The ${}^{105}\mathrm{Rh}$ nucleus has been studied with the ${}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}\left({}^{11}\mathrm{B},\alpha 2n\gamma \right)$ reaction at $43\text{MeV}$ incident energy. A rich variety of structures was observed at high and low spins, using $\gamma \text{−}\gamma \text{−}t$ and $\gamma \text{−}\gamma \text{−}\mathit{particle}$ coincidences and directional correlation ratios. A $\gamma$-vibrational band was observed for the first time in this nucleus. A new structure based on the intruder $1∕2^{+}$[431] proton orbital was identified. Four magnetic dipole bands have also been observed at high spin, three of which have negative parity and have similar characteristics: they are very regular in energy spacing, presenting nearly constant alignments and large values of $B\left(M1\right)∕B\left(E2\right)$ ratios. Two of them are nearly degenerate in excitation energy and could be chiral partners. The $\pi g_{9∕2}\otimes \nu h_{11∕2}\left(g_{7∕2},d_{5∕2}\right)$ configuration is tentatively assigned for these bands, with the angular momenta of the proton and neutron intruders and the collective angular momentum aligning along the three perpendicular axes of the triaxial core, as predicted by tilted axis cranking calculations.

The neutron skin thickness of stable and unstable nuclei is studied in Skyrme Hartree-Fock (SHF) and relativistic mean field (RMF) models to investigate the relation between the pressure and the equation of state in neutron matter. We found a clear linear correlation between the neutron skin thickness in heavy nuclei ${}^{132}\mathrm{Sn}$ and ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ and the pressure of neutron matter in both SHF and RMF models, while the correlation is weak in the unstable nuclei ${}^{32}\mathrm{Mg}$ and ${}^{44}\mathrm{Ar}$. Relations between the neutron skin thickness and other nuclear matter properties such as the symmetry energy coefficients and the nuclear incompressibility are discussed.

A generalized relativistic harmonic oscillator for spin 1∕2 particles is studied. The Dirac Hamiltonian contains a scalar $S$ and a vector $V$ quadratic potentials in the radial coordinate, as well as a tensor potential $U$ linear in $r$. Setting either or both combinations $\Sigma =S+V$ and $\Delta =V-S$ to zero, analytical solutions for bound states of the corresponding Dirac equations are found. The eigenenergies and wave functions are presented and particular cases are discussed, devoting a special attention to the nonrelativistic limit and the case $\Sigma =0$, for which pseudospin symmetry is exact. We also show that the case $U=\Delta =0$ is the most natural generalization of the nonrelativistic harmonic oscillator. The radial node structure of the Dirac spinor is studied for several combinations of harmonic-oscillator potentials, and that study allows us to explain why nuclear intruder levels cannot be described in the framework of the relativistic harmonic oscillator in the pseudospin limit.

Nuclei in the $A\sim 180$ region have been populated and investigated in a series of multinucleon transfer and deep-inelastic reactions involving an $11.4\text{MeV}$ per nucleon ${}^{136}\mathrm{Xe}$ beam produced by the GSI UNILAC accelerator, impinging on a selection of tantalum and tungsten targets. The reaction products were released from a thermal ion source and subsequently mass selected using the GSI on-line mass separator. The unexpectedly high yield of $\gamma$ rays associated with the decay of the well established $K^{\pi }=37∕2^{-}$,$t_{1∕2}=51.4\min$ isomer in ${}_{72}{}^{177}\mathrm{Hf}$ and anomalous half-life characteristics associated with this decay lead to these data being interpreted as the ${\beta }^{-}$ decay of a high-$K$ isomer in the mother nucleus, ${}^{177}\mathrm{Lu}$. By comparing the experimental findings with the predictions obtained from multi-quasiparticle blocked-BCS-Nilsson calculations, the proposed decay is suggested to be from a $K^{\pi }=39∕2^{-}$ five-quasiparticle state in ${}_{71}{}^{177}\mathrm{Lu}$. A half-life of $7\pm 2\min$ is determined for this $\beta$-decay path which is estimated to have an excitation energy of $\approx 3.9\text{MeV}$ above the ${}^{177}\mathrm{Lu}$ ground state.

We investigate the recently discovered $\alpha$ decays of heavy and superheavy nuclei with $A=160–294$ by the cluster model of $\alpha$ decay. This covers the short-lifetime $\alpha$ decays of the nuclei near the proton-drip line, the decays of superheavy elements with $Z=106–118$, and the long-lifetime decay of the naturally occurring nuclide ${}^{180}\mathrm{W}$ [Danevich et al., Phys. Rev. C 67, 014310 (2003)]. It is found that the cluster model can well reproduce the new data of half-lives of these nuclei. For superheavy nuclei the cluster model, without introducing any additional adjustments, can reasonably reproduce the half-lives of many nuclei although substantial deviations between experimental half-lives and theoretical ones exist in a few cases in which there may be large errors in the experimental data for a single event. Some new $\alpha$ emitters in naturally occurring nuclides are predicted. Experiments to search the $\alpha$ radioactivity of ${}^{176,178}\mathrm{Hf}$ and of ${}^{149}\mathrm{Sm}$ are strongly recommended.

