The ground state of $^{28}$F has been observed as an unbound resonance $2underline{2}0$ keV above the ground state of $^{27}$F. Comparison of this result with USDA/USDB shell model predictions leads to the conclusion that the $^{28}$F ground state is primarily dominated by $sd$-shell configurations. Here we present a detailed report on the experiment in which the ground state resonance of $^{28}$F was first observed. Additionally, we report the first observation of a neutron-unbound excited state in $^{27}$F at an excitation energy of $25underline{0}0 (2underline{2}0)$ keV.
Background: Odd-odd nuclei, around doubly closed shells, have been extensively used to study proton-neutron interactions. However, the evolution of these interactions as a function of the binding energy, ultimately when nuclei become unbound, is poorly known. The $^{26}$F nucleus, composed of a deeply bound $pi0d_{5/2}$ proton and an unbound $ u0d_{3/2}$ neutron on top of an $^{24}$O core, is particularly adapted for this purpose. The coupling of this proton and neutron results in a $J^{pi} = 1^{+}_1 - 4^{+}_1$ multiplet, whose energies must be determined to study the influence of the proximity of the continuum on the corresponding proton-neutron interaction. The $J^{pi} = 1^{+}_1, 2^{+}_1,4^{+}_1$ bound states have been determined, and only a clear identification of the $J^{pi} =3^{+}_1$ is missing.Purpose: We wish to complete the study of the $J^{pi} = 1^{+}_1 - 4^{+}_1$ multiplet in $^{26}$F, by studying the energy and width of the $J^{pi} =3^{+}_1$ unbound state. The method was firstly validated by the study of unbound states in $^{25}$F, for which resonances were already observed in a previous experiment.Method: Radioactive beams of $^{26}$Ne and $^{27}$Ne, produced at about $440A$,MeV by the FRagment Separator at the GSI facility, were used to populate unbound states in $^{25}$F and $^{26}$F via one-proton knockout reactions on a CH$_2$ target, located at the object focal point of the R$^3$B/LAND setup. The detection of emitted $gamma$-rays and neutrons, added to the reconstruction of the momentum vector of the $A-1$ nuclei, allowed the determination of the energy of three unbound states in $^{25}$F and two in $^{26}$F. Results: Based on its width and decay properties, the first unbound state in $^{25}$F is proposed to be a $J^{pi} = 1/2^-$ arising from a $p_{1/2}$ proton-hole state. In $^{26}$F, the first resonance at 323(33)~keV is proposed to be the $J^{pi} =3^{+}_1$ member of the $J^{pi} = 1^{+}_1 - 4^{+}_1$ multiplet. Energies of observed states in $^{25,26}$F have been compared to calculations using the independent-particle shell model, a phenomenological shell-model, and the ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group method.Conclusions: The deduced effective proton-neutron interaction is weakened by about 30-40% in comparison to the models, pointing to the need of implementing the role of the continuum in theoretical descriptions, or to a wrong determination of the atomic mass of $^{26}$F.
Neutron-unbound resonant states of 11Be were populated in neutron knock-out reactions from 12Be and identified by 10Be-n coincidence measurements. A resonance in the decay-energy spectrum at 80(2) keV was attributed to a highly excited unbound state in 11Be at 3.949(2) MeV decaying to the 2+ excited state in 10Be. A knockout cross section of 15(3) mb was inferred for this 3.949(2) MeV state suggesting a spectroscopic factor near unity for this 0p3/2- level, consistent with the detailed shell model calculations.
The 8He(d,p) reaction was studied in inverse kinematics at 15.4A MeV using the MUST2 Si-CsI array in order to shed light on the level structure of 9He. The well known 16O(d,p)17O reaction, performed here in reverse kinematics, was used as a test to validate the experimental methods. The 9He missing mass spectrum was deduced from the kinetic energies and emission angles of the recoiling protons. Several structures were observed above the neutron-emission threshold and the angular distributions were used to deduce the multipolarity of the transitions. This work confirms that the ground state of 9He is located very close to the neutron threshold of 8He and supports the occurrence of parity inversion in 9He.
The two-proton knockout reaction 9Be(26Ne,O2p) was used to explore excited unbound states of 23O and 24O. In 23O a state at an excitation energy of 2.79(13) MeV was observed. There was no conclusive evidence for the population of excited states in 24O.
Proton removal reactions from a secondary 22N beam were utilized to populate unbound states in neutron-rich carbon isotopes. Neutrons were measured with the Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) in coincidence with carbon fragments. A resonance with a decay energy of 76(14) keV was observed in the system 18C+n corresponding to a state in 19C at an excitation energy of 653(95)keV. This resonance could correspond to the first 5/2+ state which was recently speculated to be unbound in order to describe 1n and 2n removal cross section measurements from 20C.