Radioisotopes from the environment reach the human body through food or drink and by breathing therefore it is very important to determine the concentration of the most important and naturally occurring radionuclides in the diet. The Turkish diet generally consists of a wide range of foods, including cereals, vegetables, fruits, and animal products; therefore, samples were gathered from different provinces to reflect this diversity. The rich and varied culinary tradition of Turkey is a reflection of its geographic location between Europe and the Middle East. In this study, the radiotoxic 210Po activity concentrations in 30 different food samples collected from various provinces were measured using an alpha spectroscopy system after each food sample was prepared for analysis by radiochemical methods. Then, annual effective ingestion dose rates from 210Po radionuclides in daily consumed foods grown in Türkiye were determined. Since the specific data on 210Po concentration in Turkish foodstuffs is lacking, local studies are essential to determine accurately the annual effective dose received from 210Po radioisotope in foodstuffs for the Turkish population. The highest 210Po activity concentration value obtained was determined to be 4.14 ± 1.1 Bq kg−1, and the lowest 210Po concentration value was 0.13 ± 0.07 Bq kg−1. When the annual effective ingestion dose values were calculated, the maximum value was 147.92 µSv y−1 and the minimum value was 0.28 µSv y−1. The values obtained from the study were compared with similar study results in the literature and the limit values determined by UNSCEAR.

In this study the radiotoxic 210Po activity concentrations were measured, in 25 different tobacco samples grown in the Aegean, Eastern Black Sea, Southeastern Anatolia, and Mediterranean regions of Türkiye, using an alpha spectrometer. The measured 210Po activity concentrations in tobacco samples determined by radiochemical processes ranged from a minimum of 2.7 ± 0.6 Bq kg−1 to a maximum of 10.8 ± 1.5 Bq kg−1. According to the 210Po activity concentrations, the annual effective doses to which adults are internally exposed were calculated to be in the range of 9.5 µSv y−1 to 45.0 µSv y−1, while lung doses were calculated to be in the range of 65.8 µSv y−1 to 312.2 µSv y−1. It has been determined how dangerous the radiotoxic 210Po in the tobacco plants is in terms of public health. The concentrations of elements (Al, P, Ni, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cd, Cu, Zn) in tobacco samples were also measured using ICP-OES. These data were compared with results from other similar studies around the world and with UNSCEAR limit values.

Nucleosynthesis in Type I X-ray bursts (XRB) proceeds eventually through the rp-process near the proton drip-line. Several N=Z nuclei act as waiting points in the reaction network chain. Astrophysical calculations of XRB light curves depend upon the theoretical modelling of the beta decays of interest, with the N=Z waiting points 64Ge, 68Se, 72Kr, 76Sr, and their second-neighbours N=Z+2 being key nuclei in this context. We have carried out different experimental campaigns at ISOLDE (CERN) to determine the B(GT) distributions, in the decay of several N=Z, N=Z+2 and their daughters, of particular relevance in rp-process calculations. To this aim the Total Absorption Spectroscopy technique is applied. Here we present results on the beta decay of 64Ga and the status of the analysis of 64Ge. Our results provide benchmarks for testing and constraining models under terrestrial conditions that can be used later for predictions in stellar environments.

This study focused on the determination of natural ( 238 U, 232 Th, and 40 K) and artificial ( 137 Cs) radionuclide concentrations both in 55 sediment samples collected from various depths in the Bosphorus and 5 soil samples from the coastline of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, using gamma-ray spectrometry with an HPGe detector. The mean activity concentrations of natural 238 U, 232 Th, and 40 K and anthropogenic 137 Cs were determined to be 11.41 ± 0.21 Bq kg −1 , 6.87 ± 0.16 Bq kg −1 , 369.61 ± 3.41 Bq kg −1 , and 6.54 ± 0.11 Bq kg −1 , respectively, in the sediment samples. The average activity concentrations of 238 U, 232 Th, 40 K, and 137 Cs radionuclides in the soil samples were also measured to be 11.65 ± 0.18 Bq kg −1 , 9.55 ± 0.15 Bq kg −1 , 369.43 ± 3.09 Bq kg −1 , and 4.57 ± 0.09 Bq kg −1 , respectively. Radiological contour maps based on the activity concentrations of natural and artificial radionuclides in the sediment samples for the Bosphorus, Istanbul, were created. The total annual effective doses due to soil samples were calculated to be 34.58 μSv y −1 .

