Rotational spacings in superdeformed bands of nuclei

Abstract

An unexpected result of the experimental investigation of superdeformed rotational bands is the observation of near-identical dynamic moments of inertia in different nuclei. This phenomenon was also noted in normally deformed rotational bands. A priori, the BCS method is suspect at I = 0 for the treatment of superdeformed nuclear shapes because the single-particle level density near the nuclear surface is small. If it were large, there would be no superdeformed minimum. At high spin, pairing correlations are further weakened, and the BCS method becomes even worse.