Narrowing of the neutron [formula omitted] shell gap in 29Na

Abstract

The wave-function composition for the low-lying states in 29Na was explored by measuring their electromagnetic properties using the Coulomb-excitation technique. A beam of 29Na ions, postaccelerated to 70 MeV, bombarded a 110Pd target with a rate of up to 600 particles per second at the recently commissioned ISAC-II facility at TRIUMF. Six segmented HPGe clover detectors of the TIGRESS γ-ray spectrometer were used to detect deexcitation γ rays in coincidence with scattered or recoiling charged particles in the segmented silicon detector, BAMBINO. The reduced transition matrix element |〈521+||E2||32gs+〉| in 29Na was derived to be 0.237(21) e b from the measured γ-ray yields for both projectile and target. This first-time measured value is consistent with the most recent Monte Carlo shell-model calculation, indicating a significant admixture of both sd and pf components in the wave function, and also providing evidence for the narrowing of the neutron sd–pf shell gap from ∼6 MeV for stable nuclei to ∼3 MeV for 29Na.