The impact of nuclear shape on the emergence of the neutron dripline

Competition at nuclear extremes explains why neutrons drip off nuclei

“…But, moving away from stability, as the balance between protons and neutrons shifts, previous magic numbers can be replaced with new ones 5 , for example at 16 neutrons. Both theory 4,5 and experiment 6 show that, as neon and magnesium isotopes collect more than 16 neutrons, the energies of the low estenergy states that have 2 and 4 units of angular momentum become markedly lower (see Figure 3 of the paper 4 ), which is a typical sign of increased deformation.…”

“…Moreover, even the theoretical location of the drip line is uncertain 2,3 . On page 66, Tsunoda et al 4 argue that the mechanism responsible for the drip line is more subtle than previously understood and is related to deformation, a hallmark of much of ordinary nuclear physics.…”

“…Figure 1 | A mechanism for the neutron drip line.The maximum number of neutrons that can be added to an atomic nucleus corresponds to a boundary called the neutron drip line. Tsunoda et al4 suggest that the mechanism responsible for the drip line is linked to nuclear deformation. a, They consider a spherical nucleus that has a particular binding energy -the difference between the total energy of the nucleus and the energy of its components.…”

Impact of Nuclear Deformation on Neutron Dripline Prediction: A Study of Mg Isotopes

“…According to the study done in Refs. [5,6], the heaviest magnesium isotope observed is 40 Mg while, the dripline is predicted at 42 Mg in some recent studies [3,7].…”

“…Moreover, the theoretical location of the nuclear drip line is uncertain [1,2]. According to a recent study done by Tsunoda et al [3], the mechanism responsible for the drip line is related to deformation. However, the neutrons can't be added continuously as the atomic nucleus is characterized by a specific number of protons and neutrons and is bounded by drip lines [4].…”