Shell closure at $N=34$ and the $^{48}$Si nucleus

TL;DR

This study investigates the emergence of the N=34 shell closure in neutron-rich isotones using a consistent non-relativistic model with various interactions, highlighting its dependence on proton number and the potential of $^{48}$Si for experimental validation.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the N=34 shell closure across different isotones using consistent interactions, emphasizing the role of proton number and the importance of experimental data.

Findings

Shell closure at N=34 appears in isotones with Z<26.

The shell closure is more evident at lower proton numbers.

Discrepancies exist between interactions regarding the position of the two-neutron drip line.

Abstract

By using a non-relativistic independent particle model we investigate the mechanism promoting 34 as new magic number. We carried out Hartree-Fock plus Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer and Quasi-particle Random Phase Approximation calculations by consistently using the same finite-range interaction in all the three steps of our approach. We used four Gogny-like interactions, with and without tensor terms. We find that the shell closure for $N=34$ neutrons appears in isotones with $Z<26\,$ protons. The smaller is the proton number, the more evident is the shell closure at $N=34$. An ideal nucleus to investigate this effect should be $^{48}$Si, as it has been recently suggested. However, some discrepancies occur between the results obtained with the four effective interactions we used concerning the position of the two-neutron drip line and, therefore, the existence of $^{48}$Si. The experimental identification of this nucleus could shed light about the shell evolution in nuclei far from the stability valley and put stringent tests on nuclear structure theories.