The accurate determination of reactor antineutrino spectra remains a very hot research topic, where new questions have emerged in recent years. Indeed, after the “reactor anomaly” – a deficit of measured antineutrinos at short baseline reactor experiments with respect to spectral predictions – the three international reactor neutrino experiments Double Chooz, Daya Bay and Reno have evidenced spectral distortions in their measurements with respect to the same spectral predictions. This puzzle is called the “shape anomaly”. Recently summation calculations of reactor antineutrino spectra based on the use of nuclear data have obtained the best agreement to date with the reactor neutrino flux measurements at the level of 2% thanks to a decade of Total Absorption Gamma-ray Spectroscopy (TAGS) measurements at the radioactive beam facility of the University of Jyväskylä in two experimental campaigns. A selection of the results obtained so far is presented.

The ss decays of more than twenty fission fragments were measured in the first experiments with radioactive-ion beams employing the Decay Total Absorption.-ray Spectrometer. In this work, we summarize the main results obtained so far from this experimental campaign carried out at the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility. The advances introduced for these studies represent the state-of-the-art of our analysis methodology for segmented spectrometers.

The β-decay of the even-even nucleus 70Kr with Z=N+2, has been investigated at the Radioactive Ion Beam Factory (RIBF) of the RIKEN Nishina Center using the BigRIPS fragment separator, the ZeroDegree Spectrometer, the WAS3ABI implantation station and the EURICA HPGe cluster array. Fifteen γ-rays associated with the β-decay of 70Kr into 70Br have been identified for the first time, defining ten populated states below Eexc=3300 keV. The half-life of 70Kr was derived with increased precision and found to be t1/2=45.19±0.14 ms. The β-delayed proton emission probability has also been determined as εp=0.545(23)%. An increase in the β-strength to the yrast 1+ state in comparison with the heaviest Z=N+2 system studied so far (62Ge decay) is observed that may indicate increased np correlations in the T=0 channel. The β-decay strength deduced from the results is interpreted in terms of the proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation (pnQRPA) and also with a schematic model that includes isoscalar and isovector pairing in addition to quadrupole deformation. The application of this last model indicates an approximate realization of pseudo-SU(4) symmetry in this system.

The ss decays of the ground state (gs) and isomeric state (m) of Y-96 have been studied with the total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy technique at the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility. The separation of the 8(+) isomeric state from the 0(-) ground state was achieved thanks to the purification capabilities of the JYFLTRAP double Penning trap system. The ss-intensity distributions of both decays have been independently determined. In the analyses the deexcitation of the 1581.6 keV level in Zr-96, in which conversion electron emission competes with pair production, has been carefully considered and found to have significant impact on the ss-detector efficiency, influencing the ss-intensity distribution obtained. Our results for Y-96gs (0(-)) confirm the large ground state to ground state ss-intensity probability, although a slightly larger value than reported in previous studies was obtained, amounting to 96.6(-2.1)(+0.3) % of the total ss intensity. Given that the decay of Y-96gs is the second most important contributor to the reactor antineutrino spectrum between 5 and 7 MeV, the impact of the present results on reactor antineutrino summation calculations has been evaluated. In the decay of Y-96m (8(+)), previously undetected ss intensity in transitions to states above 6 MeV has been observed. This shows the importance of total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy measurements of ss decays with highly fragmented deexcitation patterns. Y-96m (8(+)) is a major contributor to reactor decay heat in uranium-plutonium and thorium-uranium fuels around 10 s after fission pulses, and the newly measured average ss and gamma energies differ significantly from the previous values in evaluated databases. The discrepancy is far above the previously quoted uncertainties. Finally, we also report on the successful implementation of an innovative total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy analysis of the module-multiplicity gated spectra, as a first proof of principle to distinguish between decaying states with very different spin-parity values.

