The study of possibility of antimagnetic rotation in 100 Ru is studied on the basis of semiclassical particle-rotor model (SCM). In the high spin range 18+ to 28+, the dynamic moment of inertia I(2) falls within the typical range of antimagnetic rotation. The decrease in calculated transition probability B(E2) values with an increase in spin, and a sharp increase in the ratio of observed I(2) and calculated B(E2) values with spin shows the possible antimagnetic rotation character. Additionally, the calculated spin (h) versus frequency (MeV) plot of configuration r(g 9/2 ) -2 (R) v[h 2 11/2 (g7/2)2], which is comparable with experimental values supports the possibility of the AMR phenomenon in the positive parity band of 100 Ru.

Explosive samples of aluminized compositions based on RDX/HMX-TNT have been investigated using digital radiography comprising a flat panel detector and an ultra-fine focus X-ray tube. Melt-cast aluminized compositions have been designed and constructed into cylindrical charges with a diameter ∼50 mm and height ∼150 mm. These charges have been evaluated for velocity of detonation using ionization pin method. Projection radiography has been used to gain information about the microstructure of solidified explosive compositions using optimized system parameters. The resolution of the image has been investigated using a duplex wire type image quality indicator having thirteen wire pairs. Within the explosive samples, the patches of aluminum have been seen evenly dispersed. The size of these patches of aluminium grows with increase in aluminium proportion at the expense of HMX. The maximum VOD value has been observed for the composition with highest HMX content. Value of VOD is found to decrease by ∼4% if HMX is replaced by RDX, keeping TNT proportion at 30%. VOD values are found to decrease with increase in proportion of aluminium at the cost of HMX.

Chemical effects on L X-rays spectra of PrF3, PrCl3, PrBr3, Pr2O3, Pr6O11 and Pr2(SO4)3 compounds have been investigated from measured ILi/ILα (i = l and β6), ILj/ILβ1 (j = η, γ5 and γ1), ILk/ILγ1 (k = γ5 and η) intensity ratios using high resolution poly-chromatic WDXRF, and monochromatic excitation by 6.49 keV in vacuum (10-2 Torr) and Ag Kαβ (22.581 keV) X-rays photons in EDXRF spectrometers. The experimental results clearly exhibit significant variation in measured intensity ratios of L X-ray components of investigated compounds from pure elemental form and theoretically predicted values evaluated using different atomic parameters. Furthermore, the change in inner shell/subshells binding energy resulting from the transitions of outer shell/subshell electrons is also inferred from the shifts of order ∼0.1-0.70 eV in Ll, Lβ2 and Lγ1 components of PrF3, PrCl3, PrBr3, Pr2O3, Pr6O11 and Pr2(SO4)3 WDXRF spectra relative to pure 59Pr. The variation in intensity ratios and shift in Ll, Lβ2 and Lγ1 X-ray components of 59Pr compounds are attributed to crystal defects, structural effects and exchange interactions between core and valence electrons of different ligands attached to central 59Pr atom. The reliable experimental data would be helpful in the theoretical interpretation of standard reference data for inner-shell vacancy decay parameters used in X-ray fluorescence analysis of compound samples.

The semiclassical particle-rotor model (SCM) has been used for the calculation of reduced electric quadrupole transition rates B(E2) for the nu h11/2 negative parity band in 101Ru. The B(E2) values are found to exhibit a decreasing behavior with increasing spin values in the range 27/2 h <= I <= 47/2 h. For the higher spin states, the experimental dynamic moment of inertia J(2) is also in the range of AMR bands. The calculation of spin (h) versus frequency (MeV) for the pi(g9/2)-2 circle times nu[h11/2(g7/2)2] configuration with the core contribution of 2 h is found to be in good agreement with the experimental results and favors the possibility of AMR phenomenon in nu h11/2 negative parity band in 101Ru.

RDX/HMX-TNT-based aluminized explosive compositions have been investigated to find empirical relations based on heat of explosion (Q) and velocity of detonation (VOD) for calculation of peak over pressure (POP) and impulse (I). Four HMX-TNT-based aluminized compositions have been selected based on calculated values of Q and explosive power. Explosive charges of RDX/HMX-TNT-based aluminized compositions and TNT have been prepared by melt-cast technique for measurement of VOD and air blast. Cylindrical explosive charges with length to diameter ratio of similar to 1 and weight similar to 1.3 kg have been used for measurement of pressure-time profiles at standoff distance of 2-6 m. Similar measurements were also performed for the explosive charges of TNT of weight similar to 11 and 17 kg. Normalized values of Q and VOD2 with corresponding values of TNT have been used to compute charge weight for calculation of scaled distance which is termed as normalized scaled distance. Form of empirical relations has been decided from variation of POP and I with normalized scaled distance. Values of constants used in these relations have been determined using regression analysis. Validation of empirical relations has been carried out by comparing calculated and experimental values of POP and I for explosive charges.

