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REVIEW article

Front. Phys.
Sec. Nuclear Physics​
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphy.2024.1511402
This article is part of the Research Topic Modern Advances in Direct Reactions for Nuclear Structure View all articles

Using Intermediate Energy Knockout, Pickup, and Charge Exchange Reactions with Invariant Mass Spectroscopy for Investigating Nuclear Structure Beyond the Proton Drip Line

Provisionally accepted
Lee G Sobotka Lee G Sobotka *R. J. Charity R. J. Charity
  • Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The continuum structure of light p-rich elements has been extensively studied in recent years by invariant-mass spectroscopy. The feeble Coulomb barrier for light proton-rich nuclei makes proton decay an essential tool in this region not unlike alpha decay is in the trans-Pb region and neutron-deficient rare earths. Unlike binary alpha decay, the part of the Chart of the Nuclides this mini review will focus on can undergo decay into many-particle final states and invariant-mass spectroscopy is the frame-invariant and multi-particle replacement for simple binary alpha-particle spectroscopy. Here we highlight how pairing is reflected in the zig-zaggy pattern of the drip line, the decay of nuclides beyond the drip lines, and what the masses of nuclides exterior to the p-drip line have taught us about shell structure. In this context, the subtlety of removing the Wigner, or n-p congruence, energy when interpreting nucleon separation-energy systematics is discussed.We also present examples of where isospin symmetry is maintained in the continuum and where it is not.

    Keywords: Invariant mass, Wigner energy, Intermediate energy, shell structure, Reactions

    Received: 14 Oct 2024; Accepted: 29 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sobotka and Charity. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lee G Sobotka, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.