Is 198Hg a soft triaxial nucleus with $\gamma = 30^{\circ}$?

Abstract

Our purpose with this paper is mainly to raise the question about the shape of 198Hg and to suggest it as a testing ground for different models. The spectroscopic properties of this nucleus have been investigated by applying a computational code based on the diagonalization the Bohr-Mottelson Hamiltonian with the generalized Gneuss-Greiner potential. The coefficients of the kinetic energy operator and potential energy for this nucleus have been obtained by including the experimental data of some levels in the fitting code. These calculations indicate that the $0^{+}_{2}$ level of nucleus 198Hg is found somewhere between $ 1.23 \lesssim 0^{+}_{2} \lesssim 1.65$ that is precisely the region where a few excited 0+ states are found. Also, they predict a rather rigid triaxial shape around $ \gamma = 30^{\circ}$, that is soft in the $ \beta$ variable.