Evaporation Residue (ER) cross-sections and ER-gated $\gamma$-ray fold distributions are measured for the $^{32}$S + $^{154}$Sm nuclear reaction above the Coulomb barrier at six different beam energies from 148 to 191 MeV. $\gamma$-ray multiplicities and spin distributions are extracted from the ER-gated fold distributions. The ER cross-sections measured in the present work are found to be much higher than what was reported in a previous work using a very different target-projectile ($^{48}$Ti + $^{138}$Ba) combination, leading to the same compound nucleus $^{186}$Pt, with much less mass asymmetry in the entrance channel than the present reaction. This clearly demonstrates the effect of the entrance channel on ER production cross-section. The ER cross-sections measured in the present work are compared with the results of both the statistical model calculations and the dynamical model calculations. Statistical model calculations have been performed to generate a range of parameter space for both the barrier height and Kramers' viscosity parameter over which the ER cross-section data can be reproduced. The calculations performed using the dinuclear system (DNS) model reproduce the data considering both complete and incomplete fusion processes. DNS calculations indicate the need for the inclusion of incomplete fusion channel at higher energies to reproduce the ER cross-sections.

High spin states in the 96Tc nucleus were populated in the As-75(Si-28, 4p3n) fusion-evaporation reaction at E lab = 120 MeV and the de-excitations were investigated through in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopic techniques using indian national gamma array spectrometer consisting of 18 clover Ge detectors. The present level scheme of the Tc-96 nucleus has been extended substantially with the addition of about forty five new gamma transitions. The level structures in Tc-96 have been established up to excitation energy similar to 10 MeV and angular momentum similar to 25PLANCK CONSTANT OVER TWO PI. Level structures of 96Tc nucleus are discussed in the framework of triaxial projected shell model calculations.

An improved method is presented for the prediction of detonation velocity of C−H−NO based pure, mixed, and aluminized explosives. The new empirical relation is based on calculated values of the heat of detonation and the number of moles of gaseous detonation products. A constant of the empirical relation has been found using regression analysis of 74 data points of pure and mixed explosives as well as 22 data points of aluminized explosives. The value of the constant is found to be 1.00 with R2 value of 0.96. Proposed empirical relation has been validated by comparing predicted values of detonation velocities with measured values for TNT, HMX/RDX‐TNT‐Al and HMX‐TNT based explosives. Experimental measurement of detonation velocity has been carried out using pin‐ionization method on cylindrical explosive charges of diameter 50 mm and height 150 mm. The predicted values of detonation velocities are in good agreement with measured values with a root mean square error of 1.28 %. The validation of the new relation has also been carried by comparing calculated values of detonation velocities using present and literature methods with reported experimental values.

Self-supporting and Au backed 107Ag targets have been fabricated from material in the form of powder at the Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi. The method described in this report (using the combination of cold rolling and e-beam melting technique) is efficient in such a way that targets are fabricated without any significant loss of material and are free from major contamination. Consequently, this method of fabricating targets is useful for materials which are very expensive. Various techniques for thickness measurements and characterizations have been carried out, viz., α-transmission method, Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS), X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The thickness of self-supporting 107Ag and backed 107Ag is ≈1.43± 0.08 and ≈1.11± 0.07 mg/cm2, respectively. One of the fabricated targets has been used successfully in nuclear physics experiment.

The dynamics of heavy ion-induced reactions play a critical role in forming super heavy elements (SHE), and one clear signature of the SHE formation is the evaporation residue (ER). In our pursuit of SHE, we present the heaviest element populated in India for ER cross-section measurements. These are the first-ever measurements of the Evaporation Residue (ER) cross-sections for the nuclear reactions between $^{32}$S and $^{208}$Pb. These measurements were conducted above the Coulomb barrier at four distinct beam energies in the laboratory frame, ranging from 176 to 191 MeV at the pelletron Linac facility at the Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi. The Hybrid Recoil Mass Analyzer (HYRA) in a gas-filled mode was employed for these experiments. The obtained range of ER cross-sections enriches our knowledge and helps advance the field of heavy ion-induced reactions, especially in the context of super heavy element formation.

A successful attempt was made to fabricate a thin foil of natural Mo target on a thick Au backing with Indium in between to improve adhesion between the foils. Rolling at elevated temperature was considered to fabricate Mo foil while gold foil was fabricated employing conventional rolling technique. The heating of Mo foil under natural environment lead to the oxidation or carbonization on foil surface which was confirmed through Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) measurements. Indium of thickness ∼86μg/cm2 was evaporated on Mo foil to improve adhesion between Mo and Au foils. The characterization of fabricated thin Mo foil was done using the Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and the Scanning Electron microscope (SEM) techniques. Thickness measurement of the target (Mo-Au) was done using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) technique, in the measurements the thickness of the Mo foil and of gold backing are found out to be 1.3 mg/cm2 and 9 mg/cm2 respectively.

