26Si excited states via one-neutron removal from a 27Si radioactive ion beam

A study of 26Si states by neutron removal from a fast radioactive beam of 27Si has been performed. A beam of 27Si of energy 84.3 MeV/nucleon impinged on a polypropylene foil (C3H6) of 180 mg/cm2 thickness. Deexcitation γ rays were detected with a highly segmented germanium detector array, in coincidence with the 26Si recoils, and the corresponding 26Si level energies were determined. In comparing our results to two previous γ-ray spectroscopic studies of 26Si level structures, we find good agreement with a recent measurement of the 12C(16O,2nγ)26Si reaction. Our results support the use of excitation energies from that study in helping determine the important resonance energies for the thermonuclear 25Al(p,γ)26Si reaction rate. We do not observe a bound state at 4093 keV reported in an earlier study of the 24Mg(3He,nγ)26Si reaction.