Neutron-rich Oxygen Isotopes Research Articles

Reduction of spectroscopic overlap across the Z=8 shell in neutron-rich nuclei

The recent discovery and spectroscopic measurements of O27 and O28 suggests the disappearance of the N=20 shell structure in these neutron-rich oxygen isotopes. We measured one- and two-proton removal cross sections from F27 and Ne29, respectively, extracting spectroscopic factors and comparing them to shell model overlap functions coupled with eikonal reaction model calculations. The invariant mass technique was used to reconstruct the two-body (O24+n) and three-body (O24+2n) decay energies from knockout reactions of F27 (106.2 MeV/u) and Ne29 (112.8 MeV/u) beams impinging on a Be9 target. The one-proton removal from F27 strongly populated the ground state of O26 and the extracted cross section of 3.4−1.5+0.3 mb agrees with eikonal model calculations that are normalized by the shell model spectroscopic factors and account for the systematic reduction factor observed for single nucleon removal reactions within the models used. For the two-proton removal reaction from Ne29 an upper limit of 0.08 mb was extracted for populating states in O27 decaying though the ground state of O26. The measured upper limit for the population of the ground state of O26 in the two-proton removal reaction from Ne29 indicates a significant difference in the underlying nuclear structure of F27 and Ne29.Published by the American Physical Society2024

Nucleon–nucleon correlations in the extreme oxygen isotopes

There has been an upsurge of interest in two-nucleon decays thanks to the studies of nucleon–nucleon correlations. In our previous work (2021 Phys. Rev. Lett. 126 142501), based on a novel time-dependent three-body approach, we demonstrated that the energy and angular correlations of the emitted nucleons can shed light on the structure of nucleonic pairs formed inside the nucleus. In this work, we apply the new framework to study the decay dynamics and properties of some extreme proton-rich and neutron-rich oxygen isotopes, including two-proton (2p) decays of 11,12O and two-neutron (2n) decay of 26O. Here we show that the low-ℓ components of 11,12O wave functions, which are affected by continuum and configuration-interaction effects, strongly impact decay dynamics and asymptotic correlations. In the calculated wave functions of 11,12O, diproton and cigarlike structures merge together during the tunneling process and the resulting energy and angular correlations are very consistent with the experimental data. The asymptotic correlations of the 2n decay of 26O dramatically change as the 2n decay energy approaches the zero-energy threshold. The small reported value of Q 2n suggests that the 2n decay of this nucleus can be understood in terms of the universal phase-space limit.

A “Hyperburst” in the MAXI J0556–332 Neutron Star: Evidence for a New Type of Thermonuclear Explosion

The study of transiently accreting neutron stars provides a powerful means to elucidate the properties of neutron star crusts. We present extensive numerical simulations of the evolution of the neutron star in the transient low-mass X-ray binary MAXI J0556–332. We model nearly 20 observations obtained during the quiescence phases after four different outbursts of the source in the past decade, considering the heating of the star during accretion by the deep crustal heating mechanism complemented by some shallow heating source. We show that cooling data are consistent with a single source of shallow heating acting during the last three outbursts, while a very different and powerful energy source is required to explain the extremely high effective temperature of the neutron star, ∼350 eV, when it exited the first observed outburst. We propose that a gigantic thermonuclear explosion, a “hyperburst” from unstable burning of neutron-rich isotopes of oxygen or neon, occurred a few weeks before the end of the first outburst, releasing ∼1044 ergs at densities of the order of 1011 g cm−3. This would be the first observation of a hyperburst, and these would be extremely rare events, as the buildup of the exploding layer requires about a millennium of accretion history. Despite its large energy output, the hyperburst did not produce, due to its depth, any noticeable increase in luminosity during the accretion phase and is only identifiable by its imprint on the later cooling of the neutron star.

