6533b86cfe1ef96bd12c8b74
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Unexpectedly large charge radii of neutron-rich calcium isotopes
Gustav R. JansenGustav R. JansenJ. SimonisAndreas EkströmAndreas EkströmWilfried NörtershäuserWilfried NörtershäuserWitold NazarewiczWitold NazarewiczWitold NazarewiczKlaus WendtKlaus WendtDeyan T. YordanovDeyan T. YordanovMark BissellMark BissellK. KreimRainer NeugartGerda NeyensMagda KowalskaM. HammenThomas PapenbrockThomas PapenbrockKlaus BlaumKai HebelerAchim SchwenkAchim SchwenkR. F. Garcia RuizJ. PapugaN. FrömmgenJason D. HoltGaute Hagensubject
Nuclear Theory[PHYS.NUCL]Physics [physics]/Nuclear Theory [nucl-th]Nuclear TheoryGeneral Physics and AstronomyFOS: Physical sciences[PHYS.NEXP]Physics [physics]/Nuclear Experiment [nucl-ex]7. Clean energy01 natural sciencesIsotopes of calciumNuclear Theory (nucl-th)0103 physical sciencesNuclear Physics - ExperimentNeutronMAGIC (telescope)Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)010306 general physicsSpectroscopyNuclear ExperimentNuclear ExperimentMagic number (physics)PhysicsIsotope010308 nuclear & particles physicsCharge (physics)13. Climate actionNuclear Physics - TheoryAtomic nucleusAtomic physicsPräzisionsexperimente - Abteilung Blaumdescription
Despite being a complex many-body system, the atomic nucleus exhibits simple structures for certain "magic" numbers of protons and neutrons. The calcium chain in particular is both unique and puzzling: evidence of doubly-magic features are known in 40,48Ca, and recently suggested in two radioactive isotopes, 52,54Ca. Although many properties of experimentally known Ca isotopes have been successfully described by nuclear theory, it is still a challenge to predict their charge radii evolution. Here we present the first measurements of the charge radii of 49,51,52Ca, obtained from laser spectroscopy experiments at ISOLDE, CERN. The experimental results are complemented by state-of-the-art theoretical calculations. The large and unexpected increase of the size of the neutron-rich calcium isotopes beyond N = 28 challenges the doubly-magic nature of 52Ca and opens new intriguing questions on the evolution of nuclear sizes away from stability, which are of importance for our understanding of neutron-rich atomic nuclei.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-02-08 |