In-beam γ -ray spectroscopy of Cr62,64

The region of neutron-rich Cr isotopes has garnered much attention in recent years due to a rapid onset of collectivity near neutron number $N=40$. We report here on the first $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectroscopy beyond the $({4}_{1}^{+})$ state in $^{62,64}\mathrm{Cr}$, using nucleon removal reactions from several projectiles within a rare-isotope beam cocktail. A candidate for the ${6}^{+}$ state in $^{64}\mathrm{Cr}$ is presented as well as one for, possibly, the second excited ${0}^{+}$ state in $^{62}\mathrm{Cr}$. The results are discussed in comparison to the LNPS shell-model predictions that allow for neutron excitations across the $N=40$ harmonic oscillator gap into the ${g}_{9/2}$ and ${d}_{5/2}$ orbitals. The calculated level schemes for $^{62,64}\mathrm{Cr}$ reveal intriguing collective structures. From the predicted neutron particle-hole character of the low-lying states in these Cr isotopes, $^{62}\mathrm{Cr}$ emerges as a transitional system on the path to the center of the $N=40$ island of inversion.