Nuclear Effects

Abstract

So far in this book, the atomic nucleus has been treated as a point charge with infinite mass. Now we have reached a point where we cannot go further without taking into account real physical qualities of the atomic nuclei. The nuclear mass is finite, as is its volume, and its shape (or charge distribution) is generally not spherical. Many nuclei have a magnetic moment, associated with a nuclear spin. More generally, nuclei have both electric and magnetic moments of various orders. The finite mass and volume change the Schrödinger equation, and energy levels will be shifted. This is the isotope shift. The hyperfine structure is the splitting up of fine-structure levels due to interactions between electrons and electromagnetic moments of the nucleus.