Shell evolution and the N=34 “magic number”

Measurements of de–excitation gamma–rays in coincidence with target-like residues produced in deep inelastic transfer reactions of $^{238}$U on a $^{48}$Ca target at an energy near the Coulomb barrier are presented. A systematic analysis of the measured low lying states in the odd and even neutron-rich Ca isotopes shows the absence of a predicted shell closure at N = 34 in neutron-rich calcium isotopes