Relative population of oblate and prolate structures in189Au

High spin states of¹⁸⁹Au were populated via the¹⁷⁴Yb (¹⁹F, 4n reaction at 86, 90, 95 and 100 MeV beam energies. The study of the relative population of oblate and prolate structures shows a striking disappearance of the prolate band relative to the oblate ones as the beam energy goes from 86 to 100 MeV.     

Evidence for shape coexistence in186Pt

High-spin states in¹⁸⁶Pt have been populated by the¹⁸⁸Os (α, 6n) reaction and were investigated with the OSIRIS spectrometer. A shape coexistence at high spins was established in the nucleus¹⁸⁶Pt, which lies on the border between light prolate and heavy oblate Pt nuclei. Two bands corresponding to predominantly prolate shapes and one band of predominantly oblate shape have been observed. For prolate shapes a (π h _9/2)² alignment and for oblate shapesa (vi _13/2)² alignment has been found.     

Nuclear reorientation effects for the 26Mg, 28Si(12C, 12C′) reactions at E = 41 MeV

Angular distributions for elastic and inelastic scattering of 41 MeV ¹²C from ²⁶Mg and ²⁸Si have been measured. Corresponding angular distributions from coupled-channels calculations show significant differences depending on whether a prolate or an oblate intrinsic shape is assumed. The ²⁶Mg and ²⁸Si data are best described by calculations with prolate and oblate shapes, respectively, in agreement with previous Coulomb excitation rorientation measurements. The Hendrie scaling procedure fails to accurately predict the measured nuclear β₂ deformation for ²⁶Mg.     

α-particle model of the rotation spectrum of 12C

It is shown that the 0⁺, 2⁺, 4⁺ rotation spectrum and an oblate deformed ground state for ¹²C are consistent with a simple α-particle model for its long range structure.     

High spin states in116,118Te

High spin states in^116,118Te, populated in¹⁰²Ru(¹⁹F,p ⁴ n) and¹¹⁰Pd (¹³C, 5n) reactions, have been studied throughγ-ray spectroscopy. The level schemes have been established up toI?25?. A favouredI ^π = 16⁺ state in these nuclei is suggested to be based on the fully alignedπ[(g _7/2)²]₆ ⁺?ν[(h _11/2)²]₁₀ ⁺ non-collective oblate configuration. This assignment is supported by TRS cranking calculations, which also predict similar non-collective oblate assignment for states at 14^?, 19^? and 22^? in these nuclei.     

Contact density and number of 5s electrons inβ-Sn

Lifetimes and feeding times of high spin states in ¹⁵⁶ Er have been measured employing the recoil distance method in the reaction ¹²³ Sb(³⁷ Cl,4n) at bombarding energies of 158 and 166 MeV. The yrast states up to spin 20 ? were found to be collective. These levels are fed, however, from long-lived high spin states, causing time delays up to ～ 100 ps, the existence of which is interpreted as a signature for an oblate shape at high spin.     

The effect of nuclear and Coulomb interactions on the nuclear shapes of two colliding208Pb nuclei

Using a complex energy density functional derived from the Reid soft-core potential, the changes in nuclear shapes of two colliding²⁰⁸Pb are investigated. At each separation distanceR, the total binding energy of the Pb + Pb system is minimized w.r.t. the quadrupole deformation and diffuseness parameters of nuclear densities. It is found that the nuclear shapes are strongly affected by the nuclear and Coulomb interactions. A sudden transition occurs from oblate to prolate shapes around R16.8fm and a smooth one from prolate to oblate shapes aroundR?11.76 fm.     

First evidence of the magnetic character of dipole transitions in the “oblate bands” of199Pb

Internal conversion coefficients have been determined from online measurement of electron- and y- ray emission related to the dipole transitions in the so-called oblate collective bands in ¹⁹⁹Pb.The results strongly support the M1 (or M1+E2) character of these transitions.     

The static quadrupole moment of the first excited state of 198Hg

The first direct evidence of oblate nuclear deformation in the even-A mercury isotopes has been obtained by measurement of the static quadrupole moment of the first excited state of ¹⁹⁸Hg using the reorientation effect in Coulomb excitation.     

The 61/2+ yrast isomer in149Tb

An isomeric state (T _1/2=4.0±0.2ns, E ^*=9.915 MeV,I _π=61/2⁺)has been found in ¹⁴⁹ Tb by measuring the half-life of the K internal conversion line of the 184 keV E2 deexciting transition. The breaking of the neutron core is theoretically expected at that spin resulting in sizeable increase of the oblate deformation.     

Level structure of 148Gd up to I=44

The level scheme of ¹⁴⁸Gd has been extended to I=44 by use of a Compton-suppressed Ge spectrometer array. Up to I=38 the observed level spectrum consists of spherical and oblate states of aligned-particle type. A change in structure along the yrast line is indicated at higher spins, where fast E2 transitions suggest the onset of collectivity.     

Shape coexistence in the odd-odd 186Au nucleus

Low-spin states of ¹⁸⁶Au have been studied from the β⁺/EC decay of ¹⁸⁶Hg using the ISOCELE facility. Precise conversion-electron measurements were performed with a semicircular magnetic spectrograph. The ¹⁸⁶Au level scheme has been established with spin and parity assignments deduced from transition multipolarities and log $\text{?t}$ values. It shows two separate groups of levels which could be interpreted as due to shape coexistence: prolate deformation for the first low-lying states, and oblate deformation for the 251.5 keV (2^?) and 363.6 keV (1 ⁺) states.     