In this paper we show how effective parameters such as effective binding energies can be defined for a proton in the combined nuclear-Coulomb potential, including also the target potential, in the case in which the proton is bound in a nucleus which is partner of a nuclear reaction. Using such effective parameters the proton behaves similar to a neutron. In this way some unexpected results obtained from dynamical calculations for reactions initiated by very weakly bound proton halo nuclei can be interpreted. Namely, the fact that stripping dominates the nuclear breakup cross section which in turn dominates over the Coulomb breakup even when the target is heavy at medium to high incident energies. Our interpretation helps also clarifying why the existence and characteristics of a proton halo extracted from different types of data have sometimes appeared contradictory.

Double-differential cross sections $d^2\sigma ∕\left(d\Omega d{E}_x\right)$ and spectra of analyzing powers, $A_y$, for the ${}^4\mathrm{He}(\vec{p},n)$ reaction were measured at $T_p\approx 100$ and $200\text{MeV}$ at forward angles between ${\theta }_{lab}=0°$ and $44°$, and were analyzed using wave functions from the recoil-corrected continuum shell model (RCCSM). The steep rise of the cross-section spectra just above the $p+{}^3\mathrm{He}$ rest energy threshold results from the excitation of the $2^{-}$ and $1^{-}$ resonances in ${}^4\mathrm{Li}$ and is well reproduced by the RCCSM at both incident energies. At higher excitation energies, the predicted cross sections fall off faster than the experimental values at forward angles. The absolute cross sections from the RCCSM were renormalized by factors of 1.3 and 1.6 at $100\text{MeV}$ and $200\text{MeV}$, respectively, in order to fit the cross section summed over the lowest $10\text{MeV}$ of excitation at the peak of the angular distribution. The $100\text{MeV}$ $A_y$, averaged over the lowest $10\text{MeV}$ of excitation, are well reproduced by the RCCSM but not the $200\text{MeV}$ $A_y$, nor are the details of the $A_y$ spectra well described at either energy.

A systematic study of the population probabilities of nanosecond and microsecond isomers produced following the projectile fragmentation of ${}^{238}\mathrm{U}$ at $750\text{MeV}∕\text{nucleon}$ has been undertaken at the SIS∕FRS facility at GSI. Approximately 15 isomeric states in neutron-deficient nuclei around $A\sim 190$ were identified and the corresponding isomeric ratios determined. The results are compared with a model based on the statistical abrasion-ablation description of relativistic fragmentation and simple assumptions concerning $\gamma$ cascades in the final nucleus (sharp cutoff). This model represents an upper limit for the population of isomeric states in relativistic projectile fragmentation. When the decay properties of the states above the isomer are taken into account, as opposed to the sharp cutoff approximation, a good agreement between the experimental and calculated angular momentum population is obtained.

Within the framework of the relativistic plane wave impulse approximation, we study the observable consequences of employing a complete Lorentz invariant representation of the nucleon-nucleon (NN) scattering matrix in terms of 44 independent amplitudes, as opposed to the previously employed, but ambiguous, five-term Lorentz invariant parametrization of the NN scattering matrix, for the prediction of complete sets of exclusive $\left(\vec{p},2\vec{p}\right)$ polarization transfer observables. Two kinematic conditions are considered, namely, proton knockout from the $3s_{1∕2}$ state of ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ at an incident energy of $202\text{MeV}$ for coplanar scattering angles $\left(28.0°,-54.6°\right)$, as well as an incident energy of $392\text{MeV}$ for the angle pair $\left(32.5°,-80.0°\right)$. The results indicate that certain spin observables are ideal for discriminating between the two representations.

The ${}^{116}\mathrm{Sn}\left(p,t\right)$${}^{114}\mathrm{Sn}$ reaction has been studied in a high-resolution experiment at an incident proton energy of $26\text{MeV}$. Angular distributions for 61 transitions to levels of ${}^{114}\mathrm{Sn}$ up to an excitation energy of $\sim 4.1\text{MeV}$ have been measured. A distorted-wave Born approximation analysis of experimental angular distributions using conventional Woods-Saxon potentials has been done, allowing either the confirmation of previous spin and parity values or the assignment of new spin and parity to a large number of ${}^{114}\mathrm{Sn}$ states. A shell-model study of ${}^{114}\mathrm{Sn}$ has been performed using a realistic effective interaction derived from the CD–Bonn nucleon-nucleon potential. The model space has been truncated to states with seniority up to 4. Comparison between the experimental and calculated energy spectra for both positive- and negative-parity states shows a quite satisfactory agreement.

