Structure of $^{13}$Be studied in proton knockout from $^{14}$B

International audienceThe neutron-unbound isotope Be13 has been studied in several experiments using different reactions, different projectile energies, and different experimental setups. There is, however, no real consensus in the interpretation of the data, in particular concerning the structure of the low-lying excited states. Gathering new experimental information, which may reveal the Be13 structure, is a challenge, particularly in light of its bridging role between Be12, where the N=8 neutron shell breaks down, and the Borromean halo nucleus Be14. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of bound excited states in the reaction product Be12 after proton knockout from B14, by measuring coincidences between Be12, neutrons, and γ rays originating from de-excitation of states fed by neutron decay of Be13. The Be13 isotopes were produced in proton knockout from a 400 MeV/nucleon B14 beam impinging on a CH2 target. The Be12-n relative-energy spectrum dσ/dEfn was obtained from coincidences between Be12(g.s.) and a neutron, and also as threefold coincidences by adding γ rays, from the de-excitation of excited states in Be12. Neutron decay from the first 5/2+ state in Be13 to the 2+ state in Be12 at 2.11 MeV is confirmed. An energy independence of the proton-knockout mechanism is found from a comparison with data taken with a 35 MeV/nucleon B14 beam. A low-lying p-wave resonance in Be13(1/2−) is confirmed by comparing proton- and neutron-knockout data from B14 and Be14