Magnetic dipole excitations of 50Cr

The low-lying M 1-strength of the open-shell nucleus 50 Cr has been studied with the method of nuclear resonance fluorescence up to 9.7 MeV, using bremsstrahlung at the superconducting Darmstadt linear electron accelerator S-DALINAC and Compton backscattered photons at the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HIγS) facility between 6 and 9.7 MeV of the initial photon energy. Fifteen 1+ states have been observed between 3.6 and 9.7 MeV. Following our analysis, the lowest 1+ state at 3.6 MeV can be considered as an isovector orbital mode with some spin admixture. The obtained results generally match the estimations and trends typical for the scissors mode. Detailed calculations within the Skyrme Quasiparticle Random-Phase-Approximation method and the Large-Scale Shell Model justify our conclusions. The calculated distributions of the orbital current for the lowest 1+ -state suggest the schematic view of Lipparini and Stringari (isovector rotation-like oscillations inside the rigid surface) rather than the scissors-like picture of Lo Iudice and Palumbo. The spin M1 resonance is shown to be mainly generated by spin-flip transitions between the orbitals of the f p-shell.