α clustering and neutron-skin thickness of carbon isotopes

The interplay between the formation of neutron skin and α cluster at the dilute surface of neutron-rich nuclei is one of the interesting subjects in the study of neutron-rich nuclei and nuclear clustering. A theoretical model has predicted that the growth of neutron skin will prevent the α clustering at nuclear surface. Quite recently, this theoretical perspective, the suppression of α clustering by the neutron-skin formation, was firstly confirmed experimentally in Sn isotopes as the reduction of the (p,pα) reaction cross section. Motivated by the novel discovery, in this work, we have investigated the relationship between the neutron-skin thickness and α clustering in C isotopes. Based on the analysis by the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics, we show that the α spectroscopic factor at nuclear exterior decreases in neutron-rich C isotopes, and the clustering suppression looks correlated with the growth of the neutron-skin thickness.