Using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry, a systematic investigation was conducted to measure the changes in the intensity ratios [[EQUATION]]/[[EQUATION]] (j = l, β1,3,4, β2,15,7, γ1,8) of lanthanum L X-ray lines. The intensity ratios [[EQUATION]]/[[EQUATION]] (j = l, β1,3,4, β2,15,7, γ1,8) have been measured for some compounds of 57La, namely, lanthanum carbonate [La2(CO3)3], lanthanum nitrate [La(NO3)3], lanthanum oxalate [La2C6O12] and lanthanum oxide [La2O3] at two different incident energies; i.e., 22.103 keV (with X-ray tube) and 5.959 keV (with 55Fe source). The measurements were performed using a Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) having resolution of 125 eV @ 5.89 keV. Area under the peak was calculated using Origin software and an open-source scientific library of Python SciPy in PyROOT environment. The intensity ratios have been measured for the lanthanum in different compounds having same oxidation state (+3). In order to check reliability of the measured intensity ratio they have been compared with theoretical [[EQUATION]]/[[EQUATION]] calculated using the fluorescence and Coster – Kronig yields tabulated by [24, 26−28]. The measured intensity ratios [[EQUATION]]/[[EQUATION]] were found to be deviated from theoretical intensity ratios and influenced by near edge effects or chemical effects at both incident energies.

The Ayurvedic medicines prescribed by various Indian Ayurvedic practioners are generally used for the treatment of various diseases since ancient period. The presence of various elements/ingredients plays a major role in functioning of human body. It is very important to perform the elemental analysis of Ayurvedic medicines prepared by various manufacturer to study their therapeutic efficacy as well toxicological perceptions. The present work reports elemental analysis of five Ayurvedic medicines viz, Kafketu, Pradarantak, Nityanand, Pushpadanwa and Somnath prepared by Baidyanath, Dabur, Unjha and Dhootapapeshwar using advance polychromatic wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) techniques. The experimental results show the presence of 6C and 8O low-Z elements in excess amount, which confirms the presence of herb’s ingredients in all the medicines. Other low and medium-Z elements viz, 11Na, 12Mg, 13Al, 14Si, 15P, 16S, 17Cl, 19K, 20Ca, 26Fe and 50Sn in moderate amount (more than thousands of ppm) and 22Ti, 25Mn, 28Ni, 29Cu, 30Zn and 38Sr in trace amount (less than thousands of ppm). The experimental results also confirmed the presence of some toxic 33As, 80Hg and 82Pb elements with variable concentrations in some Ayurvedic products. The concentration of low and high-Z elements calculated using the WDXRF technique are in good agreement with the values quoted by different manufactures. However, our results reported large content of some toxic element, which is higher than the limits set by various regulatory agencies.

Fifteen Ayurvedic medicines of Ras-family (herbo-mineral-metallic preparations) from three reputed manufactures were analysed for elemental quantification and their chemical phase identification using the energy-dispersive (ED) and wavelength-dispersive (WD) X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques, and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, respectively. The low-Z elements C, H, N, S and O constituting a major portion of these medicines were also determined by CHNSO analyser and further used as input for XRF analyses. The elements of concern, Hg, Pb and As, are identified in different medicine products with disquiet concentration values (maximum concentration values range ~ 4–10%) and that too with substantial variations in the products from different manufacturers. These elements are identified mainly in the cinnabar (α-HgS)/metacinnabar (β-HgS), litharge (PbO) and alacranite (As4S4) phases in different medicines. Keeping in view the high concentration of chemicals of the Hg, Pb and As elements in the Ras-family medicines, it is vitally required to investigate their bioaccessibility and surmise the associated toxicological aspects. It is suggested that the formation of the bioaccessible toxic chemical forms of the Hg, Pb and As elements be avoided during preparation of the mineral ingredients or these soluble chemical forms be removed at suitable stage of the preparation. In view of large variations observed for the Hg, Pb and As based ingredients in the Ras family Ayurvedic medicine products from different manufacturers, adequate quality control mechanisms and production regulations are recommended.

