0000000001170097

AUTHOR

J. D. Holt

Coulomb excitation of the |Tz|=1/2, A=23 mirror pair

Background: Electric-quadrupole (E2) strengths relate to the underlying quadrupole deformation of a nucleus and present a challenge for many nuclear theories. Mirror nuclei in the vicinity of the line of N=Z represent a convenient laboratory for testing deficiencies in such models, making use of the isospin symmetry of the systems. Purpose: Uncertainties associated with literature E2 strengths in 23Mg are some of the largest in Tz=∣∣12∣∣ nuclei in the sd shell. The purpose of the present paper is to improve the precision with which these values are known, to enable better comparison with theoretical models. Methods: Coulomb-excitation measurements of 23Mg and 23Na were performed at the TRIU…

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Charge Radii of ^{55,56}Ni Reveal a Surprisingly Similar Behavior at N=28 in Ca and Ni Isotopes.

Nuclear charge radii of $^{55,56}$Ni were measured by collinear laserspectroscopy. The obtained information completes the behavior of the chargeradii at the shell closure of the doubly magic nucleus $^{56}$Ni. The trend ofcharge radii across the shell closures in calcium and nickel is surprisinglysimilar despite the fact that the $^{56}$Ni core is supposed to be much softerthan the $^{48}$Ca core. The very low magnetic moment$\mu(^{55}\mathrm{Ni})=-1.108(20)\,\mu_N$ indicates the impact of M1excitations between spin-orbit partners across the $N,Z=28$ shell gaps. Ourcharge-radii results are compared to \textit{ab initio} and nuclear densityfunctional theory calculations, showing good agreeme…

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Ab initio limits of atomic nuclei

We predict the limits of existence of atomic nuclei, the proton and neutron drip lines, from the light through medium-mass regions. Starting from a chiral two- and three-nucleon interaction with good saturation properties, we use the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group to calculate ground-state and separation energies from helium to iron, nearly 700 isotopes in total. We use the available experimental data to quantify the theoretical uncertainties for our ab initio calculations towards the drip lines. Where the drip lines are known experimentally, our predictions are consistent within the estimated uncertainty. For the neutron-rich sodium to chromium isotopes, we provid…

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Systematics of E2 strength in the sd shell with the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group

Background: Recent developments in {\it ab initio} nuclear theory demonstrate promising results in medium- to heavy-mass nuclei. A particular challenge for many of the many-body methodologies, however, is an accurate treatment of the electric-quadrupole, $E2$, strength associated with collectivity. Purpose: The valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group (VS-IMSRG) is a particularly powerful method for accessing medium- and high-mass nuclei but has been found to underpredict $E2$ strengths. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the isospin dependence of this underprediction. Methods: We perform a systematic comparison of valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization grou…

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High-resolution laser spectroscopy of Al27–32

Hyperfine spectra of $^\text{27-32}$Al ($Z=13$) have been measured at the ISOLDE-CERN facility via collinear laser spectroscopy using the $3s^23p\ ^2\text{P}^\text{o} _{3/2}\rightarrow 3s^24s\ ^2\text{S}_{1/2}$ atomic transition. For the first time, mean-square charge radii of radioactive aluminum isotopes have been determined alongside the previously unknown magnetic dipole moment of $^{29}$Al and electric quadrupole moments of $^{29,30}$Al. A potentially reduced charge radius at $N=19$ may suggest an effect of the $N=20$ shell closure, which is visible in the Al chain, contrary to other isotopic chains in the $sd$ shell. The experimental results are compared to theoretical calculations in…

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Proton-neutron pairing correlations in the self-conjugate nucleus 42Sc

Collinear laser spectroscopy of the N=Z=21 self-conjugate nucleus 42Sc has been performed at the JYFL IGISOL IV facility in order to determine the change in nuclear mean-square charge radius between the Iπ=0+ ground state and the Iπ=7+ isomer via the measurement of the 42g,42mSc isomer shift. New multi-configurational Dirac-Fock calculations for the atomic mass shift and field shift factors have enabled a recalibration of the charge radii of the 42−46Sc isotopes which were measured previously. While consistent with the treatment of proton-neutron, proton-proton and neutron-neutron pairing on an equal footing, the reduction in size for the isomer is observed to be of a significantly larger m…

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Coulomb excitation of the $\left|T_z\right|=\frac{1}{2}$, $A=23$ mirror pair

Background: Electric-quadrupole ($E2$) strengths relate to the underlying quadrupole deformation of a nucleus and present a challenge for many nuclear theories. Mirror nuclei in the vicinity of the line of $N=Z$ represent a convenient laboratory for testing deficiencies in such models, making use of the isospin-symmetry of the systems. Purpose: Uncertainties associated with literature $E2$ strengths in \textsuperscript{23}Mg are some of the largest in $T_z=\left|\frac{1}{2}\right|$ nuclei in the $sd$-shell. The purpose of the present work is to improve the precision with which these values are known, to enable better comparison with theoretical models. Methods: Coulomb-excitation measuremen…

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Ab initio calculation of muon capture on $^{24}$Mg

In this work we study ordinary muon capture (OMC) on $^{24}$Mg from a first principles perspective. Starting from a particular two- and three-nucleon interaction derived from chiral effective field theory, we use the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group (VS-IMSRG) framework to construct effective Hamiltonians and muon-capture operators which nonperturbatively account for many-body physics outside the valence space. The obtained nuclear matrix elements are compared against those from the phenomenological shell model. The impact of including the correlations from the nuclear shell model (NSM) as well as including the induced two-body part is studied in detail. Furthermore,…

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High-resolution laser spectroscopy of $^{27-32}$Al

Physical review / C 103(1), 014318 (2021). doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.103.014318

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Nuclear moments of indium isotopes reveal abrupt change at magic number 82

In spite of the high-density and strongly correlated nature of the atomic nucleus, experimental and theoretical evidence suggests that around particular 'magic' numbers of nucleons, nuclear properties are governed by a single unpaired nucleon1,2. A microscopic understanding of the extent of this behaviour and its evolution in neutron-rich nuclei remains an open question in nuclear physics3-5. The indium isotopes are considered a textbook example of this phenomenon6, in which the constancy of their electromagnetic properties indicated that a single unpaired proton hole can provide the identity of a complex many-nucleon system6,7. Here we present precision laser spectroscopy measurements perf…

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