Deformed nuclei and collective motion

Abstract

The discussion in chapter 2 of the change in energy, both kinetic and potential, when a spherical nucleus is deformed, showed that many nuclei would be expected to have quite significant quadrupole moments, in agreement with experiment. Moreover, a deformed shell model description was shown by Nilsson to provide a good quantitative description of the shape and spin of many nuclear ground states. However, what was not clear was what aspect of the Nilsson model accounted for nuclei being mainly prolate (cigar-shaped), as can be seen clearly in figure 2.15, and Lemmer and Weisskopf's argument that it is because of the shape of the nuclear potential is first presented.