In relativistic heavy-ion systems at the highest collision energies, new deconfinement signatures emerge and indicate an increasingly clear separation between soft hadronic processes and hard partonic interactions in a locally deconfined subsystem. Here the emphasis is on longitudinal variables, namely, net-baryon rapidity distributions. As described in a Relativistic Diffusion Model, they change from bell shaped at the lower to double humped at the higher SPS energy, but do not reach local statistical equilibrium. At $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200\text{GeV}$ in the Au-Au system, however, they are shown to consist of three components. In addition to the nonequilibrium contributions, a third fraction close to midrapidity containing $Z_{eq}\simeq 22$ protons reaches local statistical equilibrium in a discontinuous transition. It may be associated with a deconfinement of the participant partons and thus, serve as a signature for quark-gluon matter formation.

Bose-Einstein correlations of two identically charged $Q$ bosons are derived considering these particles to be confined in finite volumes. Boundary effects on single $Q$-boson spectrum are also studied. We illustrate the effects on the spectrum and on the two-$Q$-boson correlation function by means of two toy models. We also derive a generalized expression for the Wigner function depending on the deformation parameter $Q$, which is reduced to its original functional form in the limit of $Q\to 1$.

The contribution of $\Delta \left(1232\right)$ to the $\pi N\to \pi \pi N$ reaction is examined by making use of the chiral reduction formula developed by Yamagishi and Zahed. The influence of the $\pi \Delta \Delta$ and $\rho N\Delta$ interactions on this reaction, which has not been regarded as important so far, is considered for all channels with the initial ${\pi }^{\pm }p$ states. The total cross sections are calculated to tree level for the energy up to $T_{\pi }=400\text{MeV}$. Although the $\pi \Delta \Delta$ and $\rho N\Delta$ interactions give a small effect on the ${\pi }^{+}p\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{+}n$, ${\pi }^{-}p\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}n$, and ${\pi }^{-}p\to {\pi }^0{\pi }^{0}n$ channels, the ${\pi }^{\pm }p\to {\pi }^{\pm }{\pi }^{0}p$ channels are found to be sensitive to these interactions.

The phase transition to a deconfined phase is studied and the consequences in the formation of neutron stars are investigated. We use the quark-meson coupling model for the hadron matter and the MIT bag model for the quark matter in order to build the appropriate equations of state for the hybrid stars. The properties of the stars are then calculated. The differences between unpaired and color-flavor locked quark matter are discussed.

The contribution from hyperons to the bulk viscosity of neutron star matter is calculated. Compared to previous works we use for the weak interaction the one-pion exchange model rather than a current-current interaction, and include the neutral current $nn\leftrightarrow n\Lambda$ process. Also the sensitivity to details of the equation of state is examined. Compared to previous works we find that the contribution from hyperons to the bulk viscosity is about two orders of magnitude smaller.

The neutron capture cross section of the unstable isotope ${}^{135}\mathrm{Cs}$ was measured relative to that of gold by means of the activation method. The sample was produced by ion implantation in a high resolution mass separator and irradiated with quasimonoenergetic neutrons at $30\text{keV}$ and $500\text{keV}$, using the ${}^7\mathrm{Li}\left(p,n\right){}^7\mathrm{Be}$ reaction. An additional irradiation with thermal neutrons has been carried out for defining the sample mass and for measuring the half-life of ${}^{136}\mathrm{Cs}$. The neutron capture cross sections were determined as $164\pm 10\text{mb}$ and $34.8\pm 3.0\text{mb}$ at $30\text{keV}$ and $500\text{keV}$, respectively, and were used to normalize the theoretically derived cross section shape. Based on these data, refined statistical model calculations were performed to obtain the $\left(n,\gamma \right)$ cross sections of the short-lived isotopes ${}^{134}\mathrm{Cs}$ and ${}^{136}\mathrm{Cs}$ as well. Updated Maxwellian-averaged capture cross sections of all unstable Cs isotopes were calculated for a range of thermal energies characteristic of helium burning scenarios for an improved $s$-process analysis of the Xe-Cs-Ba region.

Multiplicity of $\gamma$ rays emitted in complete and incomplete fusion of $84\text{MeV}$ ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ with ${}^{169}\mathrm{Tm}$ has been measured in coincidence with charged particles emitted at backward and forward angles. The angular momenta were deduced from the $\gamma$-ray multiplicity data after taking into account the angular momentum carried away by emitted particles. The results show that the mean angular momentum associated with incomplete fusion is slightly lower than $l_{\text{CR}}$ for complete fusion indicating deeper interpenetration of the target and projectile in incomplete fusion than usual peripheral collisions.

A study of rapidity gap probability has been carried out in ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}\text{−}\text{AgBr}$ interactions at $2.1A\text{GeV}$. The study reveals scaling behavior of the void probability. This analysis also confirms the validity of the linked-pair approximation for the $N$-particle cumulant correlation functions in the low energy regime.

We study the $y$ and $\xi$ scaling of the nuclear response at large momentum transfer in order to understand how scaling based on very different descriptions of the elementary interaction can occur simultaneously in the low energy side of the quasielastic peak $\left(y<0,x>1\right)$. We find that the approximate validity of $\xi$ scaling at low energy loss arises from the coincidental behavior of the quasielastic and deep inelastic cross sections.