Partial conservation of seniority in nuclei

TL;DR

This paper reviews the concepts of pairing, quasi-spin algebras, and seniority in nuclei, highlighting the partial conservation of seniority and its significance for nuclear isomers.

Contribution

It discusses the extension of seniority to partial symmetry and its application to nuclear isomers, providing insights into nuclear structure.

Findings

Quasi-spin formalism efficiently solves the pairing problem.

Seniority can be partially conserved, extending its applicability.

Partial seniority conservation is important for understanding nuclear isomers.

Abstract

A review is given of the relation between pairing, quasi-spin algebras and seniority. The former two concepts are closely connected, the relation being that the quasi-spin formalism allows an efficient solution of the pairing problem. Seniority is of much wider applicability than either pairing or quasi-spin and applications can even be extended to encompass the notion of partial symmetry. A recent application of partial conservation of seniority and its importance for nuclear isomers is discussed.