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- Kondo, Y., et al.
(author)
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First observation of 28 O
- 2023
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In: Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 620:7976, s. 965-970
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Subjecting a physical system to extreme conditions is one of the means often used to obtain a better understanding and deeper insight into its organization and structure. In the case of the atomic nucleus, one such approach is to investigate isotopes that have very different neutron-to-proton (N/Z) ratios than in stable nuclei. Light, neutron-rich isotopes exhibit the most asymmetric N/Z ratios and those lying beyond the limits of binding, which undergo spontaneous neutron emission and exist only as very short-lived resonances (about 10−21s), provide the most stringent tests of modern nuclear-structure theories. Here we report on the first observation of 28O and 27O through their decay into 24O and four and three neutrons, respectively. The 28O nucleus is of particular interest as, with the Z = 8 and N = 20 magic numbers1,2, it is expected in the standard shell-model picture of nuclear structure to be one of a relatively small number of so-called ‘doubly magic’ nuclei. Both 27O and 28O were found to exist as narrow, low-lying resonances and their decay energies are compared here to the results of sophisticated theoretical modelling, including a large-scale shell-model calculation and a newly developed statistical approach. In both cases, the underlying nuclear interactions were derived from effective field theories of quantum chromodynamics. Finally, it is shown that the cross-section for the production of 28O from a 29F beam is consistent with it not exhibiting a closed N = 20 shell structure.
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2. |
- Revel, A., et al.
(author)
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Extending the Southern Shore of the Island of Inversion to F-28
- 2020
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114 .- 0031-9007. ; 124:15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Detailed spectroscopy of the neutron-unbound nucleus F-28 has been performed for the first time following proton/neutron removal from Ne-29/F-29 beams at energies around 230 MeV=nucleon. The invariant-mass spectra were reconstructed for both the F-27((*)) + n and F-26((*)) + 2n coincidences and revealed a series of well-defined resonances. A near-threshold state was observed in both reactions and is identified as the F-28 ground state, with S-n(F-28) = -199(6) keV, while analysis of the 2n decay channel allowed a considerably improved S-n(F-27) = 1620(60) keV to be deduced. Comparison with shell-model predictions and eikonal-model reaction calculations have allowed spin-parity assignments to be proposed for some of the lower-lying levels of F-28. Importantly, in the case of the ground state, the reconstructed F-27 + n momentum distribution following neutron removal from F-29 indicates that it arises mainly from the 1p(3/2) neutron intruder configuration. This demonstrates that the island of inversion around N = 20 includes F-28, and most probably F-29, and suggests that O-28 is not doubly magic.
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3. |
- Wang, H., et al.
(author)
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Intruder configurations in 29 Ne at the transition into the island of inversion: Detailed structure study of 28 Ne
- 2023
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In: Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - 0370-2693. ; 843
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Detailed γ-ray spectroscopy of the exotic neon isotope 28Ne has been performed for the first time using the one-neutron removal reaction from 29Ne on a liquid hydrogen target at 240 MeV/nucleon. Based on an analysis of parallel momentum distributions, a level scheme with spin-parity assignments has been constructed for 28Ne and the negative-parity states are identified for the first time. The measured partial cross sections and momentum distributions reveal a significant intruder p-wave strength providing evidence of the breakdown of the N=20 and N=28 shell gaps. Only a weak, possible f-wave strength was observed to bound final states. Large-scale shell-model calculations with different effective interactions do not reproduce the large p-wave and small f-wave strength observed experimentally, indicating an ongoing challenge for a complete theoretical description of the transition into the island of inversion along the Ne isotopic chain.
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4. |
- Boretzky, K., et al.
(author)
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NeuLAND: The high-resolution neutron time-of-flight spectrometer for R 3 B at FAIR
- 2021
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In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002. ; 1014
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- NeuLAND (New Large-Area Neutron Detector) is the next-generation neutron detector for the R3B (Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) experiment at FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research). NeuLAND detects neutrons with energies from 100 to 1000 MeV, featuring a high detection efficiency, a high spatial and time resolution, and a large multi-neutron reconstruction efficiency. This is achieved by a highly granular design of organic scintillators: 3000 individual submodules with a size of 5 × 5 × 250 cm3 are arranged in 30 double planes with 100 submodules each, providing an active area of 250 × 250 cm2 and a total depth of 3 m. The spatial resolution due to the granularity together with a time resolution of σt≤ 150 ps ensures high-resolution capabilities. In conjunction with calorimetric properties, a multi-neutron reconstruction efficiency of 50% to 70% for four-neutron events will be achieved, depending on both the emission scenario and the boundary conditions allowed for the reconstruction method. We present in this paper the final design of the detector as well as results from test measurements and simulations on which this design is based.
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5. |
- Holl, Matthias, 1986, et al.
(author)
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Border of the island of inversion: Unbound states in Ne-29
- 2022
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In: Physical Review C. - 2469-9985 .- 2469-9993. ; 105:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The nucleus Ne-29 is situated at the border of the island of inversion. Despite significant efforts, no bound low-lying intruder f(7/2) state, which would place Ne-29 firmly inside the island of inversion, has yet been observed. Here, the first investigation of unbound states of Ne-29 is reported. The states were populated in Ne-30(p, pn) and Na-30(p, 2p) reactions at a beam energy of around 230 MeV/nucleon, and analyzed in terms of their resonance properties, partial cross sections, and momentum distributions. The momentum distributions are compared to calculations using the eikonal, direct reaction model, allowing assignments for the observed states. The lowest lying resonance at an excitation energy of 1.48(4) MeV shows clear signs of a significant l = 3 component, giving first evidence for f(7/2) single particle strength in Ne-29. The excitation energies and strengths of the observed states are compared to shell-model calculations using the SDPF-U-MIX interaction.
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6. |
- Duer, M., et al.
(author)
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Observation of a correlated free four-neutron system
- 2022
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 606:7915
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A long-standing question in nuclear physics is whether chargeless nuclear systems can exist. To our knowledge, only neutron stars represent near-pure neutron systems, where neutrons are squeezed together by the gravitational force to very high densities. The experimental search for isolated multi-neutron systems has been an ongoing quest for several decades(1), with a particular focus on the four-neutron system called the tetraneutron, resulting in only a few indications of its existence so far(2-4), leaving the tetraneutron an elusive nuclear system for six decades. Here we report on the observation of a resonance-like structure near threshold in the four-neutron system that is consistent with a quasi-bound tetraneutron state existing for a very short time. The measured energy and width of this state provide a key benchmark for our understanding of the nuclear force. The use of an experimental approach based on a knockout reaction at large momentum transfer with a radioactive high-energy He-8 beam was key.
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