Different mechanism of two-proton emission from proton-rich nuclei 23Al and 22Mg

Two-proton relative momentum (qppqpp) and opening angle (θppθpp) distributions from the three-body decay of two excited proton-rich nuclei, namely Al23→p+p+Na21 and Mg22→p+p+Ne20, have been measured with the projectile fragment separator (RIPS) at the RIKEN RI Beam Factory. An evident peak at qpp∼20 MeV/cqpp∼20 MeV/c as well as a peak in θppθpp around 30° are seen in the two-proton break-up channel from a highly-excited 22Mg. In contrast, such peaks are absent for the 23Al case. It is concluded that the two-proton emission mechanism of excited 22Mg is quite different from the 23Al case, with the former having a favorable diproton emission component at a highly excited state and the latter dominated by the sequential decay process.