Anti-analog giant dipole resonances and the neutron skin of nuclei

We examine a method to determine the neutron-skin thickness of nuclei using data on the charge-exchange anti-analog giant dipole resonance (AGDR). Calculations performed using the relativistic proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation (pn-RQRPA) reproduce the isotopic trend of the excitation energies of the AGDR, as well as that of the spin-flip giant dipole resonances (IVSGDR), in comparison to available data for the even-even isotopes Sn112-124. It is shown that the excitation energies of the AGDR, obtained using a set of density-dependent effective interactions which span a range of the symmetry energy at saturation density, supplemented with the experimental values, provide a stringent constraint on value of the neutron-skin thickness. For Sn-124, in particular, we determine the value Delta R-pn = 0.21 +/- 0.05 fm. The result of the present study shows that a measurement of the excitation energy of the AGDR in (p, n) reactions using rare-isotope beams in inverse kinematics, provides a valuable method for the determination of neutron-skin thickness in exotic nuclei. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.