Finding a new region of deformation with radioactive ion beams
Abstract
We have used fast radioactive ion beams to investigate the evolution of shell structure from the well known behavior in the valley of stability towards that at the nuclear drip lines. The technique of intermediate energy Coulomb excitation allows the measurement of both the energies of the first excited states and of the strengths of E2 transitions (and hence nuclear deformations) for low intensity and very exotic neutron rich beams (ca. 10 particles/second). With this method we have found that very neutron rich nuclides (Z <= 20) with N=24 and N=26 are strongly deformed. However, at N=28, e.g. for ^44S, this collective deformation is strongly reduced. Thus shell closure remains important - even for these very neutron rich nuclei. Supported by the National Science Foundation under cooperative agreement PHY 95-28844.
- Publication:
-
APS Division of Nuclear Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- October 1996
- Bibcode:
- 1996APS..DNP..EA04G