The activity concentrations of 238U, 232Th, 40 K and 137Cs radionuclides in 25 samples of tobacco leaves grown in Turkey have been measured using a high purity co-axial germanium detector. The measured activity concentrations for 238U ranged from 3.6 to 22.5 Bq kg−1 with an average of 9.8 Bq kg−1, for 232Th from 0.8 to 11.0 Bq kg−1 with an average of 2.4 Bq kg−1, and for 40 K from 360.3 to 1,479.5 Bq kg−1 with an average of 810.0 Bq kg−1. The concentrations of 137Cs, the residue of fallout from the Chernobyl reactor accident, were found to range from 0.2 to 2.1 Bq kg−1 with an average of 0.5 Bq kg−1. The results indicate that the average activity concentrations of 238U and 232Th lie within the range of measured values worldwide, whereas for 40 K the average was found to be higher. The average annual effective radiation doses from the inhalation of the corresponding tobacco smoke by an adult smoking 20 cigarettes per day was deduced to be 93.3 μSv y−1 for 238U, 193.2 μSv y−1 for 232Th, 5.6 μSv y−1 for 40 K, and 292.1 μSv y−1 in total. The average annual effective dose from 137Cs was calculated to be 8.5 nSv y−1. The resulting average annual effective radiation doses of 0.3 mSv due to the inhalation of natural radiation sources in tobacco were compared with studies worldwide and found much smaller than the worldwide average effective dose of 1.26 mSv. It is concluded that smoking may contribute a non-negligible fraction to the annual effective dose depending on cigarette consumption and activity concentration in tobacco. This study is the first in which natural and anthropogenic radioactivity in tobacco in Turkey was measured. Therefore, it is considered as a baseline study. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of tobacco refinement in the observed reduction of 238U concentration of refined tobacco.

The 210Po radionuclide concentrations of some marine organisms (Eriphia verrucosa, Solea solea, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Ulva lactuca) obtained from the northern part of the Sea of Marmara (Tekirdağ) in 2019 are presented in this study. The spontaneous radiochemical processes for 210Po deposition in these marine species were performed by using three various metal discs. The 210Po deposition yields of different species on silver, stainless steel and aluminium discs was investigated, and then, the disc with the best chemical deposition yield was determined. The 210Po activity concentrations of E. verrucosa samples were measured to be 6.3 ± 0.8 Bq kg−1 on silver disc, 5.9 ± 1.4 Bq kg−1 on stainless steel disc and 3.4 ± 2.1 Bq kg−1 on aluminium disc. The 210Po activity concentrations of S. Solea on silver, stainless steel and aluminium discs were found to be 15 ± 2 Bq kg−1, 11 ± 3 Bq kg−1 and 4.8 ± 2.4 Bq kg−1, respectively. The 210Po specific activities of M. galloprovincialis samples taken in port for silver, stainless steel and aluminium discs were 39 ± 4 Bq kg−1, 23 ± 8 Bq kg−1, and N.M. (not measurable), respectively. Also M. galloprovincialis samples collected outside the port had the 210Po concentrations of 57 ± 6 Bq kg−1 and 21 ± 8 Bq kg−1 on silver and stainless steel. While the 210Po concentrations for out of port U. lactuca samples were found to be 60 ± 6 Bq kg−1 for silver, 49 ± 12 Bq kg−1 for stainless steel and 39 ± 15 Bq kg−1 for aluminium, the 210Po concentrations for in port U. lactuca on silver were determined to be 19 ± 3 Bq kg−1. The annual effective ingestion doses from the consumption of E. verrucosa, S. solea, M. galloprovincialis and U. lactuca species were also calculated.

The $\beta$ decays of the ground state (gs) and isomeric state (m) of $^{96}$Y have been studied with the total absorption $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy technique at the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility. The separation of the 8$^{+}$ isomeric state from the 0$^{-}$ ground state was achieved thanks to the purification capabilities of the JYFLTRAP double Penning trap system. The $\beta$-intensity distributions of both decays have been independently determined. In the analyses the de-excitation of the 1581.6 keV level in $^{96}$Zr, in which conversion electron emission competes with pair production, has been carefully considered and found to have significant impact on the $\beta$-detector efficiency, influencing the $\beta$-intensity distribution obtained. Our results for $^{96\text{gs}}$Y (0$^+$) confirm the large ground state to ground state $\beta$-intensity probability, although a slightly larger value than reported in previous studies was obtained, amounting to $96.6_{-2.1}^{+0.3}\%$ of the total $\beta$ intensity. Given that the decay of $^{96\text{gs}}$Y is the second most important contributor to the reactor antineutrino spectrum between 5 and 7 MeV, the impact of the present results on reactor antineutrino summation calculations has been evaluated. In the decay of $^{96\text{m}}$Y (8$^{+}$), previously undetected $\beta$ intensity in transitions to states above 6 MeV has been observed. This shows the importance of total absorption $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy measurements of $\beta$ decays with highly fragmented de-excitation patterns. $^{96\text{m}}$Y (8$^{+}$) is a major contributor to reactor decay heat in uranium-plutonium and thorium-uranium fuels around 10 s after fission pulses, and the newly measured average $\beta$ and $\gamma$ energies differ significantly from the previous values in evaluated databases (...)

