Beyond relativistic mean-field studies of low-lying states in neutron-deficient krypton isotopes

TL;DR

This study systematically investigates low-lying states and shape coexistence in neutron-deficient krypton isotopes using advanced beyond mean-field methods, including 5DCH and GCM, to interpret experimental phenomena and shape transitions.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive beyond relativistic mean-field approach combining 5DCH and GCM to analyze shape coexistence and collectivity in Kr isotopes, extending previous models.

Findings

Reproduces excitation energies and transition strengths consistent with experimental data.

Highlights the importance of triaxiality and configuration mixing in shape coexistence.

Provides insights into the evolution of nuclear shapes around N=40.

Abstract

Neutron-deficient krypton isotopes are of particular interest due to the coexistence of oblate and prolate shapes in low-lying states and the transition of ground-state from one dominate shape to another as a function of neutron number. A detailed interpretation of these phenomena in neutron-deficient Kr isotopes requires the use of a method going beyond a mean-field approach that permits to determine spectra and transition probabilities. The aim of this work is to provide a systematic calculation of low-lying state in the even-even 68-86Kr isotopes and to understand the shape coexistence phenomenon and the onset of large collectivity around N=40 from beyond relativistic mean-field studies. The starting point of our method is a set of relativistic mean-field+BCS wave functions generated with a constraint on triaxial deformations (beta, gamma). The excitation energies and electric multipole transition strengths of low-lying states are calculated by solving a five-dimensional collective Hamiltonian (5DCH) with parameters determined by the mean-field wave functions. To examine the role of triaxiality, a configuration mixing of both particle number (PN) and angular momentum (AM) projected axially deformed states is also carried out within the exact generator coordinate method (GCM) based on the same energy density functional. The energy surfaces, the excitation energies of 0^+_2, 2^+_1, 2^+_2 states, as well as the E0 and E2 transition strengths are compared with the results of similar 5DCH calculations but with parameters determined by the non-relativistic mean-field wave functions, as well as with the available data...