Fine structure in the energy region of the isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance: characteristic scales from a wavelet analysis

Fine structure in the energy region of the isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance in nuclei is observed in high-resolution proton scattering experiments at iThemba LABS over a wide mass range. A novel method based on wavelet transforms is introduced for the extraction of scales characterizing the fine structure. A comparison with microscopic model calculations including two-particle two-hole (2p2h) degrees of freedom identifies the coupling to surface vibrations as the main source of the observed scales. A generic pattern is also found for the stochastic coupling to the background of the more complex states.