The Gamow-Teller strength distribution of the decay of 186Hg into 186Au has been determined for the first time using the total absorption gamma spectroscopy technique and has been compared with theoretical QRPA calculations using the SLy4 Skyrme force. The measured Gamow-Teller strength distribution and the half-life are described by mixing oblate and prolate configurations independently in the parent and daughter nuclei. In this theoretical framework the best description of the experimental beta strength is obtained with dominantly prolate components for both parent 186Hg and daughter 186Au. The approach also allowed us to determine an upper limit of the oblate component in the parent state. The complexity of the analysis required the development of a new approach in the analysis of the X-ray gated total absorption spectrum.

S. E. A. Orrigo, ∗ B. Rubio, W. Gelletly, 2 P. Aguilera, 3 A. Algora, 4 A. I. Morales, J. Agramunt, D. S. Ahn, P. Ascher, B. Blank, C. Borcea, A. Boso, R. B. Cakirli, J. Chiba, G. de Angelis, G. de France, F. Diel, P. Doornenbal, Y. Fujita, N. Fukuda, E. Ganioğlu, M. Gerbaux, J. Giovinazzo, S. Go, T. Goigoux, S. Grévy, V. Guadilla, N. Inabe, G. Kiss, T. Kubo, S. Kubono, T. Kurtukian-Nieto, D. Lubos, C. Magron, F. Molina, A. Montaner-Pizá, D. Napoli, D. Nishimura, S. Nishimura, H. Oikawa, Y. Shimizu, C. Sidong, P.-A. Söderström, T. Sumikama, H. Suzuki, H. Takeda, Y. Takei, M. Tanaka, P. Vi, J. Wu, and S. Yagi Instituto de F́ısica Corpuscular, CSIC-Universidad de Valencia, E-46071 Valencia, Spain Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, Surrey, UK Comisión Chilena de Enerǵıa Nuclear, Casilla 188-D, Santiago, Chile Inst. of Nuclear Research of the Hung. Acad. of Sciences, Debrecen, H-4026, Hungary RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan Centre d’Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan, CNRS/IN2P3 Université de Bordeaux, 33175 Gradignan Cedex, France National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering IFIN-HH, P.O. Box MG-6, Bucharest-Magurele, Romania INFN Sezione di Padova and Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá di Padova, I-35131 Padova, Italy Department of Physics, Istanbul University, Istanbul, 34134, Turkey Department of Physics, Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro INFN, I-35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy Grand Accélérateur National d’Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DRF-CNRS/IN2P3, Bvd Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen, France Institute of Nuclear Physics, University of Cologne, D-50937 Cologne, Germany Department of Physics, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1200, USA Physik Department E12, Technische Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany Department of Natural Sciences, Tokyo City University, 1-28-1 Tamazutsumi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8557, Japan (Dated: August 25, 2020)

The Gamow-Teller strength distribution of the decay of Hg-186 into Au-186 has been determined for the first time using the total absorption gamma spectroscopy technique and has been compared with theoretical QRPA calculations using the SLy4 Skyrme force. The measured Gamow-Teller strength distribution and the half-life are described by mixing oblate and prolate configurations independently in the parent and daughter nuclei. In this theoretical framework the best description of the experimental beta strength is obtained with dominantly prolate components for both parent Hg-186 and daughter Au-186. The approach also allowed us to determine an upper limit of the oblate component in the parent state. The complexity of the analysis required the development of a new approach in the analysis of the X-ray gated total absorption spectrum. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Excited states in the extremely neutron-deficient nucleus 107 Te have been identified from two separate experiments using the recoil-decay tagging technique. Two connected structures were observed on the basis of γγ -coincidence relations and tentatively assigned as built on the mixed-parentage ν g 7 / 2 d 5 / 2 and ν h 11 / 2 intruder configurations. The observed structures were compared with large-scale shell-model calculations and total Routhian surface calculations. Collective behavior was discovered to persist in the ν h 11 / 2 band of 107 Te which highlights the shape-polarizing effect of a single valence neutron occupying the h 11 / 2 intruder orbit as the N = 50 shell closure is approached.

