Tidal waves as yrast states in transitional nuclei

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The yrast states of transitional nuclei are described as quadrupole waves running over the nuclear surface, which we call tidal waves. In contrast to a rotor, which generates angular momentum by increasing the angular velocity at approximately constant deformation, a tidal wave generates angular momentum by increasing the deformation at approximately constant angular velocity. The properties of the tidal waves are calculated by means of the cranking model in a microscopic way. The calculated energies and E2 transition probabilities of the yrast states in the transitional nuclides with Z= 44, 46, 48 and N=56, 58,..., 66 reproduce the experiment in detail. The nonlinear response of the nucleonic orbitals results in a strong coupling between shape and single particle degrees of freedom.