NUCLEAR SPECTROSCOPY OF NIOBIUM-96 AND NIOBIUM-94 (SHELL MODEL, DWBA, PROTON-PICKUP)

The nuclear spectroscopy of ('96)Nb and ('94)Nb was studied using the proton pickup (t, (alpha)) reaction on isotopically enriched targets of ('97)Mo and ('95)Mo. The experiments were performed at the tandem Van de Graff facilities of Los Alamos National Laboratory. The (alpha) particles were momentum analyzed in a quadrupole-dipole-dipole-dipole magnetic spectrometer to determine excitation energies of nuclear states. The experiments were performed at several angles and the resulting angular distributions were compared to distorted wave Born approximation calculations to determine angular momentum transfer values. The 3-member of the (pi)(p1/2)('1)(nu)(d5/2)('-1) doublet in ('96)Nb has been reassigned at 876 keV. The ten members of the (pi)(p3/2)('-1)(nu)(d5/2)('-1) and (pi)(f5/2)('-1)(nu)(d5/2)('-1) multiplets in ('96)Nb were identified for the first time. Additionally, several other new states in ('96)Nb are reported. Angular momentum transfer values were determined for twenty-six states in ('94)Nb. Fifty-four states were observed in ('94)Nb up to less than three MeV in excitation energy. Four of these states are previously unreported.