The symmetry energy contribution to the nuclear equation of state impacts various phenomena in nuclear astrophysics, nuclear structure, and nuclear reactions. Its determination is a key objective of contemporary nuclear physics, with consequences for the understanding of dense matter within neutron stars. We examine the results of laboratory experiments that have provided initial constraints on the nuclear symmetry energy and on its density dependence at and somewhat below normal nuclear matter density. Even though some of these constraints have been derived from properties of nuclei while others have been derived from the nuclear response to electroweak and hadronic probes, within experimental uncertainties-they are consistent with each other. We also examine the most frequently used theoretical models that predict the symmetry energy and its slope parameter. By comparing existing constraints on the symmetry pressure to theories, we demonstrate how contributions of three-body forces, which are essential ingredients in neutron matter models, can be determined.

Evidence for the ground state of the neutron-unbound nucleus 26 O was observed for the first time in the single proton-knockout reaction from a 82 MeV/u 27 F beam. Neutrons were measured in coincidence with 24 O fragments. 26 O was determined to be unbound by 150 +50 −150 keV from the observation of low-energy neutrons. This result agrees with recent shell model calculations based on microscopic two-and three-nucleon forces.A major challenge in nuclear physics remains the description of nuclei based on fundamental interactions. "Ab-initio" approaches have been developed to calculate nuclear properties based on nucleon-nucleon scattering data up to A ∼ 12 [1]. Recent advances in nuclear theory made it possible to describe some fundamental properties of light nuclei up to oxygen based on two-and three-nucleon interactions [2][3][4][5][6]. On the way to heavier nuclides it will be critical for these models to describe the dramatic change in the location of the neutron dripline from oxygen (N = 16) to fluorine (N ≥ 22) which was first pointed out by Sakurai et al. [7]. The addition of one proton binds at least six additional neutrons. The two-neutron separation energy of 26 O serves as an important benchmark for these calculations. The majority of the current nuclear structure models predict 26 O to be bound [8][9][10][11][12][13] respect to two-neutron emission. 26 O is thus also an excellent candidate for di-neutron emission. Furthermore calculations by Grigorenko et al. predict that the emission of a pair of correlated neutrons might be hindered so that for very low decay energies lifetimes on the order of pico-to nanoseconds could be possible [27].We searched for unbound states in 26 O using oneproton knockout reactions from 27 F and by measuring neutrons in coincidence with 24 O fragments. Figure 1 shows a schematic level scheme of the possible decay paths for predicted states of 26 O. In this letter we present the first evidence for the observation of the unbound ground state of 26 O.

We report on the first observation of dineutron emission in the decay of 16Be. A single-proton knockout reaction from a 53  MeV/u 17B beam was used to populate the ground state of 16Be. 16Be is bound with respect to the emission of one neutron and unbound to two-neutron emission. The dineutron character of the decay is evidenced by a small emission angle between the two neutrons. The two-neutron separation energy of 16Be was measured to be 1.35(10) MeV, in good agreement with shell model calculations, using standard interactions for this mass region.