Search

The synthesis of 2-oxygenated dihydrobenzofurans involving the [3 + 2] coupling of quinone monoacetals with vinyl ethers has been realized by tetrabutylammonium triflate catalysis. The reaction involves a new activation method of the acetal moiety in quinone monoacetals under acid-free conditions affording the highly oxygenated dihydrobenzofurans. This new activation mode was achieved by using the triflate anion catalyst for stabilization of the highly reactive cationic intermediate.

New shell-model Hamiltonians which can successfully describe spin responses in nuclei are used to evaluate nuclear weak rates in stellar environments. The e-capture and β-decay rates for the nuclear pair with 31Mg-31Al, in the island of inversion, which have been pointed out to be important for the cooling of neutron star crusts, are studied by shell-model calculations with the effective interaction in sd-pf shell obtained by the extended Kuo-Krenciglowa (EKK) method. The weak rates induced by the Gamow-Teller transitions between the low-lying states in the nuclear pair lead to a nuclear Urca process. The spin-dipole strengths and e-capture rates for 78Ni are evaluated by shell-model with full pf-sdg shells including up to 5p-5h excitations outside filling configurations of 78Ni. The e-capture rates obtained are compared with RPA calculations and the effective rate formula. Weak rates for the second-forbidden transition in 20Ne are evaluated by the multipole expansion method of Walecka as well as the Behrens-Bühring method within sd-shell. Difference in the rates between the two methods is found to be rather small as far as the conserved-vector-current (CVC) relation is satisfied. Possible important contributions of the forbidden transition to the heating of the ONeMg core by double e-captures on 20Ne in a late stage of the evolution of the core and implications on the final fate of the core, whether core-collapse or thermonuclear explosion, are discussed.

Cooperative swarming behavior of multiple robots is advantageous for various disaster response activities, such as search and rescue. This study proposes an idea of communication of information between swarm robots, especially for estimating the orientation and direction of each robot, to realize decentralized group behavior. Unlike the conventional camera-based systems, we developed robots equipped with a speaker array system and a microphone system to utilize the time difference of arrival (TDoA). Sound waves outputted by each robot was used to estimate the relative direction and orientation. In addition, we attempt to utilize two characteristics of sound waves in our experiments, namely, diffraction and superposition. This paper also investigates the accuracy of state estimation in cases where the robots output sounds simultaneously and are not visible to each other. Finally, we applied our method to achieve behavioral control of a swarm of five robots, and demonstrated that the leader robot and follower robots exhibit good alignment behavior. Our methodology is useful in scenarios where steps or obstacles are present, in which cases camera-based systems are rendered unusable because they require each robot to be visible to each other in order to collect or share information. Furthermore, camera-based systems require expensive devices and necessitate high-speed image processing. Moreover, our method is applicable for behavioral control of swarm robots in water.

Second-order processes in physics is a research topic focusing attention from several fields worldwide including, for example, non-linear quantum electrodynamics with high-power lasers, neutrinoless double-β decay, and stimulated atomic two-photon transitions. For the electromagnetic nuclear interaction, the observation of the competitive double-γ decay from 137mBa has opened up the nuclear structure field for detailed investigation of second-order processes through the manifestation of off-diagonal nuclear polarisability. Here, we confirm this observation with an 8.7σ significance, and an improved value on the double-photon versus single-photon branching ratio as 2.62 × 10−6(30). Our results, however, contradict the conclusions from the original experiment, where the decay was interpreted to be dominated by a quadrupole-quadrupole component. Here, we find a substantial enhancement in the energy distribution consistent with a dominating octupole-dipole character and a rather small quadrupole-quadrupole component in the decay, hindered due to an evolution of the internal nuclear structure. The implied strongly hindered double-photon branching in 137mBa opens up the possibility of the double-photon branching as a feasible tool for nuclear-structure studies on off-diagonal polarisability in nuclei where this hindrance is not present.