Study of static and dynamic properties of even-even 14–24O and 38–54Ca in the frame of Random Phase Approximation (RPA) method with different Skyrme parameterizations

The static and dynamic nuclear properties for neutron rich oxygen and calcium isotopes have been calculated using the framework of the random phase approximation method with different Skyrme parameterizations namely; SyO-, SyO+, BSk17, SLy4, SLy5, and SkX. The nuclear charge radii, the binding energy per nucleon were calculated and compared to the experimental one to choose the best Skyrme interactions used in the calculations of dynamic properties. The two-neutron separation energy for isotopes under study has been calculated and compared to experimental data. Higher modes of the excited states, energy-weighted sum rule, the centroid, constrained, and scaling energies of the resonances have been studied and illustrated together with available experimental data for comparison. For the low-lying excited states, the energy transition densities for J π = 2+ and J π = 3− are reproduced well in 18–24O and 46–54Ca isotopes. The neutron single particle states as a function of neutron number have been also presented. The results show that the random phase approximation calculations with Skyrme-type interactions is a successful method for describing nuclear structure properties of neutron rich nuclei near the drip line.

Unbound spectra of neutron-rich oxygen isotopes predicted by the Gamow shell model

The Gamow shell model has shown to efficiently describe weakly bound and unbound nuclear systems, as internucleon correlations and continuum coupling are both taken into account in this model. In the present work, we study neutron-dripline oxygen isotopes. It is hereby demonstrated that the presence of continuum coupling is important for the description of oxygen isotopes at dripline, and especially to assess the eventual bound or unbound character of $^{28}$O. Our results suggest that the ground state of $^{28}$O is weakly unbound and is similar to the narrow resonant $^{26}$O ground state. Predictions of weakly bound and resonance excited states in $^{24\text-26}$O are also provided. The asymptotes of the studied many-body states are analyzed via one-body densities, whereby the different radial properties of well bound, loosely bound, resonance states are clearly depicted.

Electromagnetic properties of 21O for benchmarking nuclear Hamiltonians

The structure of exotic nuclei provides valuable tests for state-of-the-art nuclear theory. In particular electromagnetic transition rates are more sensitive to aspects of nuclear forces and many-body physics than excitation energies alone. We report the first lifetime measurement of excited states in 21O, finding τ1/2+=420−32+35(stat)−12+34(sys) ps. This result together with the deduced level scheme and branching ratio of several γ-ray decays are compared to both phenomenological shell-model and ab initio calculations based on two- and three-nucleon forces derived from chiral effective field theory. We find that the electric quadrupole reduced transition probability of B(E2;1/2+→5/2g.s.+)=0.71−0.06−0.06+0.07+0.02 e2fm4, derived from the lifetime of the 1/2+ state, is smaller than the phenomenological result where standard effective charges are employed, suggesting the need for modifications of the latter in neutron-rich oxygen isotopes. We compare this result to both large-space and valence-space ab initio calculations, and by using multiple input interactions we explore the sensitivity of this observable to underlying details of nuclear forces.

Neutron transfer in reaction 18O + 181Ta with formation of neutron-rich oxygen isotopes

Differential cross sections for the formation of oxygen isotopes in the reaction 18O + 181Ta have been measured at projectile nucleus energy 10 A⋅MeV on the high-resolution magnetic spectrometer MAVR. Theoretical analysis of product yields has been performed in the finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation formalism using the FRESCO code under the assumption of sequential neutron transfer mechanism. The results of calculations are in good agreement with experimental data.

Ab initio no-core shell model study of and isotopes

In the present work, we have done a comprehensive study of the low-lying energy spectrum for oxygen and fluorine chains using an ab initio no-core shell model. We have used an inside-nonlocal outside-Yukawa (INOY) potential, which is a two-body interaction but also has the effect of three-body forces via short range and nonlocal character. Also, we have performed calculations with N3LO and N2LOopt interactions and compared corresponding results with the experimental data and phenomenological USDB interaction. We have reached up to Nmax = 6 for and F, Nmax = 4 for other oxygen and fluorine isotopes, respectively. We have also discussed the binding energy of oxygen and fluorine chains. Over binding in the ground state (g.s.) energy in neutron rich oxygen isotopes is observed in our largest model space calculations.

