scholarly journals Evidence of a sudden increase in the nuclear size of proton-rich silver-96

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Reponen ◽  
R. P. de Groote ◽  
L. Al Ayoubi ◽  
O. Beliuskina ◽  
M. L. Bissell ◽  
...  

AbstractUnderstanding the evolution of the nuclear charge radius is one of the long-standing challenges for nuclear theory. Recently, density functional theory calculations utilizing Fayans functionals have successfully reproduced the charge radii of a variety of exotic isotopes. However, difficulties in the isotope production have hindered testing these models in the immediate region of the nuclear chart below the heaviest self-conjugate doubly-magic nucleus 100Sn, where the near-equal number of protons (Z) and neutrons (N) lead to enhanced neutron-proton pairing. Here, we present an optical excursion into this region by crossing the N = 50 magic neutron number in the silver isotopic chain with the measurement of the charge radius of 96Ag (N = 49). The results provide a challenge for nuclear theory: calculations are unable to reproduce the pronounced discontinuity in the charge radii as one moves below N = 50. The technical advancements in this work open the N = Z region below 100Sn for further optical studies, which will lead to more comprehensive input for nuclear theory development.

Author(s):  
Á. Koszorús ◽  
X. F. Yang ◽  
W. G. Jiang ◽  
S. J. Novario ◽  
S. W. Bai ◽  
...  

AbstractNuclear charge radii are sensitive probes of different aspects of the nucleon–nucleon interaction and the bulk properties of nuclear matter, providing a stringent test and challenge for nuclear theory. Experimental evidence suggested a new magic neutron number at N = 32 (refs. 1–3) in the calcium region, whereas the unexpectedly large increases in the charge radii4,5 open new questions about the evolution of nuclear size in neutron-rich systems. By combining the collinear resonance ionization spectroscopy method with β-decay detection, we were able to extend charge radii measurements of potassium isotopes beyond N = 32. Here we provide a charge radius measurement of 52K. It does not show a signature of magic behaviour at N = 32 in potassium. The results are interpreted with two state-of-the-art nuclear theories. The coupled cluster theory reproduces the odd–even variations in charge radii but not the notable increase beyond N = 28. This rise is well captured by Fayans nuclear density functional theory, which, however, overestimates the odd–even staggering effect in charge radii. These findings highlight our limited understanding of the nuclear size of neutron-rich systems, and expose problems that are present in some of the best current models of nuclear theory.


1971 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 2070-2071 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Schütz ◽  
H. Theissen ◽  
K. H. Schmidt ◽  
H. Frank

The relative differences of the rms ground state nuclear charge radii of 15N -14N and 18O -16O have been measured by low energy elastic electron scattering to be (1.3 + 0.7)% and (2.4 + 0.6)%, respectively. Both values are less than those following from an A1/3 dependence


2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
G WF Drake ◽  
W Nörtershäuser ◽  
Z -C Yan

It is now well established that accurate relative values of the rms nuclear charge radius for light atoms can be extracted from a comparison between high-precision theory and experiment for the isotope shift in atomic transition frequencies. Results are available for isotopes of helium and lithium. This paper reviews and updates the interpretation of earlier measurements for 3He relative to 4He, and 6Li relative to 7Li. New results are presented for the quantum electrodynamic recoil corrections. Recent measurements for the halo nucleus 6He, and the short-lived nuclei 8Li, and 9Li are discussed. The derived nuclear charge radii of 2.054(14), 2.30(4), and 2.24(4)~fm, respectively, are compared with the predictions of various nuclear structure models.PACS Nos.: 31.15.Pf, 31.30.Jv, and 32.10.Hq


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Sagar Udyavara ◽  
Matthew Neurock ◽  
C. Daniel Frisbie

