$\beta -$decay strength distributions of neutron-rich cobalt isotopes for r-process nucleosynthesis
ORAL
Abstract
The r process is known to produce roughly half of the isotopes of heavy elements. Sensitivity studies have shown that the final abundance distributions of r-process nuclei are greatly impacted by uncertainties in $\beta $-decay properties, such as half-lives. In order to improve these uncertainties, the technique of total absorption spectroscopy is employed to improve $\beta $-decay strength distributions. The decay of several neutron-rich cobalt isotopes were measured using the technique of total absorption spectroscopy at the NSCL. The high Q-value of these isotopes allows for the study of $\beta $-decay properties over a broad energy range and the resultant $\beta $-decay intensities and deduced Gamow-Teller strengths are compared to theoretical models that are commonly used in r-process network calculations. Impacts of the current findings will be discussed.
*This work was supported by the LDRD Program at PNNL, a national laboratory operated by Battelle for the U.S. DOE.
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