Island of inversion
Appearance
An island of inversion is a region of the chart of nuclides that contains isotopes with a non-standard ordering of single particle levels in the nuclear shell model. Such an area was first described in 1975 by French physicists carrying out spectroscopic mass measurements of exotic isotopes of lithium and sodium. Since then further studies have shown that neutron-rich isotopes of five elements, 11Li, 31Na, 36Mg, 38Si, and 48Ca belong to one such region.[1] Because there are 5 known islands of inversion, physicists have suggested renaming the phenomenon as an "archipelago of islands of shell breaking".[2] Studies with the purpose of defining the edges of this region are still ongoing.
See also
References
- ^ "Physicist Takes A Trip To Nuclear 'Island Of Inversion'". 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
- ^ B. Alex Brown (2010-12-13). "Islands of insight in the nuclear chart". Retrieved 2011-09-06.
External links
- Abstract and references for the original paper
- Article on archipelago of shell-breaking with map of nuclide table showing the 5 known islands
- From Physical Review Letters: New neutron-rich nuclei support "island of inversion" theory at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory website