Exploring the halo character and dipole response in the dripline nucleus 31F

Background: Lying at the lower edge of the island of inversion, neutron-rich fluorine isotopes (F29-31) provide a curious case to study the configuration mixing in this part of the nuclear landscape. Recent studies have suggested that a prospective two-neutron halo in the dripline nucleus F-31 could be linked to the occupancy of the pf intruder configurations. Purpose: Focusing on configuration mixing, matter radii, and neutron-neutron (nn) correlations in the ground state of F-31, we explore various scenarios to analyze its possible halo nature as well as the low-lying electric dipole (E1) response within a three-body approach. Method: We use an analytical, transformed harmonic oscillator basis under the aegis of a hyperspherical formalism to construct the ground-state three-body wave function of F-31. The nn interaction is defined by the Gogny-Pires-Tourreil potential that includes the central, spin-orbit, and tensor terms, while the different two-body potentials to describe the core + n subsystems are constrained by the different possible scenarios considered. Results: The F-31 ground-state configuration mixing and its matter radius are computed for different choices of the F-30 structure coupled to the valence neutron. The admixture of p(3/2), d(3/2), and f(7/2) components is found to play an important role, favoring the dominance of inverted configurations with dineutron spreads for two-neutron halo formation. The increase in matter radius with respect to the core radius, Delta r greater than or similar to 0.30 fm and the dipole distributions along with the integrated B(E1) strengths of >= 2.6 e(2)fm(2) are large enough to be compatible with other two-neutron halo nuclei. Conclusion: Three-body results for F-31 indicate a large spatial extension in its ground state due to the inversion of the energy levels of the normal shell model scheme. The increase is augmented by and is proportional to the extent of the p(3/2) component in the wave function. Additionally, the enhanced dipole distributions and large B(E1) strengths all point to the two-neutron halo character of F-31.

Automated summary

This study investigates the configuration mixing, matter radii, and neutron-neutron correlations in the neutron-rich fluorine isotope F-31. The results suggest the presence of a two-neutron halo in F-31, supported by the configuration mixing and increase in matter radius. The findings also indicate the low-lying electric dipole response as a characteristic of the halo nature.