Nuclear shell structure at particle drip lines.

Abstract

The shell structure of exotic nuclei near proton and neutron drip lines is discussed in terms of the self-consistent mean-field theory. It is demonstrated that when approaching the neutron drip line, the neutron density becomes very diffused and the single-particle spectrum shows similarities to that of the harmonic oscillator with spin-orbit term. Interaction between bound orbitals and continuum is shown to result in quenching of shell effects in light and medium systems.