High-spin states in 38K

High-spin states in ³⁸K are investigated with the ²⁴Mg(¹⁶O, pnγ)³⁸K reaction at $\text{E(}{}^{16}\text{O}\text{) = 36–44}\text{MeV}$. A recently developed Compton-suppression spectrometer with 120 msr solid angle and a pulsed beam are employed to study their γ-decay. For the E4 transition from the isomeric level at E_x = 3458 keV to the ground state a branching ratio of (0.15 ± 0.02)% is found. On the basis of angular distribution and polarization measurements, in which the delayed feeding component is eliminated, spin-parity assignments are obtained of J^π(2646 keV) = (2, 4)^?, J^π(3420 keV) = (4, 6)^? and J^π(3458 keV) = (5, 7)⁺. Prompt-delayed and prompt γγ coincidence experiments are performed to locate high-spin levels above the isomer. Hitherto unobserved levels of high spin are found at E_x = 5254, 7397, 8693, 8747 and 10980 keV and assignments of J^π = (9⁺), (10^?), (12^?), (11^?) and (13^?) respectively, are suggested by weak-coupling considerations. The experimental results are compared with a large-scale shell-model calculation performed in a configuration space with a ²⁸Si core and ten active particles distributed over the ($\text{2}\text{s}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{, 1}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{, 1}\text{f}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>7</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{, 2}\text{p}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{)}$ shells. The high-spin states appear to have a rather simple shell-model structure.