Differential Production Cross Sections for Isotopes of Light Nuclei in the $$\boldsymbol{{}^{18}\textrm{O}+^{181}}$$Ta Reaction

The results of experiments performed at a high-resolution magnetic spectrometer (MAVR) are presented. The differential production cross sections for oxygen isotopes in the $${}^{18}\textrm{O}+^{181}$$ Ta reaction at the projectile energy of 10 MeV per nucleon were measured at the MAVR facility. The yield of reaction products is analyzed theoretically in the finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation (FR-DWBA method) by means of the FRESCO code. The theoretical differential cross sections are calculated for sequential neutron transfer. The contributions of the mechanisms of sequential neutron transfer and dineutron-cluster transfer to the production cross sections for the neutron-rich oxygen isotopes $${}^{20,22,24}$$ O are studied.

Chiral three-nucleon force and continuum for dripline nuclei and beyond

Three-nucleon force and continuum play important roles in reproducing the properties of atomic nuclei around driplines. Therefore it is valuable to build up a theoretical framework where both effects can be taken into account to solve the nuclear Schrödinger equation. To this end, in this letter, we have expressed the chiral three-nucleon force within the continuum Berggren representation, so that bound, resonant and continuum states can be treated on an equal footing in the complex-momentum space. To reduce the model dimension and computational cost, the three-nucleon force is truncated at the normal-ordered two-body level and limited in the sd-shell model space, with the residual three-body term being neglected. We choose neutron-rich oxygen isotopes as the test ground because they have been well studied experimentally, with the neutron dripline determined. The calculations have been carried out within the Gamow shell model. The quality of our results in reproducing the properties of oxygen isotopes around the neutron dripline shows the relevance of the interplay between three-nucleon force and the coupling to continuum states. We also analyze the role played by the chiral three-nucleon force, by dissecting the contributions of the 2π exchange, 1π exchange and contact terms.

Continuum effect in resonance spectra of neutron-rich oxygen isotopes**Supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFA0404401), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11320101004, 11575007), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M630018), the CUSTIPEN (China-U.S. Theory Institute for Physics with Exotic Nuclei) funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science (DESC0009971), and High-performance Computing Platform of Peking

Starting from the CD-Bonn potential, we have performed Gamow shell-model calculations for neutron-rich oxygen isotopes, investigating excitation spectra and their resonant properties. The Gamow shell model is based on the Berggren ensemble, which is capable of treating the continuum effect reasonably in weakly bound or unbound nuclei. To calculate heavier-mass oxygen isotopes, we choose 16O as a frozen core in the Gamow shell-model calculations. The first 2+ excitation energies of the even-even O isotopes are calculated, and compared with those obtained by the conventional shell model using the empirical USDB interaction. The continuum effect is proved to play an important role in the shell evolution near the drip line. We also discuss the effect of the Berggren contour choice. We improve the approximation in the contour choice to give more precise calculations of resonance widths.

Many-body correlations in shell model effective interactions derived by ab initio methods and the Vlow-k approach**Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11505056, U1732138, 11605054, 11790325, 11305108, 11575290, 11675148, 11747312, 11775316) and the Outstanding Young Talent Research Fund of Zhengzhou University (1521317002)

We investigate many-body correlations caused by two- and three-body (2-, 3bd) forces. Shell-model effective interactions derived from ab initio methods (coupled-cluster method, no-core shell model) are adopted. Vlow-k potentials, based on many-body perturbation theory, are also tested, especially for their cut-off dependence. We compare the central, tensor and spin-orbit interactions from microscopic theory to the fitted interactions. After the inclusion of the three-body force, the matrix elements become fairly close to those fitted directly to experimental data. Calculations of neutron-rich oxygen isotopes are performed, to clarify the effects of 3bd forces, tensor, and spin-orbit interactions on the nuclear binding and excitation energies. We find that the 3bd force can influence the binding energies greatly, which also determines the drip line position, while its effect on excitation energies is not very pronounced. The spin-orbit force, which is part of the 2bd force, can affect the shell structure explicitly, at least for neutron-rich systems.

