DOE OSTI · 2516772
Deformation and Collectivity in Doubly Magic 208 Pb
Abstract
Lead-208 is the heaviest known doubly magic nucleus and its structure is therefore of special interest. Despite this magicity, which acts to provide a strong restorative force toward sphericity, it is known to exhibit both strong octupole correlations and some of the strongest quadrupole collectivity observed in doubly magic systems. In this Letter, we employ state-of-the-art experimental equipment to conclusively demonstrate, through four Coulomb-excitation measurements, the presence of a large, negative, spectroscopic quadrupole moment for both the vibrational octupole 3$^{−}_{1}$ and quadrupole 2$^{+}_{1}$ state, indicative of a preference for prolate deformation of the states. The observed quadrupole moment is discussed in the context of the expected splitting of the 3 − ⊗3 − two-phonon states, due to the coupling of the quadrupole and octupole motion. These results are compared with theoretical values from three different methods, which are unable to reproduce both the sign and magnitude of this deformation. Thus, in spite of its well-studied nature, 208 Pb remains a puzzle for our understanding of nuclear structure.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Henderson, J. [University of Surrey (United Kingdom); et al.] (ORCID:0000000260109644), Heery, J. [University of Surrey] (ORCID:0000000230239907), Rocchini, M. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze; University of Guelph] (ORCID:0000000168690181), Siciliano, M. [Argonne National Laboratory] (ORCID:0000000245980298), Sensharma, N. [Argonne National Laboratory] (ORCID:0000000250469451), Ayangeakaa, A. D. [University of North Carolina; Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory; Duke University] (ORCID:0000000316793175), Janssens, R. V. F. [University of North Carolina; Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory; Duke University] (ORCID:0000000170951715), Kowalewski, T. M. [University of North Carolina; Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory; Duke University] (ORCID:0000000174931842), Stevenson, P. D. [University of Surrey] (ORCID:0000000326452569), Yüksel, E. [University of Surrey] (ORCID:0000000228923208), Brown, B. A. [Facility for Rare Isotope Beams; Michigan State University; Michigan State University] (ORCID:0000000261111906), Rodriguez, T. R. [Universidad Complutense de Madrid; Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Centro de Investigación Avanzada en Física Fundamental-CIAFF-UAM] (ORCID:0000000235168239), Robledo, L. M. [Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Centro de Investigación Avanzada en Física Fundamental-CIAFF-UAM; Universidad Politécnica de Madrid] (ORCID:0000000260611319), Wu, C. Y. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory] (ORCID:0000000157727196), Kisyov, S. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory] (ORCID:0000000247187744), Müller-Gatermann, C. [Argonne National Laboratory] (ORCID:0000000291815568), Bildstein, V. [University of Guelph] (ORCID:0000000188161498), Canete, L. [University of Surrey], Campbell, C. M. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory] (ORCID:0000000335774316), Carmichael, S. [University of Notre Dame] (ORCID:0000000274541876), Carpenter, M. P. [Argonne National Laboratory], Catford, W. N. [University of Surrey] (ORCID:0000000256201181), Copp, P. [Argonne National Laboratory], Cousins, C. [University of Surrey], Devlin, M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory] (ORCID:0000000269482154), Doherty, D. T. [University of Surrey], Garrett, P. E. [University of Guelph] (ORCID:0000000220691350), Garg, U. [University of Notre Dame] (ORCID:0000000187514204), Gaffney, L. P. [University of Liverpool] (ORCID:0000000229383696), Hadynska-Klek, K. [University of Warsaw] (ORCID:0000000312449561), Hartley, D. J. [U.S. Naval Academy] (ORCID:0000000162956815), Hicks, S. F. [University of Kentucky; University of Dallas] (ORCID:0000000215305515), Jayatissa, H. [Argonne National Laboratory] (ORCID:0000000187460234), Johnson, S. R. [University of North Carolina; Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory; Duke University] (ORCID:0009000434405070), Kalaydjieva, D. [CEA Saclay] (ORCID:0000000187496528), Kondev, F. [Argonne National Laboratory] (ORCID:0000000295675785), Lascar, D. [Northwestern University] (ORCID:000000024763732X), Lauritsen, T. [Argonne National Laboratory], Lotay, G. [University of Surrey], Marchini, N. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze] (ORCID:0000000156532100), Matejska-Minda, M. [Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences] (ORCID:000000018644198X), Nandi, S. [Argonne National Laboratory], Nannini, A. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze] (ORCID:0000000306597648), O’Shea, C. [University of Surrey] (ORCID:0009000605079274), Pascu, S. [University of Surrey; National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering] (ORCID:0009000259494634), Paxman, C. J. [University of Surrey] (ORCID:0000000309962276), Perkoff, A. [U.S. Naval Academy], Peters, E. E. [University of Kentucky], Podolyák, Zs. [University of Surrey] (ORCID:0000000260949520), Radich, A. [University of Guelph] (ORCID:0009000669141102), Rathod, R. [University of Notre Dame], Reed, B. J. [University of Surrey] (ORCID:000000033805420X), Regan, P. H. [University of Surrey; National Physical Laboratory] (ORCID:000000029870182X), Reviol, W. [Argonne National Laboratory], Rubino, E. [Facility for Rare Isotope Beams; Michigan State University], Russell, R. [University of Surrey] (ORCID:0000000165800111), Seweryniak, D. [Argonne National Laboratory], Vanhoy, J. R. [U.S. Naval Academy], Wilson, G. L. [Argonne National Laboratory; Louisiana State University] (ORCID:0000000346637448), Wrzosek-Lipska, K. [University of Warsaw] (ORCID:0000000300461387), Yates, S. W. [University of Kentucky], Zanon, I. [Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro] (ORCID:0000000327738702). 2025-02-14. Deformation and Collectivity in Doubly Magic 208 Pb. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.134.062502
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.