arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P. Van Isacker.
In the framework of the interacting boson model, relations are derived between nuclear charge radii, electric monopole transition rates, and summed magnetic dipole transition in even-even nuclei. The proposed correlations are tested in the rare-earth region.
The geometry of the shears mechanism in nuclei is derived from the nuclear shell model. This is achieved by taking the limit of large angular momenta (classical limit) of shell-model matrix elements.
We propose the use of partial dynamical symmetry (PDS) as a selection criterion for higher-order terms in situations when a prescribed symmetry is obeyed by some states and is strongly broken in others. The procedure is demonstrated in a first systematic classification of many-body interactions with SU(3) PDS that can improve the description of deformed nuclei. As an example, the triaxial features of the nucleus 156Gd are analyzed.
The interacting boson model (IBM) of Arima and Iachello is applied to calculate nuclear charge radii and electric monopole transitions of even-even nuclei in the rare-earth region. Consistent operators are used for the two observables. A relation between summed M1 strength and $ρ({\rm E0})$ values is pointed out.
It is argued that $N\sim Z$ nuclei with $90\leq A\leq100$ can be interpreted in terms of aligned neutron--proton pairs with angular momentum $J=2j$ and isospin T=0. Based on this observation, a version of the interacting boson model is formulated in terms of isoscalar high-spin bosons. To illustrate its possible use, the model is applied to the $21^+$ isomer in $^{94}$Ag.
A systematic study of energy spectra throughout the rare-earth region (even-even nuclei from $_{58}$Ce to $_{74}$W) is carried out in the framework of the interacting boson model (IBM), leading to an accurate description of the spherical-to-deformed shape transition in the different isotopic chains. The resulting IBM Hamiltonians are then used for the calculation of nuclear charge radii (including isotope and isomer shifts) and electric monopole transitions with consistent operators for the two observables. The main conclusion of this study is that an IBM description of charge radii and electric monopole transitions is possible for most of the nuclei considered but that it breaks down in the tungsten isotopes. It is suggested that this failure is related to hexadecapole deformation.
We performed at ISOLDE the spectroscopy of the decay of the 8- isomer in 136Cs by and conversion-electron detection. For the first time the excitation energy of the isomer and the multipolarity of its decay have been measured. The half-life of the isomeric state was remeasured to T1/2 = 17.5(2) s. This isomer decays via a very slow 518 keV E3 transition to the ground state. In addition to this, a much weaker decay branch via a 413 keV M4 and a subsequent 105 keV E2 transition has been found. Thus we have found a new level at 105 keV with spin 4+ between the isomeric and the ground state. The results are discussed in comparison to shell model calculations.
Lifetimes of the $9/2^-_1$ and $3/2^-_1$ states in $^{63}$Co and the $9/2^-_1$ state in $^{65}$Co were measured using the recoil distance Doppler shift and the differential decay curve methods. The nuclei were populated by multi-nucleon transfer reactions in inverse kinematics. Gamma rays were measured with the EXOGAM Ge array and the recoiling fragments were fully identified using the large-acceptance VAMOS spectrometer. The E2 transition probabilities from the $3/2^-_1$ and $9/2^-_1$ states to the $7/2^-$ ground state could be extracted in $^{63}$Co as well as an upper limit for the $9/2^-_1\rightarrow7/2^-_1$ $B$(E2) value in $^{65}$Co. The experimental results were compared to large-scale shell-model calculations in the $pf$ and $pfg_{9/2}$ model spaces, allowing to draw conclusions on the single-particle or collective nature of the various states.
A study is carried out of the role of the aligned neutron-proton pair with angular momentum J=9 and isospin T=0 in the low-energy spectroscopy of the $N=Z$ nuclei $^{96}$Cd, $^{94}$Ag, and $^{92}$Pd. Shell-model wave functions resulting from realistic interactions are analyzed in terms of a variety of two-nucleon pairs corresponding to different choices of their coupled angular momentum $J$ and isospin $T$. The analysis is performed exactly for four holes ($^{96}$Cd) and carried further for six and eight holes ($^{94}$Ag and $^{92}$Pd) by means of a mapping to an appropriate version of the interacting boson model. The study allows the identification of the strengths and deficiencies of the aligned-pair approximation.
