Quasifree one-proton knockout reactions have been employed in inverse kinematics for a systematic study of the structure of stable and exotic oxygen isotopes at the R^{3}B/LAND setup with incident beam energies in the range of 300-450  MeV/u. The oxygen isotopic chain offers a large variation of separation energies that allows for a quantitative understanding of single-particle strength with changing isospin asymmetry. Quasifree knockout reactions provide a complementary approach to intermediate-energy one-nucleon removal reactions. Inclusive cross sections for quasifree knockout reactions of the type ^{A}O(p,2p)^{A-1}N have been determined and compared to calculations based on the eikonal reaction theory. The reduction factors for the single-particle strength with respect to the independent-particle model were obtained and compared to state-of-the-art ab initio predictions. The results do not show any significant dependence on proton-neutron asymmetry.

Exclusive cross sections and momentum distributions have been measured for quasifree one-neutron knockout reactions from a 54 Ca beam striking on a liquid hydrogen target at ∼200 MeV=u. A significantly larger cross section to the p 3=2 state compared to the f 5=2 state observed in the excitation of 53 Ca provides direct evidence for the nature of the N ¼ 34 shell closure. This finding corroborates the arising of a new shell closure in neutron-rich calcium isotopes. The distorted-wave impulse approximation reaction formalism with shell model calculations using the effective GXPF1Bs interaction and ab initio calculations concur our experimental findings. Obtained transverse and parallel momentum distributions demonstrate the sensitivity of quasifree one-neutron knockout in inverse kinematics on a thick liquid hydrogen target with the reaction vertex reconstructed to final state spin-parity assignments.

Detailed spectroscopy of the neutron-unbound nucleus 28 F has been performed for the first time following proton/neutron removal from 29 Ne/ 29 F beams at energies around 230 MeV/nucleon. The invariant-mass spectra were reconstructed for both the 27 F ( * ) + n and 26 F ( * ) + 2n coincidences and revealed a series of well-defined resonances. A near-threshold state was observed in both reactions and is identified as the 28 F ground state, with Sn( 28 F) = −199(6) keV, while analysis of the 2n decay channel allowed a considerably improved Sn( 27 F) = 1620(60) keV to be deduced. Comparison with shell-model predictions and eikonal-model reaction calculations have allowed spin-parity assignments to be proposed for some of the lower-lying levels of 28 F. Importantly, in the case of the ground state, the reconstructed 27 F+n momentum distribution following neutron removal from 29 F indicates that PACS numbers:

A long-standing question in nuclear physics is whether chargeless nuclear systems can exist. To our knowledge, only neutron stars represent near-pure neutron systems, where neutrons are squeezed together by the gravitational force to very high densities. The experimental search for isolated multi-neutron systems has been an ongoing quest for several decades1, with a particular focus on the four-neutron system called the tetraneutron, resulting in only a few indications of its existence so far2–4, leaving the tetraneutron an elusive nuclear system for six decades. Here we report on the observation of a resonance-like structure near threshold in the four-neutron system that is consistent with a quasi-bound tetraneutron state existing for a very short time. The measured energy and width of this state provide a key benchmark for our understanding of the nuclear force. The use of an experimental approach based on a knockout reaction at large momentum transfer with a radioactive high-energy 8He beam was key.

Background: Odd-odd nuclei, around doubly closed shells, have been extensively used to study proton-neutron interactions. However, the evolution of these interactions as a function of the binding energy, ultimately when nuclei become unbound, is poorly known. The 26 F nucleus, composed of a deeply bound π 0d 5/2 proton and an unbound ν0d 3/2 neutron on top of an 24 O core, is particularly adapted for this purpose. The coupling of this proton and neutron results in a J π = 1 1 + − 4 1 + multiplet, whose energies must be determined to study the influence of the proximity of the continuum on the corresponding proton-neutron interaction. The J π = 1 1 + , 2 1 + , 4 1 + bound states have been determined, and only a clear identification of the J π = 3 1 + is missing. Purpose: We wish to complete the study of the J π = 1 1 + − 4 1 + multiplet in 26 F, by studying the energy and width of the J π = 3 1 + unbound state. The method was first validated by the study of unbound states in 25 F, for which resonances were already observed in a previous experiment. Method: Radioactive beams of 26 Ne and 27 Ne, produced at about 440A MeV by the fragment separator at the GSI facility were used to populate unbound states in 25 F and 26 F via one-proton knockout reactions on a CH 2 target, located at the object focal point of the R 3 B/LAND setup. The detection of emitted γ rays and neutrons, added to the reconstruction of the momentum vector of the A − 1 nuclei, allowed the determination of the energy of three unbound states in 25 F and two in 26 F. Results: Based on its width and decay properties, the first unbound state in 25 F, at the relative energy of 49(9) keV, is proposed to be a J π = 1/2 − arising from a p 1/2 proton-hole state. In 26 F, the first resonance at 323(33) keV is proposed to be the J π = 3 1 + member of the J π = 1 1 + − 4 1 + multiplet. Energies of observed states in 25,26 F have been compared to calculations using the independent-particle shell model, a phenomenological shell model, and the ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group method. Conclusions: The deduced effective proton-neutron interaction is weakened by about 30-40% in comparison to the models, pointing to the need for implementing the role of the continuum in theoretical descriptions or to a wrong determination of the atomic mass of 26 F.