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The low-lying structure of 15C has been investigated via the neutron-removal d(16C, t) reaction. The experiment was performed at GANIL using a secondary 16C beam produced by fragmentation in the LISE spectrometer at 17.2 MeV/nucleon with an intensity of 5 × 104 pps and 100% purity. The angle and energy of the light ejectile were detected by three MUST2 telescopes. The missing mass technique was used to reconstruct the excitation energy of 15C. In this spectrum, two bound states were observed (gs and the first excited state) and two unbound resonant states above the neutron separation threshold (S n = 1.218 MeV). From the differential cross sections, information on the angular momentum of the transferred nucleon and spectroscopic factors were deduced. The excitation energies and the deduced spectroscopic factors of the negative parity states placed above the neutron separation energy are an important measurement of the 2p-1h configurations in 15C. Our results show good agreement with shell-model calculations with the YSOX interaction and show a sensitivity to the N=8 shell gap.

The properties of nuclei with extreme neutron–to–proton ratios reveal the limitations of state-ofthe-art nuclear models and are key to understand nuclear forces. 7H, with six neutrons and a single proton, is the nuclear system with the most unbalanced neutron–to–proton ratio ever known, but its sheer existence and properties are still a challenge for experimental efforts and theoretical models. We report here the first measurement of the basic characteristics and structure of the ground state of 7H; they depict a system with a triton core surrounded by an extended four-neutron halo, built by neutron pairing, that decays through a unique four–neutron emission with a relatively long half-life. These properties are a prime example of new phenomena occurring in almost pure-neutron nuclear matter, beyond the binding limits of the nuclear landscape, that are yet to be described within our current models.

The spectroscopic structure of 19C, a prominent one-neutron halo nucleus, has been studied with a 20C secondary beam at 290 MeV/nucleon and a carbon target. Neutron-unbound states populated by the one-neutron knockout reaction were investigated by means of the invariant mass method. The preliminary relative energy spectrum and parallel momentum distribution of the knockout residue, 19C*, were reconstructed from the measured four momenta of the 18C fragment, neutron, and beam. Three resonances were observed in the spectrum, which correspond to the states at Ex = 0.62(9), 1.42(10), and 2.89(10) MeV. The parallel momentum distributions for the 0.62-MeV and 2.89-MeV states suggest spin-parity assignments of 5/2+ and 1/2−, respectively. The 1.42-MeV state is in line with the reported 5/22+ state.

A spectroscopic study of 17C was performed via the one-neutron knockout reaction of 18C on a carbon target at RIKEN-RIBF. Three unbound states at excitation energies of 2.66(2), 3.16(5), and 3.97(3) MeV (preliminary) were observed. The energies are compared with shell-model calculations and existing measurements to deduce their spin-parities. From the comparison, the states at 2.66(2) and 3.97(3) MeV are suggested to be 1/2− and 3/2−, respectively. From its decay property, the state at 3.16(5) MeV is indicated to be 9/2+.

Excited states in the nuclei 38,40,42 Si have been studied using in-beam Γ-ray spectroscopy following multi-nucleon removal reactions to investigate the systematics of excitation energies along the Z=14 isotopic chain. The most probable candidates for the transition from the yrast 4+ state were tentatively assigned among several γ lines newly observed in the present study. The energy ratios between the 21+ and 41+ states were obtained to be 2.09(5), 2.56(5) and 2.93(5) for 38,40,42Si, respectively, indicating a rapid development of deformation in Si isotopes from N=24 to, at least, N=28.

The partial one-neutron removal cross section of 24O leading to the first excited state in 23O has been measured to be 65.7 ± 5.3 mb with a proton target in inverse kinematics at the beam energy of 62 MeV/nucleon. The decay energy spectrum of the neutron unbound state of 23O was reconstructed from the measured four momenta of 22O and the emitted neutron. A sharp peak was observed at Edecay = 48 ± 3 keV, confirming the previous measurements. The measured partial longitudinal momentum distribution of 23O* showed the d-wave knockout character, providing a support for the Jπ assignment of 5/2+ for this state. The spectroscopic factor for the neutrons in 0d5/2 orbital was deduced, for the first time, to be C2S(0d5/2) = 3.7 ± 0.3 (preliminary) by comparing with the result of Glauber model. The relatively large spectroscopic factor supports the N = 16 shell closure in the neutron drip-line nucleus 24O.

Identification methods for photons, neutrons and heavy ions by using scintillator and semiconductor detectors are discussed by stressing the advantages of signal digitization.