Fine structure in proton emission from 145Tm discovered with digital signal processing

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Atomic Physics
• Quantum Mechanics

Background:

• Proton emission is a key process in understanding nuclear structure and decay pathways.
• Investigating exotic isotopes like Thulium-145 (145Tm) provides insights into nuclear forces and stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the fine structure in proton emission from the 3.1(3) microsecond activity of 145Tm.
• To analyze the proton transitions and branching ratios to specific states in the daughter nucleus, Erbium-144 (144Er).

Main Methods:

• Utilized a novel technique involving digital processing of overlapping recoil implantation and decay signals.
• Applied particle-core vibration coupling models to analyze the nuclear wave function and emission process.

Main Results:

• Discovered fine structure in proton emission from 145Tm.
• Observed proton transitions to the ground state and the first excited 2(+) state (at 0.33(1) MeV) of 144Er.
• Determined a branching ratio I(p)(2(+))=9.6+/-1.5% for the transition to the excited state.

Conclusions:

• The observed fine structure provides detailed information about the energy levels and nuclear configurations involved in proton emission.
• The study enhances the understanding of nuclear wave function structure and proton emission dynamics in this mass region.
• Particle-core vibration coupling models successfully describe the observed phenomena, validating theoretical approaches.