Low-lying dipole strength in the N = 28 shell-closure nucleus 52 Cr

The low-lying dipole strength of the N=28 closed-shell nucleus ⁵²Cr was studied with nuclear resonance fluorescence up to 9.9 MeV, using bremsstrahlung at the superconducting Darmstadt linear electron accelerator S-DALINAC. Twenty-eight spin-1 states were observed between 5.0 and 9.5 MeV excitation energy, 14 of which for the first time. Both electric dipole excitations (E1, around 8 MeV) and magnetic dipole excitations (M1, around 9 MeV) were detected. Microscopic calculations within the quasiparticle-phonon nuclear model were performed and show good agreement with experimental results. The structure of E1 and M1 excitations, respectively, is discussed.