Abstract
The decay of the lightest nucleus with Tz=−3 , 22 Si, was studied by a silicon array. A charged-particle group at 5600 (70) keV in the decay-energy spectrum was identified experimentally as β -delayed two-proton emission from the isobaric analog state (IAS) of 22 Al. Experimental results of the IAS fed by a superallowed Fermi transition were compared with our large-scale shell-model calculations. The ground-state mass of 22 Si was obtained indirectly in the experiment for the first time. Two-proton separation energy for 22 Si is deduced to be −108 (125) keV, which indicates that it is a very marginal candidate for two-proton ground-state emission.
Highlights
Nuclei with drastic imbalance of proton-to-neutron ratios propound as a sensitive probe to validate the state-of-the-art nuclear models
The proton drip line heretofore is sufficiently well-known compared to the neutron one, which is not yet experimentally well constrained
Four 1500 μm thick quadrant silicon detectors (QSDs) were mounted upstream around the beam to detect β particles and protons escaping from DSSDs
Summary
Nuclei with drastic imbalance of proton-to-neutron ratios propound as a sensitive probe to validate the state-of-the-art nuclear models. Impressive progresses in nuclear decay studies near the proton drip line have been achieved over recent decades [1,2,3] These exotic decay modes of proton-rich nuclei, such as latest studies of two-proton (2p) emission from ground states (e.g., 45Fe [4], 54Zn [5], 48Ni [6] and 30Ar [7]) and excited levels [8,9], and β-delayed particle emission (31Ar [10,11] and 20Mg [12,13,14]), play a significant role in studies of nuclear structure, quantum many-body systems, and nuclear astrophysics. A new experiment was carried out to further investigate exotic decay properties of 22Si
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