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Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 082502 (2006) [4 pages]

K Isomers in 254No: Probing Single-Particle Energies and Pairing Strengths in the Heaviest Nuclei

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S. K. Tandel1, T. L. Khoo2, D. Seweryniak2, G. Mukherjee1,2,*, I. Ahmad2, B. Back2, R. Blinstrup2, M. P. Carpenter2, J. Chapman2, P. Chowdhury1, C. N. Davids2, A. A. Hecht2,4, A. Heinz5, P. Ikin3, R. V. F. Janssens2, F. G. Kondev2, T. Lauritsen2, C. J. Lister2, E. F. Moore2, D. Peterson2, P. Reiter6, U. S. Tandel1, X. Wang2,7, and S. Zhu2
1Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts 01854, USA
2Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
3Oliver Lodge Laboratory, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE, United Kingdom
4University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
5Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
6Universität zu Köln, Zülpicherstrasse 77, D-50937 Köln, Germany
7Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA

Received 13 April 2006; published 22 August 2006

We have identified two isomers in 254No, built on two- and four-quasiparticle excitations, with quantum numbers Kπ=8- and (14+), as well as a low-energy 2-quasiparticle Kπ=3+ state. The occurrence of isomers establishes that K is a good quantum number and therefore that the nucleus has an axial prolate shape. The 2-quasiparticle states probe the energies of the proton levels that govern the stability of superheavy nuclei, test 2-quasiparticle energies from theory, and thereby check their predictions of magic gaps.

© 2006 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.082502
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.082502
PACS:
23.20.Lv, 21.10.Pc, 21.10.Tg, 27.90.+b

*Present address: Variable Energy Cyclotron Center, Kolkata 700064, India.

 
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