Production of spin polarized 12N through heavy ion reactions

Production of spin polarized short-lived nucleus 12N (Iπ = 1 + , T1/2 = 11 ms) using heavy ion reactions at intermediate energies has been performed. Typical polarization of about −25 % and +10 % through the projectile fragmentation Be(14N, 12N)X and the charge exchange CH2(12C, 12N)X processes, respectively, was obtained. The present study proved that the combination of a 12C beam and a proton target provides a fairly good quality of polarized 12N beam in terms of intensity and energy uniformity, and is promising for materials science use of 12N as a nuclear probe.