In-beam γ -ray spectroscopy of P 37 – 42

The level schemes of the neutron-rich $^{37--42}\mathrm{P}$ isotopes are investigated via in-beam $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectroscopy following the fragmentation of a $^{45}\mathrm{Cl}$ projectile beam at intermediate beam energies. Information on $\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ coincidence relationships complemented by comparisons to shell-model calculations in the $sd\text{\ensuremath{-}}pf$ model space were used to construct excitation level schemes for these neutron-rich nuclei. For the odd-mass $^{37,39}\mathrm{P}$ isotopes, a level scheme is presented that appears essentially complete at low energies and exhausts the states predicted by the SDPF-MU shell-model Hamiltonian. Simple Nilsson configurations are proposed for the low-lying excited states of $^{38,39,40,41}\mathrm{P}$ from an analysis of the $E2$ transition matrix elements and moments calculated within the shell model.