Investigation of the 10Li shell inversion by neutron continuum transfer reaction

This Letter reports a study of the highly debated 10Li structure through the d(9Li,p)10Li one-neutron transfer reaction at 100 MeV. The 10Li energy spectrum is measured up to 4.6 MeV and angular distributions corresponding to different excitation energy regions are reported for the first time. The comparison between data and theoretical predictions, including pairing correlation effects, shows the existence of a p1/2 resonance at 0.45±0.03  MeV excitation energy, while no evidence for a significant s-wave contribution close to the threshold energy is observed. Moreover, two high-lying structures are populated at 1.5 and 2.9 MeV. The corresponding angular distributions suggest a significant s1/2 partial-wave contribution for the 1.5 MeV structure and a mixing of configurations at higher energy, with the d5/2 partial-wave contributing the most to the cross section.