Low-lying dipole response in the stable 40,48Ca nuclei within the second random-phase approximation

The low-lying dipole strength distributions of 40CaCa and 48Ca, in the energy region between 5 and 10 MeV, are studied within the second random phase approximation (RPA) with Skyrme interaction. Standard RPA models do not usually predict any presence of strength in this energy region, while experimentally a significant amount of strength is found. The inclusion of the 2 particle −2 hole configurations allows to obtain a description in a rather good agreement with the experimental data. The properties of the most collective state are analyzed in terms of its 1 particle −1 hole nature and its transition densities.