Investigation of the 10Li shell inversion by neutron continuum transfer reaction

Abstract

This Letter reports a study of the highly debated ¹⁰Li structure through the d(⁹Li, p)¹⁰Li one-neutron transfer reaction at 100 MeV. The ¹⁰Li energy spectrum is measured up to 4.6 MeV and angular distributions corresponding to different excitation energy regions are reported for the first time. The comparison between data and theoretical predictions, including pairing correlation effects, shows the existence of a p_1/2 resonance at 0.45 ± 0.03 MeV excitation energy, while no evidence for a significant s-wave contribution close to the threshold energy is observed. Moreover, two high-lying structures are populated at 1.5 and 2.9 MeV. The corresponding angular distributions suggest a significant s_1/2 partial-wave contribution for the 1.5 MeV structure and a mixing of configurations at higher energy, with the d_5/2 partial-wave contributing the most to the cross section.