The Study Of Neutron-Rich Nuclei Production In The Region Of The Closed Shell N=126 In The Multi-Nucleon Transfer Reaction Xe-136+Pb-208

The unexplored area of heavy neutron rich nuclei is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleogenesis. For the production of heavy neutron rich nuclei located along the neutron closed shell N=126 (probably the last waiting point in the r-process of nucleosynthesis) the low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reaction Xe-136+Pb-208 at E-lab=870MeV was explored. Due to the stabilizing effect of the closed neutron shells in both nuclei, N=82 and N=126, and the rather favorable proton transfer from lead to xenon, the light fragments formed in this process are well bound and the Q-value of the reaction is nearly zero.Measurements were performed with the PRISMA spectrometer in coincidence with an additional time-of-flight (ToF) arm on the +20 beam line of the PIAVE-ALPI accelerator in Legnaro, Italy. The PRISMA spectrometer allows identification of the A, Z and velocity of the projectile-like fragments (PLF), while the second arm gives access to the target-like fragments (TLF). Details on the experimental setup and preliminary results are reported.