Shell evolution and the N=34 "magic number"

Measurements of de-excitation gamma rays in coincidence with target-like residues produced in deep inelastic transfer reactions of U-238 on a Ca-48 target at an energy near the Coulomb barrier are presented. A systematic analysis, within a shell model approach, of the measured low-lying states in the odd and even neutron-rich Ca isotopes points toward a possible absence of a predicted shell closure at N=34.