The ground-state properties of neutron-rich exotic Na and Mg isotopes with even numbers of neutrons, N, are studied up to driplines. The shell-model calculations with an ab initio effective nucleon-nucleon interaction reported in [Tsunoda, Otsuka, Takayanagi et al., Nature 587, 66 (2020)] are extended to observables such as magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments, and charge and matter radii. Good agreements with experimental data are found, and predictions are shown up to driplines. A prescription to extract the deformation parameters for the eigenstates of Monte Carlo Shell Model is presented, and the obtained values are used to calculate charge and matter radii. The increase of these radii from the Droplet model is described as the consequences of the varying deformation of the surface and the growing neutron excitations or occupations in the pf shell, consistently with the dripline mechanism presented in the above reference. The neutron skin thickness is shown to be about 0.1 fm for N=20, which can be compared to the value for 208Pb in an A1/3 scaling. The relation of the neutron skin thickness to the electromagnetic moments is discussed for an exotic nucleus, 31Na., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

While the angular-momentum projection is a common tool for theoretical nuclear structure studies, a large amount of computations are required particularly for triaxially deformed states. In the present work, we clarify the conditions of the exactness of quadratures in the projection method. For efficient computation, the Lebedev quadrature and spherical $t$-design are introduced to the angular-momentum projection. The accuracy of the quadratures is discussed in comparison with the conventional Gauss-Legendre and trapezoidal quadratures. We found that the Lebedev quadrature is the most efficient among them and the necessary number of sampling points for the quadrature, which is often proportional to the computation time, is reduced by a factor 3/2 in comparison with the conventional method.

The generator coordinate method (GCM) combined with the projection method is applied to large-scale shell-model calculations. The quadrupole deformation is taken as a generator coordinate and the GCM basis states are prepared by the quadrupole-constrained Hartree-Fock Bogoliubov method with the variation after particle-number projection. The resultant GCM wave function is a linear combination of the angular-momentum and parity projected basis states. We discuss how well the present method approximates the exact solution of the shell-model diagonalization method by the benchmark tests of $^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$, $^{56}\mathrm{Ni}$, and $^{48}\mathrm{Cr}$ in the $pf$-shell model space and those of $^{132}\mathrm{Ba}$ and $^{133}\mathrm{Ba}$ in the $50lN,\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}Zl82$ model space.

The B(E3) transition strength from the 1897-keV, 3− level in 96Zr has been reevaluated from six high-statistics, independent data sets. The measured value of 42(3) W.u. is significantly lower than that adopted in recent compilations. It is, however, in line with the global systematics of collective B(E3) rates found throughout the periodic table. Thus, the “exceptional” character of this transition, that challenged theory, no longer applies. Monte Carlo shell-model calculations indicate that the collectivity of the octupole vibration arises from both proton and neutron excitations involving a large number of orbitals. Keywords: 90≤A≤149, 3− level, Octupole excitation, Lifetimes and branching ratios, B(E3) strength, Monte Carlo shell model calculations

The triaxial nature of low-lying rotational bands of $^{166}\mathrm{Er}$ is presented from the viewpoint of the Bohr Hamiltonian and from that of many-fermion calculations by the Monte Carlo shell model and the constrained Hartree-Fock method with projections. A recently proposed novel picture of those bands suggests definite triaxial shapes of those bands, in contrast to the traditional view with the prolate ground-state band and the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-vibrational excited band. Excitation level energies and $E2$ transitions can be described well by the Bohr Hamiltonian and by the many-fermion approaches, where rather rigid triaxiality plays vital roles, although certain fluctuations occur in shell-model wave functions. Based on the potential energy surfaces with the projections, we show how the triaxial rigidity appears and what the softness of the triaxiality implies. The excitation to the so-called double $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-phonon state is discussed briefly.