Non-collective oblate states in119Te

High spin states of¹¹⁹Te, populated in¹¹⁰Pd(¹³C, 4n) and¹¹⁰Pd(¹²C, 3n) reactions, have been studied throughγ-ray spectroscopy. The level scheme has been established up to j^π=(55/2^?). Three-quasiparticle states, based onπg ₇ ^2/2 ?vh _11/2 andπg _7/2 d _5/2?vh _11/2 configurations, have been identified. A particularly favoured 39/2^? state is suggested to be the fully aligned [πg ₇ ^2/2 ]₆₊?[vh ₁₁ ^2/3 ]_27/2? yrast non-collective oblate configuration. This assignment is supported by Total Routhian Surface (TRS) calculations which also suggest a similar oblate assignment to states at 21/2^?, 23/2^? and 37/2^?.     

Shape coexistence at high spin in187Au

High-spin states in¹⁸⁷Au have been populated in the¹⁷²Yb(¹⁹F, 4n) reaction and studied with in-beam spectroscopic techniques using the “Château de Cristal” 4π-multidetector array. A comprehensive level scheme of¹⁸⁷Au has been established. Experimental band crossing frequencies and gains in alignment were deduced. Shape coexistence in¹⁸⁷Au, well established at low spin, is found to survive up to spin 57/2, and manifests itself through well separated oblate and prolate structures.     

Coexisting structures in 119I

High-spin structures of ¹¹⁹I have been studied by using ¹³C and ¹⁵N induced reactions. In all, fifteen ΔI = 1 or 2 bands belonging to ¹¹⁹I were found. No evidence was found for bands with collective oblate shape, instead, all the observed rotational bands were interpreted to possess a collective prolate shape. A rich tapestry of noncollective states of both negative and positive parity was observed. Based on TRS calculations various configurations at β₂ ≈ 0.17 and γ = 60° were assigned to these states.     

Rotational bands on few-particle excitations of very high spin

An RPA formalism is developed to investigate the existence and properties of slow collective rotation around a non-symmetric axis, when there already exists a large angular momentum K along the symmetry axis built up by aligned single-particle spins. Both repeatability and E2 collectivity are required to distinguish the collective rotational-like solutions from the others, which may come lower in energy. First the formalism is applied to bands on high-K isomers in the well-deformed nucleus ¹⁷⁹Hf, where the rotational-model picture is reproduced for intermediate K-values in agreement with experiment. At high K the collectivity is suppressed even more than the diminishing vector-coupling coefficient of the rotational model would suggest, but the repeatability actually improves. The moment of inertia is predicted to remain substantially smaller than the rigid-body value, so the bands slope up steeply from the yrast line at spins where pairing effects are gone. A second application is to the initially spherical nucleus ²¹²Rn, which is believed to acquire an oblate deformation that increases steadily with K due to the oblate shape of the aligned orbitals. In this case the rotational-like excitations also exist but are still less favoured than in ¹⁷⁶Hf, even at comparable deformations. Some collective states may come closer to the average yrast trend, but they have lower repeatability because they are more like dressed single-particle excitations. The main differences between the two nuclei studied is interpreted as a general consequence of their different shell structure.     

Relative population of the oblate and prolate structures in187Au

The population of the oblate and the prolate structures in¹⁸⁷Au has been studied using the “Château de Cristal” set-up through the¹⁷²Yb(¹⁹F, 4n) reaction at 90, 95 and 100 MeV beam energy. γ — γ, γ-Fold and γ -Sum energy coincidence measurements were performed, γ-ray intensity measurements showed that as the beam energy increases the prolate system is less populated than the oblate one. Fold and Sum-energy associated with oblate and prolate structures showed a different behaviour with increasing beam energy. Two mechanisms are suggested to explain these results.     

Evidence for nuclear shape coexistence in180Hg

Theγ decay in the radiative fusion reaction⁹⁰Zr+⁹⁰Zr→¹⁸⁰Hg+xγ has been observed in an array of NaI detectors. States up to 6⁺ in the yrast sequence of¹⁸⁰Hg are tentatively assigned and suggest the coexistence of weakly oblate and strongly prolate nuclear shapes. The difference in potential energy between the two inferred shapes has dropped to about 200 keV, continuing the downward trend observed in the heavier even isotopes^188–182Hg.     

Searching for high-K isomers in the proton-rich A～80 mass region

Configuration-constrained potential-energy-surface calculations have been performed to investigate the K isomerism in the proton-rich A～ 80 mass region. An abundance of high-K states are predicted. These high-K states arise from two and four-quasi-particle excitations, with K~π= 8~+ and K~π= 16~+, respectively. Their excitation energies are comparatively low, making them good candidates for long-lived isomers. Since most nuclei under study are prolate spheroids in their ground states, the oblate shapes of the predicted high-K states may indicate a combination of K isomerism and shape isomerism.     

High spin states in121Te

High spin states of¹²¹Te, populated in the¹¹⁴Cd(¹¹B,p3n) reaction, have been studied throughγ-ray spectroscopy. The level scheme has been established up toJ ^π=51/2^?. Three-quasiparticle states, based on the πg _7/2 ²?νh _11/2 andπg _7/2 d _5/2?νh _11/2 configurations, have been identified. A favoured 39/2^? state is suggested to be the fully aligned [πg _7/2 ²]₆₊?[νh _11/2 ³ _27/2? yrast non-collective oblate configuration. This assignment is supported by Total Routhian Surface (TRS) calculations which also suggest a similar oblate assignment to the states atJ ^π=21/2^? and 23/2^?. A higher 47/2^? state is also found and is suggested to be the fully aligned [πg _7/2 ²]₆₊?[νh _11/2 ⁵]_35/2? configuration.