Prospective candidates for the two-proton decay studies I: structure and Coulomb energies of 17Ne and 19Mg Original Research Article

We discuss perspectives of studies of two-proton emission from the unbound ground state of 19Mg. The structure of 19Mg and the emission process are studied in a three-body model. Accurate estimates of the decay energy are provided in order to estimate the lifetime. We conclude that observation of the fragments from the in-flight decay of the nucleus, created by high-energy fragmentation, is an adequate experimental technique for the broad range of possible lifetimes of 19Mg. The 17Ne nucleus is studied in a three-body model to calibrate the model for 19Mg. Basing on the Coulomb displacement energy analysis the weight of the s2 component in 17Ne is predicted to be 40–50%.