Excited states in the extremely neutron-deficient nucleus $^{107}\mathrm{Te}$ have been identified from two separate experiments using the recoil-decay tagging technique. Two connected structures were observed on the basis of $\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma}$-coincidence relations and tentatively assigned as built on the mixed-parentage $\ensuremath{\nu}{g}_{7/2}{d}_{5/2}$ and $\ensuremath{\nu}{h}_{11/2}$ intruder configurations. The observed structures were compared with large-scale shell-model calculations and total Routhian surface calculations. Collective behavior was discovered to persist in the $\ensuremath{\nu}{h}_{11/2}$ band of $^{107}\mathrm{Te}$ which highlights the shape-polarizing effect of a single valence neutron occupying the ${h}_{11/2}$ intruder orbit as the $N=50$ shell closure is approached.

In this study, the activity concentrations of naturally occurring 238U, 232Th and 40K and anthropogenic 137Cs radionuclides were measured for 56 soil and beach sand samples collected from the Princes’ Islands (Istanbul) in the Sea of Marmara, using a gamma-ray spectrometer. In each case, the outdoor gamma-ray dose rates in air were measured at the coordinates where the samples were collected, using a portable gamma-ray detector. In addition, the 210Po specific activity concentrations were measured for 13 different types of fish and 3 black mussel samples that are consumed in the region, using an alpha spectrometer. The mean activity concentrations of natural 238U, 232Th and 40K and artificial 137Cs radionuclides were calculated to be 33.8 ± 0.5 Bq kg−1, 19.3 ± 0.3 Bq kg−1, 429.5 ± 4.5 Bq kg−1 and 8.9 ± 0.1 Bq kg−1, respectively, in the soil and beach sand samples. Activity concentration contour maps of the Princes’ Islands (Istanbul) were constructed. The mean annual effective dose values for natural and artificial radioactive nuclide activity concentrations were determined to be 55.4 μSv y−1 and 1.2 μSv y−1, respectively. The average outdoor gamma-ray dose rate measured in the air was 0.68 mSv y−1. The mean activity concentrations of 210Po in the fish and mussel samples were measured to be 16.2 ± 1.9 Bq kg−1 and 516.1 ± 25.8 Bq kg−1. The average annual effective ingestion doses due to 210Po from the consumption of these seafoods were calculated to be 106.9 μSv y−1 and 619.4 μSv y−1, respectively. The results of this study were compared with the limits proposed by UNSCEAR, ICRP and the values obtained in other similar studies worldwide.

The Gamow-Teller strength distribution of the decay of Hg into Au has been determined for the first time using the total absorption gamma spectroscopy technique and has been compared with theoretical QRPA calculations using the SLy4 Skyrme force. The measured Gamow-Teller strength distribution and the half-life are described by mixing oblate and prolate configurations independently in the parent and daughter nuclei. The best description of the experimental beta strength is obtained with dominantly prolate components for both parent Hg and daughter Au. The approach also allowed us to determine an upper limit of the oblate component in the parent state. The complexity of the analysis required the development of a new approach in the analysis of the X-ray gated total absorption spectrum.

Beta-decay of the very neutron-deficient Kr isotope, Kr-70, was studied at RIKEN-RIBF using the EURICA cluster array. The experiment significantly increased our knowledge of the beta-decay of this isotope. Namely, 16 new gamma-ray transitions were identified and the half-life was derived from time correlations of the beta particles (t(1/2)(i beta) = (44.99 +/- 0.16) ms) and from the decay curves of the observed gamma-ray transitions (t(1/2)(i beta gamma) = (45.16 +/- 0.71) ms), respectively.

Excited states in the extremely neutron-deficient nucleus 172 Pt were populated via 96 Ru ( 78 Kr , 2 p ) and 92 Mo ( 83 Kr , 3 n ) reactions. The level scheme has been extended up to an excitation energy of ≈ 5 MeV and tentative spin-parity assignments up to I π = 18 + . Linear polarization and angular distribution measurements were used to determine the electromagnetic E1 character of the dipole transitions connecting the positive-parity ground-state band with an excited side-band, firmly establishing it as a negative-parity band. The lowest member of this negative-parity structure was firmly assigned spin-parity 3 − . In addition, we observed an E3 transition from this 3 − state to the ground state, providing direct evidence for octupole collectivity in 172 Pt. Large-scale shell model (LSSM) and total Routhian surface (TRS) calculations have been performed, supporting the interpretation of the 3 − state as a collective octupole-vibrational state.