Unveiling the origin of shape coexistence in lead isotopes

الأصل · EN

The shape coexistence in the nuclei ¹⁸²⁻¹⁹²Pb is analyzed within the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approach with the effective Gogny force. A good agreement with the experimental energies is found for the coexisting spherical, oblate and prolate states. Contrary to the established interpretation, it is found that the low-lying prolate and oblate 0+ states observed in this mass region are predominantly characterized by neutron correlations whereas the protons behave as spectators rather than playing an active role.