Deep excursion beyond the proton dripline. I. Argon and chlorine isotope chains

Abstract

The proton-unbound argon and chlorine isotopes have been studied by measuring trajectories of their decay-in-flight products by using a tracking technique with micro-strip detectors. The proton ($1p$) and two-proton ($2p$) emission processes have been detected in the measured angular correlations "heavy-fragment"+$p$ and "heavy-fragment"+$p$+$p$, respectively. The ground states of the previously unknown isotopes $^{30}$Cl and $^{28}$Cl have been observed for the first time, providing the $1p$-separation energies $S_p$ of $-0.48(2)$ and $-1.60(8)$ MeV, respectively. The relevant systematics of $1p$ and $2p$ separations energies have been studied theoretically in the core+$p$ and core+$p$+$p$ cluster models. The first-time observed excited states of $^{31}$Ar allow to infer the $2p$-separation energy $S_{2p}$ of 6(34) keV for its ground state. The first-time observed state in $^{29}$Ar with $S_{2p} = -5.50(18)$ MeV can be identified either as a ground or an excited state according to different systematics.