Quasifree ( p,pN ) scattering of light neutron-rich nuclei near N=14

Background: For many years, quasifree scattering reactions in direct kinematics have been extensively used to study the structure of stable nuclei, demonstrating the potential of this approach. The (RB)-B-3 collaboration has performed a pilot experiment to study quasifree scattering reactions in inverse kinematics for a stable C-12 beam. The results from that experiment constitute the first quasifree scattering results in inverse and complete kinematics. This technique has lately been extended to exotic beams to investigate the evolution of shell structure, which has attracted much interest due to changes in shell structure if the number of protons or neutrons is varied. Purpose: In this work we investigate for the first time the quasifree scattering reactions (p, pn) and (p, 2p) simultaneously for the same projectile in inverse and complete kinematics for radioactive beams with the aim to study the evolution of single-particle properties from N = 14 to N = 15. Method: The structure of the projectiles O-23, O-22, and N-21 has been studied simultaneously via (p, pn) and (p, 2p) quasifree knockout reactions in complete inverse kinematics, allowing the investigation of proton and neutron structure at the same time. The experimental data were collected at the (RB)-B-3-LAND setup at GSI at beam energies of around 400 MeV/u. Two key observables have been studied to shed light on the structure of those nuclei: the inclusive cross sections and the corresponding momentum distributions. Conclusions: The knockout reactions (p, pn) and (p, 2p) with radioactive beams in inverse kinematics have provided important and complementary information for the study of shell evolution and structure. For the (p, pn) channels, indications of a change in the structure of these nuclei moving from N = 14 to N = 15 have been observed, i.e., from the 0d(5/2) shell to the 1s(1/2). This supports previous observations of a subshell closure at N = 14 for neutron-rich oxygen isotopes and its weakening for the nitrogen isotopes.

Systematic shell-model study on spectroscopic properties from light to heavy nuclei

A systematic shell-model study is performed to study the spectroscopic properties from light to heavy nuclei, such as binding energies, energy levels, electromagnetic properties, and β decays. The importance of cross-shell excitation is shown in the spectroscopic properties of neutron-rich boron, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopes. A special case is presented for low-lying structure of 14C. The weakly bound effect of proton 1s1/2 orbit is necessary for the description of the mirror energy difference in the nuclei around A=20. Some possible isomers are predicted in the nuclei in the southeast region of 132Sn based on a newly suggested Hamiltonian. A preliminary study on the nuclei around 208Pb are given to show the ability of the shell model in the heavy nuclei.

Resonance and continuum Gamow shell model with realistic nuclear forces

Starting from realistic nuclear forces, we have developed a core Gamow shell model which can describe resonance and continuum properties of loosely-bound or unbound nuclear systems. To describe properly resonance and continuum, the Berggren representation has been employed, which treats bound, resonant and continuum states on equal footing in a complex-momentum (complex-k) plane. To derive the model-space effective interaction based on realistic forces, the full Qˆ-box folded-diagram renormalization has been, for the first time, extended to the nondegenerate complex-k space. The CD-Bonn potential is softened by using the Vlow-k method. Choosing 16O as the inert core, we have calculated sd-shell neutron-rich oxygen isotopes, giving good descriptions of both bound and resonant states. The isotopes 25,26O are calculated to be resonant even in their ground states.

Impact of the neutron matter equation of state on neutron skins and neutron drip lines in chiral effective field theory

We present predictions of the binding energy per nucleon and the neutron skin thickness in highly neutron-rich isotopes of Oxygen, Magnesium, and Aluminum. The calculations are carried out at and below the neutron drip line as predicted by our model. The nuclear properties are obtained via an energy functional whose input is the equation of state of isospin-asymmetric infinite matter. The latter is based on a microscopic derivation of the energy per particle in neutron matter applying chiral few-nucleon forces together with a phenomenological model for the equation of state of symmetric nuclear matter. We highlight the impact of the neutron matter equation of state at different orders of chiral effective field theory on neutron skins and the binding energy per particle and quantify the uncertainty carried by our predictions.

