Nature of low-energy dipole strength in nuclei: the case of a resonance at particle threshold in 208Pb

Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Dec 30;89(27):272502. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.272502. Epub 2002 Dec 18.

Abstract

A high-resolution (gamma,gamma') study of the electric dipole response in 208Pb at the S-DALINAC reveals a resonance structure centered around the neutron emission threshold. Microscopic quasiparticle phonon model calculations in realistic model spaces including the coupling to complex configurations are able to describe the data in great detail. The resonance is shown to result from surface density oscillations of the neutron skin relative to an approximately isospin-saturated core. It also forms an integral part of a toroidal E1 mode representing an example of vortex collective motion in nuclei.