Proton inelastic scattering experiments at energy Ep=200 MeV and a spectrometer scattering angle of 0° were performed on 144,146,148,150Nd and 152Sm exciting the IsoVector Giant Dipole Resonance (IVGDR). Comparison with results from photo-absorption experiments reveals a shift of resonance maxima towards higher energies for vibrational and transitional nuclei. The extracted photo-absorption cross sections in the most deformed nuclei, 150Nd and 152Sm, exhibit a pronounced asymmetry rather than a distinct double-hump structure expected as a signature of K-splitting. This behaviour may be related to the proximity of these nuclei to the critical point of the phase shape transition from vibrators to rotors with a soft quadrupole deformation potential. Self-consistent random-phase approximation (RPA) calculations using the SLy6 Skyrme force provide a relevant description of the IVGDR shapes deduced from the present data

An experiment using the 11B(3He,d)12C reaction was performed at iThemba LABS at an incident energy of 44~MeV and analyzed with a high energy-resolution magnetic spectrometer, to reinvestigate states in 12C published in 1971. The original investigation reported the existence of an 11.16 MeV state in 12C that displays a 2+ nature. In the present experiment, data were acquired at laboratory angles of 25$\circ${}, 30$\circ${}, and 35$\circ${}, which is part of the center-of-mass (c.m.) angle range in the original measurements where a clear signature of such a state was observed. These new low-background measurements revealed no evidence of the previously reported state at 11.16 MeV in 12C.

This study attempts a nuclear forensic characterization of uranium in soil samples from a prospective Serule mine in Botswana. The analysis involves the determination of forensic signatures found in uranium-bearing materials from the mine. These signatures include ²³²Th activity concentration, isotopic and activity ratios of ²³²Th/²³⁸U and ²³⁵U/²³⁸U, impurity concentration, rare earth elements (REE), as well as the mineralogy of the area, all of which were determined using both Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and X-ray Florescence (XRF) analytical techniques. Isotopic ratios determined reveal that there is a significant difference in the isotopic concentration, activity concentration of ²³²Th, ²³⁸U, and ²³⁵U, as well as the ²³²Th/²³⁸U isotope ratio between the uranium ores from each mine. The REE/chondrite analysis indicates clear patterns, suggesting that it is possible to use this feature as a unique identifier for Serule uranium ore source.