Two-neutron knockout reactions from nuclei in the proximity of the proton dripline have been studied using intermediate-energy beams of neutron-deficient $^{ 34}$Ar, $^{ 30}$S, and $^{ 26}$Si. The inclusive cross sections, and also the partial cross sections for the population of individual bound final states of the $^{ 32}$Ar, $^{ 28}$S and $^{ 24}$Si knockout residues, have been determined using the combination of particle and $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy. Similar to the two-proton knockout mechanism on the neutron-rich side of the nuclear chart, these two-neutron removal reactions from already neutron-deficient nuclei are also shown to be consistent with a direct reaction mechanism.
Categories: nucl-ex