Study of the Isomeric State in $^{16}$N Using the $^{16}$N$^{g,m}$($d$,$^3$He) Reaction

• Main Authors: Tang, T. L, Hoffman, C. R, Kay, B. P, Tolstukhin, I. A, Almaraz-Calderon, S, Asher, B. W, Avila, M. L, Ayyad, Y, Brown, K. W, Bazin, D, Chen, J, Chipps, K. A, Copp, P. A, Hall, M, Jayatissa, H, Ong, H. J, Santiago-Gonzalez, D, Sharp, D. K, Song, J, Stolze, S, Wilson, G. L, Wu, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 20.12.2021
• Subjects: Physics - Nuclear Experiment; Physics - Nuclear Theory
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2112.10742

The isomeric state of $^{16}$N was studied using the $^{16}$N$^{g,m}$($d$,$^3$He)~proton-removal reactions at \mbox{11.8~MeV/$u$} in inverse kinematics. The $^{16}$N beam, of which 24% was in the isomeric state, was produced using the ATLAS in-fight facility and delivered to the HELIOS spectrometer, which was used to analyze the $^{3}$He ions from the ($d$,$^{3}$He) reactions. The simultaneous measurement of reactions on both the ground and isomeric states, reduced the systematic uncertainties from the experiment and in the analysis. A direct and reliable comparison of the relative spectroscopic factors was made based on a Distorted-Wave Born Approximation approach. The experimental results suggest that the isomeric state of $^{16}$N is an excited neutron-halo state. The results can be understood through calculations using a Woods-Saxon potential model, which captures the effects of weak-binding.