Enhanced moments of inertia for rotation in neutron-rich nuclei

TL;DR

This study systematically analyzes the moments of inertia in approximately 1700 neutron-rich nuclei using advanced modeling, revealing significant increases near the drip line and providing insights into nuclear deformation and pairing interactions.

Contribution

It applies the cranked Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov model to a large set of nuclei, offering new insights into their rotational properties and deformation evolution.

Findings

MoI greatly increase near the drip line

Deformation is less than empirical estimates

Measurements can constrain effective pair interactions

Abstract

Ground-state moments of inertia (MoI) are investigated for about 1700 even-even nuclei from the proton drip line to the neutron drip line up to $Z=120$ and $N=184$. The cranked Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov equation is solved in the coordinate space. This model describes well the available experimental data of more than 300 nuclides possessing an appreciable deformation. I find that the MoI greatly increase near the drip line whereas the deformation is not as strong as estimated by the empirical relation. Systematic measurements of the excitation energy and the transition probability to the first $I^\pi=2^+$ state in neutron-rich nuclei not only reveal the evolution of deformation but can also constrain an effective pair interaction.