1. Spherical-oblate shape coexistence in $^{94}$Zr from a model-independent analysis
- Author
-
Marchini, N., Rocchini, M., Zielinska, M., Nannini, A., Doherty, D. T., Gavrielov, N., Garrett, P. E., Hadynska-Klek, K., Goasduff, A., Testov, D., Bakes, S. D., Bazzacco, D., Benzoni, G., Berry, T., Brugnara, D., Camera, F., Catford, W. N., Chiari, M., Galtarossa, F., Gelli, N., Gottardo, A., Gozzelino, A., Illana, A., Keatings, J., Mengoni, D., Morrison, L., Napoli, D. R., Ottanelli, M., Ottanelli, P., Pasqualato, G., Recchia, F., Riccetto, S., Scheck, M., Siciliano, M., Dobon, J. J. Valiente, and Zanon, I.
- Subjects
Nuclear Experiment ,Nuclear Theory - Abstract
Low-lying states of $^{94}$Zr were investigated via low-energy multi-step Coulomb excitation. From the measured $\gamma$-ray yields, 13 reduced transition probabilities between low-spin states were determined, together with the spectroscopic quadrupole moments of the $2_{1,2}^+$ states. Based on this information, for the first time in the Zr isotopic chain, the shapes of the $0_{1,2}^+$ states including their deformation softness were inferred in a model-independent way using the quadrupole sum rules approach. The ground state of $^{94}$Zr possesses a rather diffuse shape associated with a spherical configuration, while the $0_2^+$ state is oblate and more strongly deformed. The observed features of shape coexistence in $^{94}$Zr are in agreement with Monte-Carlo shell-model predictions, and the present results are vital to refine the IBM-CM description of the Zr isotopes around $A\approx 100$ in terms of an intertwined quantum phase transition., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures
- Published
- 2024