# Direct Evidence for Octupole Deformation in $^{146}$Ba and the Origin of Large $E1$ Moment Variations in Reflection-Asymmetric Nuclei

## TL;DR

This paper provides direct evidence of octupole deformation in $^{146}$Ba, showing strong octupole correlations and explaining large variations in $E1$ moments in reflection-asymmetric nuclei through experimental and microscopic analysis.

## Contribution

It unambiguously confirms octupole deformation in $^{146}$Ba and links electric dipole moments to neutron orbital occupancy using microscopic calculations.

## Key findings

- Octupole correlations in $^{146}$Ba are as strong as in $^{144}$Ba.
- Measured $B(E3)$ value is approximately 48 W.u.
- Electric dipole moments depend on neutron orbital occupancy.

## Abstract

Despite the more than one order of magnitude difference between the measured dipole moments in $^{144}$Ba and $^{146}$Ba, the strength of the octupole correlations in $^{146}$Ba are found to be as strong as those in $^{144}$Ba with a similarly large value of $B(E3;3^- \rightarrow 0^+)$ determined as 48($^{+21}_{-29}$) W.u. The new results not only establish unambiguously the presence of a region of octupole deformation centered on these neutron-rich Ba isotopes, but also manifest the dependence of the electric dipole moments on the occupancy of different neutron orbitals in nuclei with enhanced octupole strength, as revealed by fully microscopic calculations.