Physics Letters B (Oct 2018)

Neutron-hole states in 131Sn and spin-orbit splitting in neutron-rich nuclei

  • R. Orlandi,
  • S.D. Pain,
  • S. Ahn,
  • A. Jungclaus,
  • K.T. Schmitt,
  • D.W. Bardayan,
  • W.N. Catford,
  • R. Chapman,
  • K.A. Chipps,
  • J.A. Cizewski,
  • C.G. Gross,
  • M.E. Howard,
  • K.L. Jones,
  • R.L. Kozub,
  • B. Manning,
  • M. Matos,
  • K. Nishio,
  • P.D. O' Malley,
  • W.A. Peters,
  • S.T. Pittman,
  • A. Ratkiewicz,
  • C. Shand,
  • J.F. Smith,
  • M.S. Smith,
  • T. Fukui,
  • J.A. Tostevin,
  • Y. Utsuno

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 785
pp. 615 – 620

Abstract

Read online

In atomic nuclei, the spin-orbit interaction originates from the coupling of the orbital motion of a nucleon with its intrinsic spin. Recent experimental and theoretical works have suggested a weakening of the spin-orbit interaction in neutron-rich nuclei far from stability. To study this phenomenon, we have investigated the spin-orbit energy splittings of single-hole and single-particle valence neutron orbits of 132Sn. The spectroscopic strength of single-hole states in 131Sn was determined from the measured differential cross sections of the tritons from the neutron-removing 132Sn(d, t)131Sn reaction, which was studied in inverse kinematics at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The spectroscopic factors of the lowest 3/2+, 1/2+ and 5/2+ states were found to be consistent with their maximal values of (2j+1), confirming the robust N=82 shell closure at 132Sn. We compared the spin-orbit splitting of neutron single-hole states in 131Sn to those of single-particle states in 133Sn determined in a recent measurement of the 132Sn(d, p)133Sn reaction. We found a significant reduction of the energy splitting of the weakly bound 3p orbits compared to the well-bound 2d orbits, and that all the observed energy splittings can be reproduced remarkably well by calculations using a one-body spin-orbit interaction and a Woods–Saxon potential of standard radius and diffuseness. The observed reduction of spin-orbit splitting can be explained by the extended radial wavefunctions of the weakly bound orbits, without invoking a weakening of the spin-orbit strength. Keywords: Nuclear structure, Spin-orbit interaction, Transfer reactions, Doubly-magic nuclei, Shell model