Coulomb excitation of the vertical bar T-z vertical bar=1/2, A=23 mirror pair

Abstract

Background: Electric-quadrupole (E2) strengths relate to the underlying quadrupole deformation of a nucleus and present a challenge for many nuclear theories. Mirror nuclei in the vicinity of the line of N = Z represent a convenient laboratory for testing deficiencies in such models, making use of the isospin symmetry of the systems. Purpose: Uncertainties associated with literature E2 strengths in Mg-23 are some of the largest in T-z = vertical bar 1/2 vertical bar nuclei in the sd shell. The purpose of the present paper is to improve the precision with which these values are known, to enable better comparison with theoretical models. Methods: Coulomb-excitation measurements of Mg-23 and Na-23 were performed at the TRIUMF-ISAC facility using the TIGRESS spectrometer. They were used to determine the E2 matrix elements of mixed E2/M1 transitions. Results: Reduced E2 transition strengths, B(E2), were extracted for Mg-23 and Na-23. Their precision was improved by factors of approximately 6 for both isotopes, while agreeing within uncertainties with previous measurements. Conclusions: A comparison was made with both shell-model and ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group calculations. Valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group calculations were found to underpredict the absolute E2 strength, in agreement with previous studies.