Shape coexistence in the N = 19 neutron-rich nucleus ³¹Mg explored by β–γ spectroscopy of spin-polarized ³¹Na

The structure of excited states in the neutron-rich nucleus ³¹Mg, which is in the region of the “island of inversion” associated with the neutron magic number N=20, is studied by β–γ spectroscopy of spin-polarized ³¹Na. Among the ³¹Mg levels below the one neutron separation energy of 2.3 MeV, the spin values of all five positive-parity levels are unambiguously determined by observing the anisotropic β decay. Two rotational bands with K^π=1/2⁺ and 1/2⁻ are proposed based on the spins and energies of the levels. Comparison on a level-by-level basis is performed between the experimental results and theoretical calculations by the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics (AMD) plus generator coordinate method (GCM). It is found that various nuclear structures coexist in the low excitation energy region in ³¹Mg.