COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF LIGHT NEUTRON-RICH NUCLEI TO TEST MODERN NUCLEAR THEORETICAL MODELS

Light nuclei, in particular the ones on the neutron-rich side of the valley of stability, represent a fertile ground to look for new experimental evidence, which can be exploited to benchmark theoretical approaches. In this Thesis we provide an experimental investigation of neutron-rich nuclei from boron to oxygen, employing state-of-the-art experimental techniques and detection systems. Novel information is collected and compared with the most advanced theoretical predictions currently available. The research activity described in this work has been developed on three levels, each associated to a different research line, that mirror the characteristic structure of a nucleus: bound states below the particle emission thresholds, near-threshold states and unbound resonances. In fact, the first line of research aims at the investigation of bound states in neutron-rich C, N and O isotopes, the second focuses on near-threshold resonances (11B as a specific case), and the third on stretched unbound states in the continuum of 13C, 14N and 16O. Altogether, a rather comprehensive body of experimental information will be discussed and confronted with some of the most advanced theoretical interpretations currently available for describing light atomic nuclei, such as ab initio approaches and Shell Model including the coupling to the continuum.