We propose a variational calculation scheme utilizing the superposition of the angular-momentum, parity, number projected quasiparticle vacua, that is especially suitable for applying to medium-heavy nuclei in shell-model calculations. We derive a formula for the energy variance with quasiparticle vacua and apply the energy-variance extrapolation to the present scheme for further precise estimation of the exact shell-model energy. The validity of the method is presented for the shell-model calculation of $^{132}\mathrm{Ba}$ in the $50\ensuremath{\le}Z,N\ensuremath{\le}82$ model space. We also discuss the feasibility of this scheme in the case of the $^{150}\mathrm{Nd}$ in the $50\ensuremath{\le}Z\ensuremath{\le}82$ and $82\ensuremath{\le}Z\ensuremath{\le}126$ model space and demonstrate that its neutrinoless double-$\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay matrix element is obtained showing good convergence.

International audience; We report on the investigation of the shape coexistence phenomenon in the Ni isotopic chain, from A = 62 to A = 66, by using γ-ray spectroscopy techniques and different reaction mechanisms, such as sub-Coulomb barrier transfer reactions and thermal-neutron capture. Our aim is to understand, from the microscopic point of view, the appearance of nuclear deformation in Ni isotopes at low excitation energy. A series of experiments was performed at the Tandem Accelerator Laboratory in Bucharest, at ALTO IPN-Orsay and at the ILL reactor in Grenoble. Various mean-field theoretical approaches, as well as recent state-of-the-art Monte Carlo Shell Model (MCSM) calculations, predict in 66Ni a deep secondary prolate minimum in the nuclear potential energy surface at spin zero, resulting in a hindered electromagnetic decay towards the spherical ground state (i.e., with an E2 transition probability less than 1 W.u.). This has been confirmed in the first experiment performed in Bucharest. Less pronounced prolate minima, at higher excitation energies, are also expected in lighter neutron-rich Ni isotopes, from state-of-the-art Monte Carlo Shell Model (MCSM) calculations. Preliminary results are discussed for 62Ni and 64Ni, in comparison with theory predictions.

We have updated nuclear weak rates relevant to the study of astrophysical processes in stars. Neutrino-induced reaction cross sections, electron-capture and β-decay rates at stellar environments are obtained with new shell-model Hamiltonians that prove to be successful in describing spin responses — Gamow-Teller and spin-dipole transitions — in nuclei. The cross sections and rates are applied to nucleosynthesis in supernovae, detection of ν and nuclear URCA processes.

This paper demonstrates the sheepdog-type robot navigation based on the linearized model of sheep flock and the sheepdogs. What we call the sheepdog system is the wonderful group phenomenon in which a small number of sheepdogs collaborates to manipulate up to one thousand sheep flock indirectly by using their own maneuverability. In order to grasp the key of the navigation mechanisms: the stability and the scalability of the system, we design the sheepdog system based on the linearized model. Firstly, we derive the stability condition of the system; we also verify it by the numerical simulations. Secondly, we conduct robot demonstrations with five sheep robots and two sheepdog robots to verify the system in the real world.

Physics letters / B 802, 135200 (2020). doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2020.135200, Published by North-Holland Publ., Amsterdam

This study investigates group navigation with the aid of strong interaction between two kinds of agents: A shepherd drives a sheep group with a large population to a given goal position. Even thoug...

In this paper, we propose a brand-new navigation strategy for artificial creatures, such as autonomous mobile robots. The novelty of our proposed method is in group decision-making, based on majority consensus and dynamic switching of individual goal-preferences. First, we introduce a group model with three subpopulations: one subgroup is designed to have the preference of one goal, and the second subgroup is designed to have the preference of another goal. However, the third subgroup (i.e., normal-type robots) is designed to only herd nearby robots. This paper focuses on the role of the normal-type robots and their challenges in controlling the entire group’s destination when giving them goal preferences. For this purpose, we examine the magnitude of goal-preference addition to the third subgroup and the proportion of normal-type robots for the entire group. Throughout our statistical analysis, our results indicate group navigation was successful when there were appropriate settings and dynamic goal-preference additions for a small number of normal-type robots.

