Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help
HK: Fachverband Hadronen und Kerne
HK 16: Nuclear Structure and Dynamics II
HK 16.1: Invited Group Report
Monday, March 16, 2009, 16:30–17:00, H-ZO 60
Nuclear Structure Studies of the Heaviest Elements — •Paul Greenlees — Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, P.O.Box 35,*40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Over the past decade or so, modern γ-ray spectroscopic techniques have enabled the structure of heavy elements to be investigated in detail. A major program of research has been carried out to study the so-called transfermium nuclei in the region of 254No close to the N=152 deformed sub-shell gap. These nuclei are the heaviest for which detailed in-beam and decay spectroscopy can be performed (see Herzberg and Greenlees, Prog. Part. Nuc. Phys. 61, 674 (2008) for a review).
Initial in-beam measurements in the region focussed on γ-ray spectroscopy of even-even nuclei, studying the ground-state yrast bands and allowing extraction of parameters such as the moments of inertia, and proving the deformed nature of these nuclei. More recently, attention has switched to odd-mass nuclei such as 253No, 251Md and 255Lr, the latter being the heaviest nucleus so far studied in-beam. Rotational bands have been observed in all these nuclei. Non-yrast and K-isomeric states have recently been studied through the use of both in-beam and focal plane decay spectroscopy, yielding data which can be used to determine the excitation energies and configurations of two-quasiparticle states for comparison to the predictions of various theories.
An overview of the most recent results and the experimental techniques used will be presented. Perspectives for the development of new devices for further studies in this region will also be discussed.