, but comparison of these observables between theory and experiment can be difficult due to the lack of convergence for relevant calculated values, such as $E2$ transition strengths. By comparing the ratios of $E2$ transition strengths for mirror transitions, we find that a wide range of ab initio calculations give robust and consistent predictions for this ratio. To experimentally test the validity of these ab initio predictions, we performed a Coulomb excitation experiment to measure the $B(E2; 3/2^- rightarrow 1/2^-)$ transition strength in $^7$Be for the first time. A $B(E2; 3/2^- rightarrow 1/2^-)$ value of $26(6)(3) , e^2 mathrm{fm}^4$ was deduced from the measured Coulomb excitation cross section. This result is used with the experimentally known $^7$Li $B(E2; 3/2^- rightarrow 1/2^-)$ value to provide an experimental ratio to compare with the ab initio predictions. Our experimental value is consistent with the theoretical ratios within $1 sigma$ uncertainty, giving experimental support for the value of these ratios. Further work in both theory and experiment can give insight into the robustness of these ratios and their physical meaning.
The large reported $E2$ strength between the $2^+$ ground state and $1^+$ first excited state of $^8$Li, $B(E2; 2^+ rightarrow 1^+)= 55(15)$ e$^2$fm$^4$, presents a puzzle. Unlike in neighboring $A=7-9$ isotopes, where enhanced $E2$ strengths may be understood to arise from deformation as rotational in-band transitions, the $2^+rightarrow1^+$ transition in $^8$Li cannot be understood in any simple way as a rotational in-band transition. Moreover, the reported strength exceeds textit{ab initio} predictions by an order of magnitude. In light of this discrepancy, we revisited the Coulomb excitation measurement of this strength, now using particle-$gamma$ coincidences, yielding a revised $B(E2; 2^+ rightarrow 1^+)$ of $25(8)(3)$ e$^2$fm$^4$. We explore how this value compares to what might be expected in rotational, Elliott SU(3), and textit{ab initio} descriptions, including no-core shell model (NCSM) calculations with various internucleon interactions. While the present value is a factor of $2$ smaller than previously reported, it remains anomalously enhanced.
The reduced transition probability B(E2) of the first excited 2+ state in the nucleus 104Sn was measured via Coulomb excitation in inverse kinematics at intermediate energies. A value of 0.163(26) e^2b^2 was extracted from the absolute cross-section on a Pb target, while the method itself was verified with the stable 112Sn isotope. Our result deviates significantly from the earlier reported value of 0.10(4) e^2b^2 and corresponds to a moderate decrease of excitation strength relative to the almost constant values observed in the proton-rich, even-A 106-114Sn isotopes. Present state-of-the-art shell-model predictions, which include proton and neutron excitations across the N=Z=50 shell closures as well as standard polarization charges, underestimate the experimental findings
The form factor of the electromagnetic excitation of $^{12}$C to its 2$^+_1$ state was measured at extremely low momentum transfers in an electron scattering experiment at the S-DALINAC. A combined analysis with the world form factor data results in a reduced transition strength $B(E2; 2^+_1rightarrow 0^+_1) =7.63(19)$ e$^2$fm$^4$ with an accuracy improved to 2.5%. In-Medium-No Core Shell Model results with interactions derived from chiral effective field theory are capable to reproduce the result. A quadrupole moment $Q(2^+_1) = 5.97(30)$ efm$^2$ can be extracted from the strict correlation with the $B((E2)$ strength emerging in the calculations.
Background: The B(E2) transition strength to the 2+_2 state in 94Zr was initially reported to be larger by a factor of 1.63 than the one to the 2+_1 state from lifetime measurements with the Doppler-shift attenuation method (DSAM) using the (n,ngamma) reaction [E. Elhami et al., Phys. Rev. C 75, 011301(R) (2007)]. This surprising behavior was recently revised in a new measurement by the same group using the same experimental technique leading to a ratio below unity as expected in vibrational nuclei. Purpose: The goal is an independent determination of the ratio of B(E2) strengths for the transitions to the 2+_(1,2) states of 94Zr with inelastic electron scattering. Method: The relative population of the 2+_(1,2) states in (e,e) reactions was measured at the SDALINAC in a momentum transfer range q = 0.17 - 0.51 fm^(-1) and analyzed in plane-wave Born approximation with the method described in A. Scheikh Obeid et al., Phys. Rev. C 87, 014337 (2013). Results: The extracted B(E2) strength ratio of 0.789(43) between the excitation of the 2+_1 and 2+_2 states of 94Zr is consistent with but more precise than the latest (n,ngamma) experiment. Using the B(E2) transition strength to the first excited state from the literature a value of 3.9(9) W.u. is deduced for the B(E2; 2+_2 -> 0+_1) transition. Conclusions: The electron scattering result independently confirms the latest interpretation of the different (n,ngamma) results for the transition to the 2+_2 state in 94Zr.