Evolution of the N=20 and 28 shell gaps and two-particle-two-hole states in the FSU interaction

Abstract

The FSU $spsdfp$ cross-shell interaction for the shell model was successfully fitted to a wide range of mostly intruder negative parity states of the $sd$ shell nuclei. This paper reports the application of the FSU interaction to systematically trace out the relative positions of the effective single-particle energies of the $0f_{7/2}$ and $1p_{3/2}$ orbitals, the evolution from normally ordered low-lying states to the "Island of Inversion" (IoI), and the behavior of a wide range of excited states with a $0f_{7/2}$ proton and neutron coupled to maximum spin of $7 \hbar$. Above a proton number of about 13 the $0f_{7/2}$ orbital lies below that of $1p_{3/2}$, which is considered normal ordering, but systematically at $Z = 10$ to $12$ the orbitals cross. The calculations reproduce well the 2p2h - 0p0h inversion in the configurations of nuclei inside the IoI, they reproduce the absolute binding energies and the transition to normal ordering as the proton number approaches that of the neutrons. The important role of $1p_{3/2}$ neutron pairs in the IoI is also demonstrated. The calculations account well for the energies of the fully aligned states with 0, 1, or 2 individual $sd$ nucleon aligned in spin with the aligned $\pi 0f_{7/2}$ - $\nu 0f_{7/2}$ pair and reproduce well their systematic variation with $A$ and number of aligned $sd$ nucleons. The results presented in this paper give hope for the predictive power of the FSU interaction for more exotic nuclei to be explored in near future.