The L -subshell ionization mechanism is studied in an ultra-thin Os target bombarded by 4–6 MeV/u fluorine ions. Multiple ionization effects are considered through the change of fluorescence and Coster-Kronig yields while determining L -subshell ionization cross sections from L x-ray production cross sections. The present experimental values are compared with various theoretical approximations: (i) the relativistic semi-classical approximation (RSCA), (ii) the shellwise local plasma approximation (SLPA), and (iii) the ECUSAR theory. We also take into account the vacancy sharing among the subshells by the coupled-states model (CSM) and the electron capture (EC) by a standard formalism. We find that the ECUSAR-CSM-EC describes the measured excitation function curves the best. However, the theoretical calculations are still about a factor of two smaller than the measured values even though the recent fluorescence and Coster-Kronig yields are considered. Hence, a re-evaluation of these parameters is a challenge for the theoretical works. Whatsoever, this work leads to demonstrate that in the present energy range the heavy-ion induced inner-shell ionization of the heavy atoms can be understood by combining the direct Coulomb ionization, the electron capture, and the vacancy sharing among subshells, together with optimizing the atomic parameters. Optimization of the atomic parameters shows that our experimental results agree with theoretical vacancy production theories if the L1 fluorescence yield is nearly doubled. Such a optimization is validated by the proton induced L-shell ionization data of uranium atoms.

The contribution of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizers to groundwater uranium contamination was investigated using the wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique and direct measurement of emitted γ-ray energy from primordial radionuclide present in the collected fertilizer samples. The role of fertilizers in uranium poisoning of groundwater has been studied for the first time. DAP fertilizer samples were gathered from Chandigarh and other places in Punjab state, India. About 30% of the DAP fertilizer samples have uranium concentrations between 100 and 200 ppm, whereas the rest have a low uranium content (less than 50 ppm). The strength of the 63.3 keV γ-ray signal produced by the decay of 234Th was also used to assess the uranium concentration in DAP samples. Furthermore, the impact of uranium poisoning of groundwater via fertilizers has been determined to have a substantial role in the water-logged region.

The differential X-ray fluorescence (XRF) cross-sections for (M xi(2), M xi(1), M delta(1)), (M delta(2), M alpha(1,2) M-5-O-3), (M beta, M-4-O-2,O-3), (M gamma, Mm(2), M-3-N-4, M-5-O-2,O-3), (Mm(1), M-3-N-6,N-7, M-3-O-4,O-5) and (Mm(2), M-2-N-6) group of M X-rays components have been measured for the elements with 77 <= Z <= 92 following photoionization by Mn K X-rays (EK alpha beta = 5.96 keV) obtained from Fe-55 radioisotope. The measurements were performed in annular source geometry at 126 degrees emission angle using a low-energy Ge (LEGe) detector. The measured cross-section values are compared with theoretical values calculated using available sets of M-i (i = 1-5) photoionization cross-sections, radiative emission rates WO, Coster-Kronig (f(ij)), and fluorescence (omega(i)) yields. The measured XRF cross-sections for the (M xi(2), M xi(1), M delta(1)), (Mm(1), M-3-N-6,N-7) and (Mm(2), M-2-N-6) groups of X-rays agree with the theoretical values within the experimental errors. The (M beta, M-4-O-2,O-3) group of X-rays exhibit agreement with theoretical values within experimental uncertainty for all the elements under investigation except Au-79 and Hg-80. The XRF cross-section for the (M delta(2), M alpha(1,2)) group of X-rays are in general higher by similar to 20% for the elements with Z = 77-83 and exhibit agreement for the Th-90 and( 92)U elements. For the (M gamma, Mm(2), M-3-N-4) X-ray group, the measured values are generally higher than the theoretical values, but the deviations are within experimental uncertainties. The large deviation in measured XRF cross-section for different M X-ray components from the theoretical ones are attributed to (i) poor separation of M X-ray components (ii) contribution of self-resonant Raman scattering (RRS) process and (iii) self-fluorescence of M-5 subshell by M-i subshell X-rays (i = 1-3).

The influence of chemical effects on intensity ratios i.e. I-Li/I-L alpha (i = l, beta(1), beta 1(5,2,3) and beta(5/2)), I-L alpha 2/I-L alpha 1, I-Lj/I-L beta 1 (j = eta, gamma(1) and gamma(5)), I-Lk/I-L gamma 4 (k = beta(6,4), beta 1(0,9/1) and gamma(2,3,6)) and I-L beta 1/I-L gamma 1 and chemical shift of L-l and L-gamma 1 X-ray emission peaks for Au-79 compound has been investigated using polychromatic high resolution wavelength dispersive X-ray fluo-rescence (WDXRF). The measured intensity ratios of L X-ray emission spectra were corrected for spectrometers detector efficiencies and self-absorption correction factors. The experimental values of intensity ratios have been compared with the theoretical values evaluated using different set of available fractional emission rates, fluo-rescence and Coster-Kronig yields. The measurements also report significant energy shift (similar to 1-7 eV) in L-l and L-gamma 1 X-ray peaks of Au-79 compounds relative to pure elemental form. The discrepancies in measured intensity ratios and shift in L X-ray emission spectra of Au-79 compounds from the theoretical predicated values can be attributed to chemical effects due to core-valence exchange interactions and crystal effects of different ligands attached to central Au-79 atom.