Particle-Hole Excitations and Shape Coexistence in Nuclei: the Odd-Even ^183-193Au Isotopes

by Pablo Martin Hígueras (3^rd year PhD student)

The understanding of nuclear structure has always been a challenge. The interaction between nucleons and how they are distributed in the single-particle orbits generate a specific configuration for the nuclei; this is, determines its excited states and the electromagnetic transitions between them. [1]

Sometimes, nucleons can jump above the energy gap of a shell. This phenomenon generates a particle-hole excitation configuration, typically more deformed than the first one, derived from an increase in the number of interacting particles and the quadrupole interaction. [2]

This work aims to give a consistent theoretical framework, based on the algebraic Interacting Boson-Fermion Model, to study the experimental systematics observed in the negative-parity excited states of odd-even gold isotopes, which seem to exhibit 1 particle–1 hole excitations. [3]

References:
[1]: A. de-Shalit and I. Talmi. “Nuclear Shell Theory”. Academic Press. (1963)
[2]: K. Heyde et al. “Coexistence in Odd-Mass Nuclei”. In: Physics Reports. (1983)
[3]: F. Iachello and P. Van Isacker. “The Interacting Boson-Fermion Model”. Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics. (1991)