The use of dynamical symmetries or spectrum generating algebras for the solution of the nuclear many-body problem is reviewed. General notions of symmetry and dynamical symmetry in quantum mechanics are introduced and illustrated with simple examples such as the SO(4) symmetry of the hydrogen atom and the isospin symmetry in nuclei. Two nuclear models, the shell model and the interacting boson model, are reviewed with particular emphasis on their use of group-theoretical techniques.
A review is given of the relation between pairing, quasi-spin algebras and seniority. The former two concepts are closely connected, the relation being that the quasi-spin formalism allows an efficient solution of the pairing problem. Seniority is of much wider applicability than either pairing or quasi-spin and applications can even be extended to encompass the notion of partial symmetry. A recent application of partial conservation of seniority and its importance for nuclear isomers is discussed.
The use of the seniority quantum number in many-body systems is reviewed. A brief summary is given of its introduction by Racah in the context of atomic spectroscopy. Several extensions of Racah's original idea are discussed: seniority for identical nucleons in a single-$j$ shell, its extension to the case of many, non-degenerate $j$ shells and to systems with neutrons and protons. To illustrate its usefulness to this day, a recent application of seniority is presented in Bose--Einstein condensates of atoms with spin.
James Philip Elliott, one of the towering figures of nuclear physics of the second half of the twentieth century, died on the 21st of October 2008. Obituaries appeared in the British press but relatively little attention was paid by the international scientific community to Elliott's contributions. Given their importance, in particular for theoretical nuclear physics, it seems appropriate to reflect here, two years after his death, on the scientific legacy left by Phil Elliott.
Even--even nuclei in the $A\sim100$ mass region are investigated within the framework of the interacting boson model-1 ({IBM-1}). The study includes energy spectra and electric quadrupole transition properties of zirconium, molybdenum, ruthenium and palladium isotopes with neutron number $N\geq52$. A global parametrization of the {IBM-1} Hamiltonian is found leading to a description of about 300 collective levels in 30 nuclei with a root-mean-square deviation from the observed level energies of 120 keV. The importance of the $d_{5/2}$ subshell closure at neutron number N=56 is pointed out. The geometric character of the nuclei can be visualized by plotting the potential energy surface $V(β,γ)$ obtained from the {IBM-1} Hamiltonian in the classical limit. The parametrization established on the basis of known elements is used to predict properties of the unknown, neutron-rich isotopes $^{106}$Zr, $^{112}$Mo, $^{116}$Ru and $^{122}$Pd.
It is shown that the three-body forces in the $1f_{7/2}$ shell, for which recently evidence was found on the basis of spectroscopic properties of the Ca isotopes and $N=28$ isotones, can be most naturally explained as an effective interaction due to excluded higher-lying shells, in particular the $2p_{3/2}$ orbit.}
Pair vibrations are studied for a Hamiltonian with neutron-neutron, proton-proton and neutron-proton pairing. The spectrum is found to be rich in strongly correlated, low-lying excited states. Changing theratio of diagonal to off-diagonal pairing matrix elements is found to have a large impact on the excited-state spectrum. The variational configuration interaction (VCI) method, used to calculate the excitation spectrum, is found to be in very good agreement with exact solutions for systems with large degeneracies having equal T=0 and T=1 pairing strengths.
A geometric analysis of the $sdg$ interacting boson model is performed. A coherent-state is used in terms of three types of deformation: axial quadrupole ($β_2$), axial hexadecapole ($β_4$) and triaxial ($γ_2$). The phase-transitional structure is established for a schematic $sdg$ hamiltonian which is intermediate between four dynamical symmetries of U(15), namely the spherical ${\rm U}(5)\otimes{\rm U}(9)$, the (prolate and oblate) deformed ${\rm SU}_\pm(3)$ and the $γ_2$-soft SO(15) limits. For realistic choices of the hamiltonian parameters the resulting phase diagram has properties close to what is obtained in the $sd$ version of the model and, in particular, no transition towards a stable triaxial shape is found.
The neutron-rich N=66 isotonic and A=106 isobaric chains, covering regions with varying types of collectivity, are interpreted in the framework of the interacting boson model. Level energies and electric quadrupole transition probabilities are compared with available experimental information. The calculations for the known nuclei in the two chains are extrapolated towards the neutron-rich nucleus $^{106}$Zr.