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Updated: Jan 10, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Abrupt structural transition in exotic molybdenum isotopes unveils an isospin-symmetric island of inversion
J Ha1,2,3,4, F Recchia5,6, S M Lenzi2,3
1Center for Exotic Nuclear Studies, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Like electrons in atoms, protons and neutrons in nuclei occupy orbitals in a shell structure with energy gaps at magic numbers. Radioactive-beam experiments revealed the disappearance of magic numbers in some neutron-rich isotopes. In these nuclei, configurations involving particles excited across the shell gap gain correlation energy, becoming the ground state. Neutron-rich regions of the nuclear chart that exhibit this property are known as "Islands of Inversion". Here we present the lifetime measurement of the first 2+ states in 84Mo (N = Z) and 86Mo (N = Z + 2) revealing an unexpected sharp structural change between them defining the edge of the region of deformation around 80Zr. Similarly to the neutron-rich N = 40 Island of Inversion near 64Cr where cross-shell excitations dominate, we identify this region as an Island of Inversion with symmetrical proton and neutron excitations that we term "Isospin-Symmetric Island of Inversion". Three-nucleon forces are suggested to drive Mo isotope structural changes.
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