An oxidation system comprising phenyliodine(III) diacetate (PIDA) and iodosobenzene with inorganic bromide, i.e., sodium bromide, in an organic solvent led to the direct introduction of carboxylic acids into benzylic C–H bonds under mild conditions. The unique radical species, generated by the homolytic cleavage of the labile I(III)–Br bond of the in situ-formed bromo-λ3-iodane, initiated benzylic carboxylation with a high degree of selectivity for the secondary benzylic position.

The structure of 71Zn was investigated by one-neutron transfer and heavy-ion induced complex (deep-inelastic) reactions using the GRETINA-CHICO2 and the Gammasphere setups, respectively. The observed inversion between the 9/2+ and 1/2− states is explained in terms of the role of neutron pairing correlations. Non-collective sequences of levels were delineated above the 9/2+ isomeric state. These are interpreted as being associated with a modest oblate deformation in the framework of Monte-Carlo shell-model calculations carried out with the A3DA-m Hamiltonian in the p f g 9 / 2 d 5 / 2 valence space. Similarities with the structure of Ni 40 28 68 were observed and the shape-coexistence mechanism in the N = 40 region of neutron-rich nuclei is discussed in terms of the so-called Type-II shell evolution, with an emphasis on proton–neutron correlations between valence nucleons, especially those involving the shape-driving g 9 / 2 neutron orbital.

C.M. Shand et al. -- 6 pags., 3 figs., tab. --Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 4.0, We report on the measurement of new low-lying states in the neutron-rich Zn nuclei via in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy. These include the 4 →2 transition in Zn, the 2 →0 and 4 →2 transitions in Zn, and low-lying states in Zn were observed for the first time. The reduced E(2 ) energies and increased E(4 )/E(2 ) ratios at N=52, 54 compared to those in Zn attest that the magicity is confined to the neutron number N=50 only. The deduced level schemes are compared to three state-of-the-art shell model calculations and a good agreement is observed with all three calculations. The newly observed 2 and 4 levels in Zn suggest the onset of deformation towards heavier Zn isotopes, which has been incorporated by taking into account the upper sdg orbitals in the Ni78-II and the PFSDG-U models., All UK authors are supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The development of MINOS and the core MINOS team have been supported by the European Research Council through the ERC Grant No. MINOS-258567. A. Jungclaus was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad under contract FPA2014-57196-C5-4-P. Authors from Cologne were supported by German BMBF Grant No. 05P15PKFNA. Authors from TU Darmstadt were supported by German BMBF Grant No. 05P12RDFN8 and 05P15RDFN1. L.X. Chung and B.D. Linh would like to acknowledge Vietnam Ministry of Science and Technology for the support, and Radioactive Isotope Physics Laboratory of the RIKEN Nishina Center for supporting their stay during the experiments.

The level structures of 70 Co and 70 Ni, populated from the β decay of 70 Fe, have been investigated using β -delayed γ -ray spectroscopy following in-flight fission of a 238 U beam. The experimental results are compared to Monte-Carlo Shell-Model calculations including the pf+g9/2+d5/2 orbitals. The strong population of a (1+) state at 274 keV in 70 Co is at variance with the expected excitation energy of ∼1 MeV from near spherical single-particle estimates. This observation indicates a dominance of prolate-deformed intruder configurations in the low-lying levels, which coexist with the normal near spherical states. It is shown that the β decay of the neutron-rich A=70 isobars from the new island of inversion to the Z=28 closed-shell regime progresses in accordance with a newly reported type of shell evolution, the so-called Type II, which involves many particle-hole excitations across energy gaps. Elsevier

The underlying structure of low-lying collective bands of atomic nuclei is discussed from a novel perspective on the interplay between single-particle and collective degrees of freedom, by utilizing state-of-the-art configuration interaction calculations on heavy nuclei. Besides the multipole components of the nucleon-nucleon interaction that drive collective modes forming those bands, the monopole component is shown to control the resistance against such modes. The calculated structure of 154Sm corresponds to coexistence between prolate and triaxial shapes, while that of 166Er exhibits a deformed shape with a strong triaxial instability. Both findings differ from traditional views based on beta/gamma vibrations. The formation of collective bands is shown to be facilitated from a self-organization mechanism., Comment: 4 figures