Continuum discretised BCS approach for weakly bound nuclei

The Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) formalism is extended by including the single-particle continuum in order to analyse the evolution of pairing in an isotopic chain from stability up to the drip-line. We propose a continuum discretised generalised BCS based on single-particle pseudostates (PS). These PS are generated from the diagonalisation of the single-particle Hamiltonian within a transformed harmonic oscillator basis. The consistency of the results versus the size of the basis is studied. The method is applied to neutron rich oxygen and carbon isotopes and compared with similar previous works and available experimental data. We make use of the flexibility of the proposed model in order to study the evolution of the occupation of the low-energy continuum when the system becomes weakly bound. We find an increasing influence of the non-resonant continuum as long as the Fermi level approaches the neutron separation threshold.

Nucleus ^{26}O: A Barely Unbound System beyond the Drip Line.

The unbound nucleus ^{26}O has been investigated using invariant-mass spectroscopy following one-proton removal reaction from a ^{27}F beam at 201 MeV/nucleon. The decay products, ^{24}O and two neutrons, were detected in coincidence using the newly commissioned SAMURAI spectrometer at the RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. The ^{26}O ground-state resonance was found to lie only 18±3(stat)±4(syst) keV above threshold. In addition, a higher lying level, which is most likely the first 2^{+} state, was observed for the first time at 1.28_{-0.08}^{+0.11} MeV above threshold. Comparison with theoretical predictions suggests that three-nucleon forces, pf-shell intruder configurations, and the continuum are key elements to understanding the structure of the most neutron-rich oxygen isotopes beyond the drip line.

Gamow–Teller strength distributions for neutron-rich nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine isotopes

Gamow–Teller transition properties for neutron-rich nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine isotopes are studied in integrated energy. The structures of these nuclei are described by means of nuclear shell model with the WBT interaction in the p−sd shell space. Calculations of the Gamow–Teller strength distribution reproduce the experimental data reasonably in the low-energy region. For the dripline nucleus 24O, a super Gamow–Teller transition to a single state at excitation energy of 14.72 MeV in 24F is predicted. β-decay half-lives for these nuclei are calculated and compared with the available experimental data.

Revisiting the monopole components of effective interactions for the shell model

In this paper, we revisit the monopole components of effective interactions for the shell model. Without going through specific nuclei or shell gaps, universal roles of central, tensor, and spin–orbit forces can be proved, reflecting the intrinsic features of shell model effective interactions. For monopole matrix elements, even and odd channels of central force often have a canceling effect. However, for the contributions to the shell evolution, its even and odd channels could have both positive or negative contributions, enhancing the role of central force on the shell structure. Tensor force is generally weaker than central force. However, for the effect on shell evolutions, tensor force can dominate or play a competitive role. A different systematics has been discovered between T = 1 and 0 channels. For example, tensor force, well established in the T = 0 channel, becomes uncertain in the T = 1 channel. We calculate the properties of neutron-rich oxygen and calcium isotopes in order to study T = 1 channel interactions further. It is learned that the main improvements of empirical interactions are traced to the central force. For non-central forces, antisymmetric spin–orbit (ALS) force, originated from many-body perturbations or three-body force, could also play an explicit role. T = 1 tensor forces are less constrained so their effect can differ in different empirical interactions. The influence of tensor force may sometimes be canceled by many-body effects. For T = 0 channels of effective interactions, which is the main source of neutron–proton correlations, central and tensor forces are the leading components. For T = 1 channels, which can act between like-particles, the request for many-body correlations could be more demanding, so that the monopole anomaly of the T = 1 channel might be more serious.