Coulomb excitation of Polonium isotopes. KU Leuven
The neutron-deficient polonium isotopes, with only 2 protons outside the Z = 82 shell closure, are situated in an interesting region of the nuclear chart. In the neighboring lead (Z = 82) and mercury (Z = 80) isotopes, experimental and theoretical efforts identified evidence of shape coexistence. Shape coexistence is the remarkable phenomenon in which two or more distinct types of deformation occur in states of the same angular momentum and ...