Evidence for shape coexistence and superdeformation in 24Mg

J. T.H. Dowie*, T. Kibédi, D. G. Jenkins, A. E. Stuchbery, A. Akber, H. A. Alshammari, N. Aoi, A. Avaa, L. J. Bignell, M. V. Chisapi, B. J. Coombes, T. K. Eriksen, M. S.M. Gerathy, T. J. Gray, T. H. Hoang, E. Ideguchi, P. Jones, M. Kumar Raju, G. J. Lane, B. P. McCormickL. J. McKie, A. J. Mitchell, N. J. Spinks, B. P.E. Tee

*Corresponding author for this work

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    14 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The E0 transition depopulating the first-excited 0+ state in 24Mg has been observed for the first time, and the E0 transition strength determined by electron-positron pair and γ-ray spectroscopy measurements performed using the Super-e pair spectrometer. The E0 transition strength is ρ2×103=380(70). A two-state mixing model implies a deformation of the first-excited 0+ state of β2≈1 and a change in the mean-square charge radius of Δ〈r2〉≈1.9fm2, which suggests a significant shape change between the ground state and first-excited 0+ state in 24Mg. The observed E0 strength gives direct evidence of shape coexistence and superdeformation in 24Mg, bringing this nucleus into line with similar behaviour in nearby N=Z nuclei. This result agrees with recent theoretical work on the cluster nature of 24Mg and has potential ramifications for nuclear reactions of astrophysical importance.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number135855
    JournalPhysics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics
    Volume811
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 10 Dec 2020

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