Neutron transfer reactions on the ground and isomeric states of a ¹³⁰Sn beam

The structure of nuclei around ¹³²Sn is of particular interest due to the vicinity of the Z = 50 and N = 82 shell closures and the r-process path. Four states in ¹³¹Sn with a strong single-particle-like component have previously been studied via the (d,p) reaction, with limited excitation energy resolution. The ¹³⁰Sn(⁹Be,⁸Be)¹³¹Sn and ¹³⁰Sn(¹³C,¹²C)¹³¹Sn single-neutron transfer reactions were performed in inverse kinematics at the former Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory using particle-γ coincidence spectroscopy. The uncertainties in the energies of the single-particle-like states have been greatly reduced by using the energies of γ rays. The previous tentative J^π values have been confirmed. Decays from high-spin states in ¹³¹Sn have been observed following transfer on the isomeric component of the ¹³⁰Sn beam. This is the first measurement of transfer on an isomer in the ¹³²Sn region. The improved energies and confirmed spin-parities of the p-wave states important to the r-process lead to direct-semidirect cross-sections for neutron capture on the ground state of ¹³⁰Sn at 30 keV that are in agreement with previous analyses. A similar assessment of the impact of neutron-transfer on the isomer would require significant nuclear structure and reaction theory input.