Recoil-decay tagging of 180-Pb
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
One of the striking features of the atomic nucleus is its ability to adopt different deformed shapes for small changes in the total energy of this system. A prominent region for shape coexistence is in the light lead nuclei, where the nucleus is spherical in its ground state but can easily take on oblate or prolate deformations. We intend to perform a discriminating test of nuclear models by investigating the structure of the very exotic lead nucleus, 180-Pb, for the first time. This isotope with 26 neutrons less than the common, stable isotope of lead has a half-life of only a few milliseconds. This challenging measurement will allow us to explore the exotic effects observed on reaching the proton drip-line.
Organisations
Publications
Rahkila P
(2010)
Shape coexistence at the proton drip-line: First identification of excited states in Pb 180
in Physical Review C
| Description | A recoil-decay-tagging study of 180Pb was carried out a the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. The data have been published. |
| Exploitation Route | It encourages follow up work by others using the same technique. |
| Sectors | Education |
| Description | They have been taken up by theorists who want to better understand shape coexistence in nuclei and can use the data to challenge their models. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2010 |