Spectroscopy of Ar-46 by the (t, p) two-neutron transfer reaction

States in the N = 28 nucleus Ar-46 have been studied by a two-neutron transfer reaction at REX-ISOLDE (CERN). A beam of radioactive Ar-44 at an energy of 2.16 AMeV and a tritium-loaded titanium target were used to populate Ar-46 by the H-3(Ar-44, p) two-neutron transfer reaction. Protons emitted from the target were identified in the T-REX silicon detector array. The excitation energies of states in Ar-46 have been reconstructed from the measured angles and energies of recoil protons. Angular distributions for three final states were measured and based on the shape of the differential cross section an excited state at 3695 keV was identified as J(pi) = 0(+). The angular differential cross section for the population of different states are compared to calculations using a reaction model employing both sequential and direct transfer of two neutrons. Results are compared to shell-model calculations using state-of-the-art effective interactions.