Nuclear Level Density and Gamma-Ray Strength Function of 43Sc

The nuclear level density and the gamma-ray strength function have been determined for Sc-43 in the energy range up to 2 MeV below the neutron separation energy using the Oslo method with the 46Ti( p, alpha) Sc-43 reaction. A comparison to Sc-45 shows that the level density of Sc-43 is smaller by an approximately constant factor of two. This behavior is well reproduced in a microscopic, combinatorial model calculation. The gamma-ray strength function increases at low gamma-ray energies, a feature which has been observed in several nuclei but which still awaits theoretical explanation.