Research
For many years it has been recognized that nuclei in certain mass regions exhibit stable deformations, while those in other regions are essentially spherical. The shell model, an independent-particle model, has been used to explain the properties of spherical nuclei by assigning orbitals to each of the neutrons and protons of the nucleus. These orbitals are then filled in order of increasing energy, similar to the "aufbau" process in atoms. With this approach, it is possible to understand the exceptional stability of nuclei containing closed shells (or magic numbers), i.e., nuclei composed of 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, and 126 neutrons or protons. In nuclei at or near closed shells, we are examining multiphonon vibrational excitations of quadrupole and octupole types.

Away from these closed shells, collective nuclear motions dominate over independent-particle modes. The best evidence for collective excitations is the rotational nuclear level structure observed for nuclei of the rare earth and actinide regions. Sequences of low-lying states closely obeying the quantum relationship for a rigid rotor occur and are reminiscent of the rotational levels known for diatomic molecules. For such open-shell nuclei, ample evidence has long been available to confirm that these nuclei have an intrinsic deformed shape. In measurements on deformed nuclei, we have sought to identify two-phonon states, to characterize "scissors mode" and "mixed-symmetry" excitations in which the neutrons and protons oscillate independently, and to search for other exotic modes.

In addition to searching for new degrees of freedom in nuclei, we have focussed on the complex transition between deformed and spherical shapes in our studies at the Accelerator Laboratory at the University of Kentucky. We have extensively utilized the inelastic neutron scattering (INS) reaction and gamma-ray emission spectroscopy to examine many nuclei. INS, coupled with detection of the de-exciting gamma rays, is distinctly superior to other nuclear reactions for the study of low-lying, low-spin nuclear states. With this method, we can obtain excellent sensitivity for observing weakly excited states, and the INS reaction is not restricted by spin and parity selection rules. We have developed methods for measuring short nuclear lifetimes with the Doppler-shift attenuation method, and gamma-gamma coincidence measurements are now performed routinely. We are currently exploiting these unique advantages to examine a variety of structural features of nuclei and to search for new, exotic nuclear modes.