Structure of odd-mass Ne, Na, and Mg nuclei

TL;DR

This paper uses ab initio coupled-cluster calculations to explore the energy levels and rotational band structures of odd-mass Ne, Na, and Mg nuclei in the neutron-rich island of inversion, providing new insights into their nuclear structure.

Contribution

It presents the first ab initio calculations of odd-mass nuclei in this region, confirming tentative assignments and predicting structures near the neutron dripline.

Findings

Confirmed some tentative spin and parity assignments.

Predicted the structure of nuclei near the neutron dripline.

Provided insights into rotational bands in neutron-rich nuclei.

Abstract

The island of inversion is a region of neutron-rich nuclei that are deformed in their ground states. In this region, less is known about the energy levels of odd-mass nuclei, how they evolve with increasing neutron numbers, and how they can be organized into rotational bands. We perform {\it ab initio} coupled-cluster calculations of spectra in odd-mass Ne, Na, and Mg nuclei based on an interaction of chiral effective field theory. Our results confirm some tentative spin and parity assignments, predict the structure of nuclei near the neutron dripline, and inform us about rotational bands in this region of the nuclear table.