Vol 81, No 2 (2018)

The alpha-decay energies and lifetimes for several alpha-chains of superheavy nuclei were calculated on the basis of Wigner’s mass formula. In this calculation, the contribution of spin–orbit interaction to the nuclear mass is disregarded, in which caseWigner’s spin–isospin symmetry is restored. The calculated alpha-decay energies agree with experimental data better than the results of other modern theoretical approaches. The alpha-decay energies are predicted for several isotopes of charge number Z = 120.

The angular dependences of the differential cross sections of the ¹³C(d, p)¹⁴C reaction at the deuteron energy of 15.3MeV are presented according tomeasurements for the cases where the final nucleus is produced in the ground state (0⁺) and in the 1⁻ excited state at 6.094 MeV. The angular distribution of protons corresponding to the sum 0⁺ (6.589 MeV) + 3⁻ (6.728 MeV) + 0⁻ (6.903 MeV) of states of the ¹⁴C nucleus that were not separated experimentally is also obtained. These experimental results are compared with their counterparts calculated by means of the FRESCO code for the mechanisms of neutron stripping and sequential neutron and dineutron transfer. The neutron and dineutron spectroscopic amplitudes are calculated for pure and mixed shell configurations. The best set of optical-potential parameters is determined for the entrance and exit reaction channels. It is shown that the neutron-stripping mechanismpermits describing themeasured angular distributions for all states of the ¹⁴C nucleus that were investigated here.

Using multi-dimensional Langevin equations for the probability distribution of the distance between the surfaces of two approaching nuclei, we have studied the formation of superheavy elements via calculation of evaporation and fission cross sections of these elements. Evaporation residue cross sections have been calculated for the 1n, 2n, 3n, 4n, and 5n evaporation channels using one and four dimensional Langevin equations for the ⁴⁸Ca+²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ²³⁸U, ²³⁷Np, ^{239,240,242,244}Pu, ²⁴³Am, ^245,248Cm, ²⁴⁹Bk, and ²⁴⁹Cf reactions. Our results show that with increasing dimension of Langevin equations the evaporation residue cross section is increased. Also, obtained results based on fourdimensional Langevin are in better agreement with experimental data in comparison with one-dimensional model.

The idea of the magnetorotational explosion mechanism is that the energy of rotation of the neutron star formed in the course of a collapse is transformed into the energy of an expanding shock wave by means of a magnetic field. In the two-dimensional case, the time of this transformation depends weakly on the initial strength of the poloidal magnetic field because of the development of a magnetorotational instability. Differential rotation leads to the twisting and growth of the toroidal magnetic-field component, which becomes much stronger than the poloidal component. As a result, the development of the instability and an exponential growth of all field components occur. The explosion topology depends on the structure of the magnetic field. In the case where the initial configuration of the magnetic field is close to a dipole configuration, the ejection of matter has a jet character, whereas, in the case of a quadrupole configuration, there arises an equatorial ejection. In either case, the energy release is sufficient for explaining the observed average energy of supernova explosion. Neutrinos are emitted as the collapse and the formation of a rapidly rotating neutron star proceeds. In addition, neutrino radiation arises in the process of magnetorotational explosion owing to additional rotational-energy losses. If the mass of a newborn neutron star exceeds the mass limit for a nonrotating neutron star, then subsequent gradual energy losses may later lead to the formation of a black hole. In that case, the energy carried away by a repeated flash of neutrino radiation increases substantially. In order to explain an interval of 4.5 hours between the two observed neutrino signals from SN 1987A, it is necessary to assume a weakening of the magnetorotional instability and a small initial magnetic field (10⁹−10¹⁰ G) in the newly formed rotating neutron star. The existence of a black hole in the SN 1987A remnant could explain the absence of any visible pointlike source at the center of the explosion.

The use of ultracold neutrons opens unique possibilities for studying fundamental interactions in particles physics. Searches for the neutron electric dipole moment are aimed at testing models of CP violation. A precise measurement of the neutron lifetime is of paramount importance for cosmology and astrophysics. Considerable advances in these realms can be made with the aid of a new ultracold-neutron (UCN) supersource presently under construction at Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute. With this source, it would be possible to obtain an UCN density approximately 100 times as high as that at currently the best UCN source at the high-flux reactor of the Institute Laue–Langevin (ILL, Grenoble, France). To date, the design and basic elements of the source have been prepared, tests of a full-scale source model have been performed, and the research program has been developed. It is planned to improve accuracy in measuring the neutron electric dipole moment by one order of magnitude to a level of 10⁻²⁷ to 10⁻²⁸e cm. This is of crucial importance for particle physics. The accuracy in measuring the neutron lifetime can also be improved by one order of magnitude. Finally, experiments that would seek neutron–antineutron oscillations by employing ultracold neutrons will become possible upon reaching an UCN density of 10³ to 10⁴ cm⁻³. The current status of the source and the proposed research program are discussed.

The results of calculation of ⁶³Cu + p differential cross sections at incident-proton energies between 10 and 200 MeV and a comparative analysis of these results are presented as a continuation of the earlier work of our group on developing methods for calculating the contribution of nuclear reactions to radiative effects arising in the onboard spacecraft electronics under the action of high-energy cosmic-ray protons on ⁶³Cu nuclei (generation of single-event upsets) and as a supplement to the earlier calculations performed on the basis of the TАLYS code in order to determine elastic- and inelastic-scattering cross sections and charge, mass, and energy distributions of recoil nuclei (heavy products of the ⁶³Cu + p nuclear reaction). The influence of various mechanisms of the angular distributions of particles emitted in the ⁶³Cu + p nuclear reaction is also discussed.

Deep-inelastic-scattering data from fixed-target experiments on the structure function F₂ were analyzed in the valence-quark approximation at the next-to-next-to-leading-order accuracy level in the strong-coupling constant. In this analysis, parton distributions were parametrized by employing information from the Gottfried sum rule. The strong-coupling constant was found to be α_s(M²_Z) = 0.1180 ± 0.0020 (total expt. error), which is in perfect agreement with the world-averaged value from an updated Particle Data Group (PDG) report, α^PDG_s (M²_Z) = 0.1181 ± 0.0011. Also, the value of 〈x〉_u−d = 0.187 ± 0.021 found for the second moment of the difference in the u- and d-quark distributions complies very well with the most recent lattice result 〈x〉^LATTICE_u−d = 0.208 ± 0.024.

In the framework of model with Lorentz violation (LV) we discuss a physical observables for q\(\bar q\) pair production at lepton–lepton colliders and describe the experimental signal to be detected. We obtain a conservative limits on Lorentz-violating dimensionless coupling for quark sector from LEP data. We also make a phenomenological prediction for LV model at the future lepton collider.