Intruder configurations in neutron-rich 34P

Extensions to the yrast and near-yrast decay sequences of the neutron-rich nucleus 1534P19 have been established through an analysis of the γ deexcitation of fragments produced in deep-inelastic processes which occur when 230-MeV 36S ions interact with a thick target of 176Yb. The highly sensitive GASP array of escape-suppressed Ge detectors was used to measure the resulting γ-ray deexcitations of both projectilelike and targetlike fragments. Previously unobserved excited states in 34P were observed at 3351, 6236, 2320, and (4723) keV. Several states above an excitation energy of 2.3 MeV involve intruder configurations from the f7/2 shell. The investigation of negative parity intruder states on the periphery of the “island of inversion” has an important role to play in our understanding of the evolution of nuclear structure as the island of inversion is approached.