Nuclear charge radii of 62−80Zn have been determined using collinear laser spectroscopy of bunched ion beams at CERN-ISOLDE. The subtle variations of observed charge radii, both within one isotope and along the full range of neutron numbers, are found to be well described in terms of the proton excitations across the Z=28 shell gap, as predicted by large-scale shell model calculations. It comprehensively explains the changes in isomer-to-ground state mean square charge radii of 69−79Zn, the inversion of the odd-even staggering around N=40 and the odd-even staggering systematics of the Zn charge radii. With two protons above Z=28, the observed charge radii of the Zn isotopic chain show a cumulative effect of different aspects of nuclear structure including single particle structure, shell closure, correlations and deformations near the proposed doubly magic nuclei, 68Ni and 78Ni., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The structure of low-spin states originating from shape-coexisting configurations in $^{68}_{40}$Ni$_{28}$ was directly probed via the two-neutron transfer reaction $^{66}$Ni$(t,p)^{68}$Ni in inverse kinematics using a radioactive ion beam on a radioactive target. The direct feeding to the first excited 0$^+$ state was measured for center-of-mass angles 4°–16° and amounts to an integral of 4.2(16)% relative to the ground state. The observed difference in feeding of the 0$^+$ states is explained by the transfer of neutrons, mainly in the $pf$ shell below $N=40$ for the ground state, and across $N=40$ in the $g_{9/2}$ orbital for the 0$_2^+$, based on second-order distorted-wave Born approximation calculations combined with state-of-the-art shell-model two-nucleon amplitudes. However, the direct feeding to the 2$_1^+$ state [29(3)%] is incompatible with these calculations.

Nuclear magic numbers, which emerge from the strong nuclear force based on quantum chromodynamics, correspond to fully occupied energy shells of protons, or neutrons inside atomic nuclei. Doubly magic nuclei, with magic numbers for both protons and neutrons, are spherical and extremely rare across the nuclear landscape. While the sequence of magic numbers is well established for stable nuclei, evidence reveals modifications for nuclei with a large proton-to-neutron asymmetry. Here, we provide the first spectroscopic study of the doubly magic nucleus $^{78}$Ni, fourteen neutrons beyond the last stable nickel isotope. We provide direct evidence for its doubly magic nature, which is also predicted by ab initio calculations based on chiral effective field theory interactions and the quasi-particle random-phase approximation. However, our results also provide the first indication of the breakdown of the neutron magic number 50 and proton magic number 28 beyond this stronghold, caused by a competing deformed structure. State-of-the-art phenomenological shell-model calculations reproduce this shape coexistence, predicting further a rapid transition from spherical to deformed ground states with $^{78}$Ni as turning point.

Neutron-deficient Hg177-185 isotopes were studied using in-source laser resonance-ionization spectroscopy at the CERN-ISOLDE radioactive ion-beam facility in an experiment combining different detection methods tailored to the studied isotopes. These include either α-decay tagging or multireflection time-of-flight gating for isotope identification. The endpoint of the odd-even nuclear shape staggering in mercury was observed directly by measuring for the first time the isotope shifts and hyperfine structures of Hg177-180. Changes in the mean-square charge radii for all mentioned isotopes, magnetic dipole, and electric quadrupole moments of the odd-A isotopes and arguments in favor of I=7/2 spin assignment for Hg177,179 were deduced. Experimental results are compared with density functional theory (DFT) and Monte Carlo shell model (MCSM) calculations. DFT calculations using Skyrme parametrizations predict a jump in the charge radius around the neutron N=104 midshell, with an odd-even staggering pattern related to the coexistence of nearly degenerate oblate and prolate minima. This near-degeneracy is highly sensitive to many aspects of the effective interaction, a fact that renders perfect agreement with experiments out of reach for current functionals. Despite this inherent difficulty, the SLy5s1 and a modified UNEDF1SO parametrization predict a qualitatively correct staggering that is off by two neutron numbers. MCSM calculations of states with the experimental spins and parities show good agreement for both electromagnetic moments and the observed charge radii. A clear mechanism for the origin of shape staggering within this context is identified: A substantial change in occupancy of the proton πh9/2 and neutron νi13/2 orbitals., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The first 2+ and 3- states of the doubly magic nucleus Sn132 are populated via safe Coulomb excitation employing the recently commissioned HIE-ISOLDE accelerator at CERN in conjunction with the highly efficient MINIBALL array. The Sn132 ions are accelerated to an energy of 5.49 MeV/nucleon and impinged on a Pb206 target. Deexciting γ rays from the low-lying excited states of the target and the projectile are recorded in coincidence with scattered particles. The reduced transition strengths are determined for the transitions 0g.s.+→21+, 0g.s.+→31-, and 21+→31- in Sn132. The results on these states provide crucial information on cross-shell configurations which are determined within large-scale shell-model and Monte Carlo shell-model calculations as well as from random-phase approximation and relativistic random-phase approximation. The locally enhanced B(E2;0g.s.+→21+) strength is consistent with the microscopic description of the structure of the respective states within all theoretical approaches. The presented results of experiment and theory can be considered to be the first direct verification of the sphericity and double magicity of Sn132. (Less)

