Reuben Russell
Academic and research departments
Experimental Nuclear Physics Group, School of Mathematics and Physics.About
My research project
Nuclear structure and shape of A=78 StrontiumThe structure of deformed nuclei is known to greatly differ from that which is predicted by an independent particle model. 78Sr lies in the region of Z=N=40, which is a region displaying strong quadrupole deformation, with experimental data for 78Sr matching closely to that expected for a strongly-deformed nucleus. However, the existence of low-lying second 0+ and 2+ states in other nuclei in this region hint a high potential for coexisting or triaxial shapes respectively.
Supervisors
The structure of deformed nuclei is known to greatly differ from that which is predicted by an independent particle model. 78Sr lies in the region of Z=N=40, which is a region displaying strong quadrupole deformation, with experimental data for 78Sr matching closely to that expected for a strongly-deformed nucleus. However, the existence of low-lying second 0+ and 2+ states in other nuclei in this region hint a high potential for coexisting or triaxial shapes respectively.
Publications
The neutron -rich strontium, zirconium, and molybdenum nuclei have been observed to undergo a dramatic evolution, becoming strongly deformed around N = 60, sometimes interpreted as a quantum phase transition between "normal" and intruder configurations. Key to understanding this evolution is to understand the configurations in isolation, in regions where interference can be neglected. A deformed coexisting configuration is inferred from the presence of a 0 2 state which decreases in excitation energy with increasing neutron number, becoming the first -excited state at 98Mo. We present here the results of a low -energy Coulomb -excitation measurement of the nucleus 96Mo, extracting B(E2) values and quadrupole moments. It is found that, while the B(E2) values agree with those found in the literature, there is a significant disagreement with literature spectroscopic quadrupole moments. The results are compared with shell -model calculations using a 88Sr core with good agreement found, likely indicating that intruder structures do not significantly impact the ground -state structure, in contrast with the heavier molybdenum isotopes.