We discuss the binding mechanism of 11Li based on an extended three-body model of Li+n+n. In the model, we take into account the pairing correlation of p-shell neutrons in 9Li, in addition to that of valence neutrons outside the 9Li nucleus, and solve the coupled-channel two- and three-body problems of 10Li and 11Li, respectively. The results show that degrees of freedom of the pairing correlation in 9Li play an important role in the structure of 10Li and 11Li. In 10Li, the pairing correlation in 9Li produces a so-called pairing-blocking effect due to the presence of valence neutron, which degenerates s- and p-wave neutron orbits energetically. In 11Li, on the other hand, the pairing-blocking effect is surpassed by the core-n interaction due to two degrees of freedom of two valence neutrons surrounding 9Li, and as a result, the ground state is dominated by the p-shell closed configuration and does not show a spatial extension with a large r.m.s. radius. These results indicate that the pairing correlation is realized differently in odd- and even-neutron systems of 10Li and 11Li. We further improve the tail part of the 9Li-n interaction, which works well to reproduce the observed large r.m.s. radius in 11Li.
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