Atomic nuclei exhibit single-particle and collective degrees of freedom, making them susceptible to variations in size and shape when adding or removing nucleons. The rare cases where dramatic changes in shape occur with the removal of only a single nucleon are key for pinpointing the components of the nuclear interaction driving nuclear deformation. Laser spectroscopy probes the nuclear charge distribution, revealing attometer-scale variations and highlighting sensitivity to the proton (Z) and neutron (N) configurations of the nucleus. The lead isotopes, which possess a closed proton shell (Z = 82), are spherical and steadily shrink with decreasing N. A surprisingly different story was observed for their close neighbours, the mercury isotopes (Z = 80) almost half a century ago 1, 2 : Whilst the even-mass isotopes follow the trend seen for lead, the odd-mass isotopes 181,183,185 Hg exhibit a striking increase in charge radius. This dramatic 'shape staggering' between evenand odd-mass isotopes remains a unique feature of the nuclear chart. Here we present the extension of laser spectroscopy results that reach 177 Hg. An unprecedented combination of state-of-theart techniques including resonance laser ionization, nuclear spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, has established 181 Hg as the shape-staggering endpoint. Accompanying this experimental tour de force, recent computational advances incorporating the largest valence space ever used have been exploited to provide Monte-Carlo Shell Model calculations, in remarkable agreement with the experimental observations. Thus, microscopic insight into the subtle interplay of nuclear interactions that give rise to this phenomenon has been obtained, identifying the shape-driving orbitals. Although shape staggering in the mercury isotopes is a unique and localized feature in the nuclear chart, the underlying mechanism that has now been uncovered nicely describes the duality of single-particle and collective degrees of freedom in atomic nuclei.
The radioactive element astatine exists only in trace amounts in nature. Its properties can therefore only be explored by study of the minute quantities of artificially produced isotopes or by performing theoretical calculations. One of the most important properties influencing the chemical behaviour is the energy required to remove one electron from the valence shell, referred to as the ionization potential. Here we use laser spectroscopy to probe the optical spectrum of astatine near the ionization threshold. The observed series of Rydberg states enabled the first determination of the ionization potential of the astatine atom, 9.31751(8) eV. New ab initio calculations are performed to support the experimental result. The measured value serves as a benchmark for quantum chemistry calculations of the properties of astatine as well as for the theoretical prediction of the ionization potential of superheavy element 117, the heaviest homologue of astatine.
The magnetic moments and isotope shifts of the neutron-deficient francium isotopes [202][203][204][205] Fr were measured at ISOLDE-CERN with use of collinear resonance ionization spectroscopy. A production-todetection efficiency of 1% was measured for 202 Fr. The background from nonresonant and collisional ionization was maintained below one ion in 10 5 beam particles. There are surprisingly few nuclear observables with which theorists can elucidate the nuclear force and interacting many-fermion problem. The laser spectroscopy technique reported here has measured two of these (the magnetic moment and mean-square charge radius) via the hyperfine interaction and isotope shift. This is achieved without introducing assumptions associated with any particular approach, making these measurements suitable for testing modern nuclear models. A variety of laser spectroscopy techniques now exists for studying shortlived radioactive isotopes, which broadly focus on either high resolution (< 100 MHz linewidth) or high sensitivity (< 1 atom=s) [1,2].We report here the first measurements of 202;203;205 Fr, reaching 11 neutrons from the N ¼ 126 shell closure. This has been made possible by a new highly sensitive, highresolution technique of bunched collinear-beam resonance ionization spectroscopy (CRIS). The CRIS technique combines for the first time velocity bunching (provided by the collinear geometry [3,4]) and time bunching (to eliminate the duty loss of required pulsed laser systems). The high sensitivity is reached through a combination of the excellent overlap of laser and beam, and the high quantum efficiency of ion detectors. This new technique may be applied generally to all nuclides, but it is at the limits of nuclear stability that it will manifest its particular advantages.The CRIS method was first proposed more than 30 years ago [5], and its sub-Doppler resolution was demonstrated by Schultz et al., who measured the radioactive isotopes of ytterbium [6]. Since these isotopes were produced as a continuous beam, the duty cycle losses associated with pulsed lasers introduced a loss in efficiency by a factor of 30, which contributed to a low total experimental efficiency of 0.001%. With the installation of a gas-filled radio frequency quadrupole ion trap (ISCOOL) at ISOLDE, bunched ion beams that match the duty cycle of the pulsed lasers are now available [7]. This motivated the development of a dedicated experiment to exploit the CRIS technique applied to time-bunched beams. In the present case it allowed for the first time measurements of the neutrondeficient francium isotopes with half-lives as short as 300 ms and production rates below 100 atoms=s.In our work the francium isotopes were produced through spallation reactions induced by 1.4 GeV protons, incident on a high temperature uranium carbide target (2000 C) and surface ionized (ionization potential 4.07 eV [8]) with use of a tantalum ionizer tube. A schematic of the experiment is presented in Fig. 1. The beam was accelerated to 50 keV, mass separated, and sub...
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