Proton Decay of(21)Na for(20)Ne Energy Levels

Abstract

The(24)Mg(p,alpha)Na-21 transfer reaction has been previously studied for a spectroscopic study of(21)Na [Chaet al., Phys. Rev. C96, 025810 (2017)]. In this follow-up analysis, the proton decays of the excited states of the radionuclide(21)Na, which were measured simultaneously, are reported. By investigating the coincidence between the reaction alpha-particles and decay protons, we were able to identify three groups of events that are associated with the energy levels in(20)Ne. The(20)Ne excitation energy plot was obtained as a result. The four lowest known energy levels in(20)Ne (the ground state and excited states atE(x)= 1.633, 4.247 and 4.966 MeV) were clearly observed.