Physics letters / B 760, 387 - 392 (2016). doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2016.07.016, Published by North-Holland Publ., Amsterdam

A novel shape evolution in the Sn isotopes by the state-of-the-art application of the Monte Carlo Shell Model calculations is presented in a unified way for the 100-138Sn isotopes. A large model space consisting of eight single-particle orbits for protons and neutrons is taken with the fixed Hamiltonian and effective charges, where protons in the 1g9/2 orbital are fully activated. While the significant increase of the B(E2; 0+1 -> 2+1) value, seen around 110Sn as a function of neutron number (N), has remained a major puzzle over decades, it is explained as a consequence of the shape evolution driven by proton excitations from the 1g9/2 orbital. A second-order quantum phase transition is found around N=66, connecting the phase of such deformed shapes to the spherical pairing phase. The shape and shell evolutions are thus described, covering topics from the Gamow-Teller decay of 100Sn to the enhanced double magicity of 132Sn., 4 figures

The low-lying structures of the midshell νg9/2 Ni isotopes 72Ni and 74Ni have been investigated at the RIBF facility in RIKEN within the EURICA collaboration. Previously unobserved low-lying states were accessed for the first time following β decay of the mother nuclei 72Co and 74Co. As a result, we provide a complete picture in terms of the seniority scheme up to the first (8+) levels for both nuclei. The experimental results are compared to shell-model calculations in order to define to what extent the seniority quantum number is preserved in the first neutron g9/2 shell. We find that the disappearance of the seniority isomerism in the (81+) states can be explained by a lowering of the seniority-four (6+) levels as predicted years ago. For 74Ni, the internal de-excitation pattern of the newly observed (62+) state supports a restoration of the normal seniority ordering up to spin J=4. This property, unexplained by the shell-model calculations, is in agreement with a dominance of the single-particle spherical regime near 78Ni. The low-lying structures of the midshell νg9/2 Ni isotopes 72Ni and 74Ni have been investigated at the RIBF facility in RIKEN within the EURICA collaboration. Previously unobserved low-lying states were accessed for the first time following β decay of the mother nuclei 72Co and 74Co. As a result, we provide a complete picture in terms of the seniority scheme up to the first (8+) levels for both nuclei. The experimental results are compared to shell-model calculations in order to define to what extent the seniority quantum number is preserved in the first neutron g9/2 shell. We find that the disappearance of the seniority isomerism in the (81+) states can be explained by a lowering of the seniority-four (6+) levels as predicted years ago. For 74Ni, the internal de-excitation pattern of the newly observed (62+) state supports a restoration of the normal seniority ordering up to spin J=4. This property, unexplained by the shell-model calculations, is in agreement with a dominance of the single-particle spherical regime near 78Ni. ispartof: Physics Letters B vol:781 pages:706-712 status: published

