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Nucleus ^{26}O: A Barely Unbound System beyond the Drip Line.

Y Kondo1, T Nakamura1, R Tanaka1

  • 1Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 O-Okayama, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan.

Physical Review Letters
|March 26, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The unbound nucleus Oxygen-26 (26O) was studied, revealing its ground state resonance just 18 keV above the decay threshold. This finding sheds light on the structure of neutron-rich isotopes near the drip line.

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Area of Science:

  • Nuclear Physics
  • Nuclear Structure
  • Exotic Nuclei

Background:

  • Investigating nuclei beyond the neutron drip line is crucial for understanding nuclear forces.
  • Neutron-rich oxygen isotopes provide a unique laboratory for studying nuclear structure phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the unbound nucleus ^{26}O.
  • To determine the energy of the ^{26}O ground-state resonance relative to the decay threshold.
  • To search for excited states in ^{26}O.

Main Methods:

  • Invariant-mass spectroscopy was employed.
  • A one-proton removal reaction from a ^{27}F beam at 201 MeV/nucleon was used.
  • Decay products ^{24}O and two neutrons were detected in coincidence using the SAMURAI spectrometer.

Main Results:

  • The ^{26}O ground-state resonance was observed 18±3(stat)±4(syst) keV above the decay threshold.
  • A new excited state, likely the first 2^{+} state, was identified at 1.28_{-0.08}^{+0.11} MeV above threshold.
  • Experimental data were compared with theoretical predictions.

Conclusions:

  • The proximity of the ^{26}O ground state to the threshold indicates a weakly bound system.
  • Three-nucleon forces, pf-shell intruder configurations, and continuum effects are essential for describing neutron-rich oxygen isotopes.
  • This study advances our understanding of nuclear structure at the limits of stability.