Abstract
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 F-26
nucleus, composed of a deeply bound pi 0d(5/2) proton and an unbound
v0d(3/2) neutron on top of an O-24 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 F-26, by studying the energy and width of the J(pi) =
3(1)(+) unbound state. The method was first validated by the study of
unbound states in F-25, for which resonances were already observed in a
previous experiment.
Method: Radioactive beams of Ne-26 and Ne-27, produced at about 440AMeV
by the fragment separator at the GSI facility were used to populate
unbound states in F-25 and F-26 via one-proton knockout reactions on a
CH2 target, located at the object focal point of the (RB)-B-3/LAND
setup. The detection of emitted. 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 F-25 and two in
F-26.
Results: Based on its width and decay properties, the first unbound
state in F-25, at the relative energy of 49(9) keV, is proposed to be a
J(pi) = 1/ 2(-) arising from a p1/2 proton- hole state. In F-26, 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 F-25,F-26 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 for implementing the role of the continuum in theoretical
descriptions or to a wrong determination of the atomic mass of F-26.
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