Extreme Prolate Deformation in Light Strontium Isotopes

C. J. Lister; B. J. Varley; H. G. Price; J. W. Olness

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.49.308

Extreme Prolate Deformation in Light Strontium Isotopes

C. J. Lister, B. J. Varley, H. G. Price, and J. W. Olness

Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 308 – Published 2 August 1982

Abstract

Multiple-particle, $γ$ -ray coincidence techniques have been used to study neutron-deficient isotopes near $N = Z = 40$ . Results are presented for ${}^{77 - 80}{Sr}$ . Levels in ${}^{78}{Sr}$ were seen to $J = 10$ with $E (2^{+}) = 278$ keV and $T_{\frac{1}{2}} = 155 \pm 19$ ps. The results suggest that this region contains some of the most deformed nuclei known, with quadrupole deformations $ε_{2} \approx 0.4$ . These data resolve conflicting theoretical predictions of nuclear shapes and emphasize the important contribution of hexadecapole deformation in determining the most stable shape.

Received 28 May 1982

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.49.308

Authors & Affiliations

C. J. Lister

Department of Physics, Schuster Laboratory, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, England, and Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973

B. J. Varley