Shapes of Pb 192,190 ground states from β -decay studies using the total-absorption technique

Abstract

The β decay of Pb192,190 has been studied using the total absorption technique at the ISOLDE (CERN) facility. The β-decay strength deduced from the measurements, combined with QRPA theoretical calculations, allow us to infer that the ground states of the Pb192,190 isotopes are spherical. These results represent the first application of the shape determination method using the total absorption technique for heavy nuclei and in a region where there is considerable interest in nuclear shapes and shape effects.