Quantum mechanics

Deformation (meteorology)

Chromatography

Nuclear physics

Atomic physics

Excitation

Computer science

Radium

Matrix (chemical analysis)

Physics

Coulomb

Coulomb excitation

Excited state

Chemistry

Electron

Meteorology

Isotope

Physical Review Letters

There is sparse direct experimental evidence that atomic nuclei can exhibit stable "pear" shapes arising from strong octupole correlations. In order to investigate the nature of octupole collectivity in radium isotopes, electric octupole (E3) matrix elements have been determined for transitions in ^{222,228}Ra nuclei using the method of sub-barrier, multistep Coulomb excitation. Beams of the radioactive radium isotopes were provided by the HIE-ISOLDE facility at CERN. The observed pattern of E3 matrix elements for different nuclear transitions is explained by describing ^{222}Ra as pear shaped with stable octupole deformation, while ^{228}Ra behaves like an octupole vibrator.

Evolution of Octupole Deformation in Radium Nuclei from Coulomb Excitation of Radioactive <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mmultiscripts><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Ra</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mprescripts /><mml:none /><mml:mrow><mml:mn>222</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:mmultiscripts></mml:mrow></mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mmultiscripts><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Ra</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml…

Evolution of Octupole Deformation in Radium Nuclei from Coulomb Excitation of Radioactive Ra222 and Ra