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Exploring the nuclear structure of ⁷⁷Se via inelastic deuteron scattering
Harget, J. Alex
Harget, J. Alex
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2017
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Abstract
The weak process of nuclear double beta decay presents an opportunity to explore the nature of the neutrino as well as the conservation of lepton number. These studies perhaps provide one of the best avenues for investigating physical concepts beyond the Standard Model (BSM) of particle physics. One such study is the proposed neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge to 76Se. Studies into nearby systems can offer insight into the nature of this process. In particular, computation of the nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) is necessary to predict the half-life of this decay, which subsequently reveals the mass characteristics of the neutrino. The NME calculation methods for the A=76 transition can be benchmarked to the 1-neutron removed 77Se nucleus by characterizing the nuclear properties of the latter and using this to assess and refine the model used in the analysis of the former. To this end, an inelastic scattering experiment of deuterons on 77Se was performed at the Maier-Leibnitz Laboratory in Garching, Germany at angles ranging from 5° to 115° in increments of 5°. A total of nine nuclear states were populated and the corresponding angular cross section distributions were obtained. These angular distributions were then compared to coupled-channel calculations and 14 nuclear β deformation parameters were extracted for 77Se. These parameters reveal information about the deformation of the nucleus for each state, which motivates future work in the study of the 0νββ decay mode and ultimately of the Standard Model.
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