In rare cases, the removal of a single proton (Z) or neutron (N) from an atomic nucleus leads to a dramatic shape change. These instances are crucial for understanding the components of the nuclear interactions that drive deformation. The mercury isotopes (Z = 80) are a striking example1,2: their close neighbours, the lead isotopes (Z = 82), are spherical and steadily shrink with decreasing N. The even-mass (A = N + Z) mercury isotopes follow this trend. The odd-mass mercury isotopes 181,183,185Hg, however, exhibit noticeably larger charge radii. Due to the experimental difficulties of probing extremely neutron-deficient systems, and the computational complexity of modelling such heavy nuclides, the microscopic origin of this unique shape staggering has remained unclear. Here, by applying resonance ionization spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and nuclear spectroscopy as far as 177Hg, we determine 181Hg as the shape-staggering endpoint. By combining our experimental measurements with Monte Carlo shell model calculations, we conclude that this phenomenon results from the interplay between monopole and quadrupole interactions driving a quantum phase transition, for which we identify the participating orbitals. Although shape staggering in the mercury isotopes is a unique and localized feature in the nuclear chart, it nicely illustrates the concurrence of single-particle and collective degrees of freedom at play in atomic nuclei. In rare cases, the removal of a single proton (Z) or neutron (N) from an atomic nucleus leads to a dramatic shape change. These instances are crucial for understanding the components of the nuclear interactions that drive deformation. The mercury isotopes (Z = 80) are a striking example1,2: their close neighbours, the lead isotopes (Z = 82), are spherical and steadily shrink with decreasing N. The even-mass (A = N + Z) mercury isotopes follow this trend. The odd-mass mercury isotopes 181,183,185Hg, however, exhibit noticeably larger charge radii. Due to the experimental difficulties of probing extremely neutron-deficient systems, and the computational complexity of modelling such heavy nuclides, the microscopic origin of this unique shape staggering has remained unclear. Here, by applying resonance ionization spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and nuclear spectroscopy as far as 177Hg, we determine 181Hg as the shape-staggering endpoint. By combining our experimental measurements with Monte Carlo shell model calculations, we conclude that this phenomenon results from the interplay between monopole and quadrupole interactions driving a quantum phase transition, for which we identify the participating orbitals. Although shape staggering in the mercury isotopes is a unique and localized feature in the nuclear chart, it nicely illustrates the concurrence of single-particle and collective degrees of freedom at play in atomic nuclei. ispartof: Nature Physics vol:14 issue:12 status: published

The quantum self-organization is introduced as one of the major underlying mechanisms of the quantum many-body systems. In the case of atomic nuclei as an example, two types of the motion of nucleons, single-particle states and collective modes, dominate the structure of the nucleus. The collective mode arises as the balance between the effect of the mode-driving force (e.g., quadrupole force for the ellipsoidal deformation) and the resistance power against it. The single-particle energies are one of the sources to produce such resistance power: a coherent collective motion is more hindered by larger spacings between relevant single particle states. Thus, the single-particle state and the collective mode are “enemies” against each other. However, the nuclear forces are rich enough so as to enhance relevant collective mode by reducing the resistance power by changing single-particle energies for each eigenstate through monopole interactions. This will be verified with the concrete example taken from Zr isotopes. Thus, the quantum self-organization occurs: single-particle energies can be self-organized by (i) two quantum liquids, e.g., protons and neutrons, (ii) monopole interaction (to control resistance). In other words, atomic nuclei are not necessarily like simple rigid vases containing almost free nucleons, in contrast to the naïve Fermi liquid picture. Type II shell evolution is considered to be a simple visible case involving excitations across a (sub)magic gap. The quantum self-organization becomes more important in heavier nuclei where the number of active orbits and the number of active nucleons are larger. ispartof: pages:53-57 ispartof: EPJ Web of Conferences vol:178 pages:53-57 ispartof: 16th International Symposium on Capture Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy and Related Topics (CGS16) location:Shanghai, China date:18 Sep - 22 Sep 2017 status: Published online