<div> <div> <div> <p> </p><div> <div> <div> <p>Electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution at monolayer MoS2 electrodes can be enhanced by the application of an electric field normal to the electrode plane. The electric field is produced by a gate electrode lying underneath the MoS2 and separated from it by a dielectric. Application of a voltage to the back-side gate electrode while sweeping the MoS2 electrochemical potential in a conventional manner in 0.5 M H2SO4 results in up to a 140-mV reduction in overpotential for hydrogen evolution at current densities of 50 mA/cm2. Tafel analysis indicates that the exchange current density is correspondingly improved by a factor of 4 to 0.1 mA/cm2 as gate voltage is increased. Density functional theory calculations support a mechanism in which the higher hydrogen evolution activity is caused by gate-induced electronic charge on Mo metal centers adjacent the S vacancies (the active sites), leading to enhanced Mo-H bond strengths. Overall, our findings indicate that the back-gated working electrode architecture is a convenient and versatile platform for investigating the connection between tunable electronic charge at active sites and overpotential for electrocatalytic processes on ultrathin electrode materials.</p></div></div></div><br><p></p></div></div></div>


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodosios Famprikis ◽  
James Dawson ◽  
François Fauth ◽  
Emmanuelle Suard ◽  
Benoit Fleutot ◽  
...  

<div> <p>Solid electrolytes are crucial for next‑generation solid‑state batteries and Na<sub>3</sub>PS<sub>4</sub> is one of the most promising Na<sup>+</sup> conductors for such applications. At present, two phases of Na<sub>3</sub>PS<sub>4</sub> have been identified and it had been thought to melt above 500 °C. In contrast, we show that it remains solid above this temperature and transforms into a third polymorph, γ, exhibiting superionic behavior. We propose an orthorhombic crystal structure for γ‑Na<sub>3</sub>PS<sub>4</sub> based on scattering density analysis of diffraction data and density functional theory calculations. We show that the Na<sup>+</sup> superionic behavior is associated with rotational motion of the thiophosphate polyanions pointing to a rotor phase, based on <i>ab initio</i> molecular dynamics simulations and supported by high‑temperature synchrotron and neutron diffraction, thermal analysis and impedance spectroscopy. These findings are of importance for the development of new polyanion‑based solid electrolytes.</p> </div>


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Harb ◽  
Lee Thompson ◽  
Hrant Hratchian

Lanthanide hydroxides are key species in a variety of catalytic processes and in the preparation of corresponding oxides. This work explores the fundamental structure and bonding of the simplest lanthanide hydroxide, LnOH (Ln=La-Lu), using density functional theory calculations. Interestingly, the calculations predict that all structures of this series will be linear. Furthermore, these results indicate a valence electron configuration featuring an occupied sigma orbital and two occupied pi orbitals for all LnOH compounds, suggesting that the lanthanide-hydroxide bond is best characterized as a covalent triple bond.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Harb ◽  
Lee Thompson ◽  
Hrant Hratchian

Lanthanide hydroxides are key species in a variety of catalytic processes and in the preparation of corresponding oxides. This work explores the fundamental structure and bonding of the simplest lanthanide hydroxide, LnOH (Ln=La-Lu), using density functional theory calculations. Interestingly, the calculations predict that all structures of this series will be linear. Furthermore, these results indicate a valence electron configuration featuring an occupied sigma orbital and two occupied pi orbitals for all LnOH compounds, suggesting that the lanthanide-hydroxide bond is best characterized as a covalent triple bond.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anshuman Kumar ◽  
Reinhard Schweitzer-Stenner ◽  
Bryan Wong

In this work, we carry out new time-dependent density functional theory calculations on the cationic tripeptide GAG in implicit and explicit water to determine the transitions that give rise to the observed CD signals of polyproline II and β-strand conformations. Our results reveal a plethora of electronic transitions that are governed by configurational interactions between multiple molecular orbital transitions of comparable energy. We also show that reproducing the CD spectra of polyproline II and β-strand conformations requires the explicit consideration of water molecules. The structure dependence of delocalized occupied orbitals contributes to the experimentally-observed invalidation of Flory’s isolated pair hypothesis.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anshuman Kumar ◽  
Reinhard Schweitzer-Stenner ◽  
Bryan Wong

In this work, we carry out new time-dependent density functional theory calculations on the cationic tripeptide GAG in implicit and explicit water to determine the transitions that give rise to the observed CD signals of polyproline II and β-strand conformations. Our results reveal a plethora of electronic transitions that are governed by configurational interactions between multiple molecular orbital transitions of comparable energy. We also show that reproducing the CD spectra of polyproline II and β-strand conformations requires the explicit consideration of water molecules. The structure dependence of delocalized occupied orbitals contributes to the experimentally-observed invalidation of Flory’s isolated pair hypothesis.


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