How large is the spreading width of a superdeformed band?

Recent models of the decay out of superdeformed bands can broadly be divided into two categories. One approach is based on the similarity between the tunneling process involved in the decay and that involved in the fusion of heavy ions, and builds on the formalism of nuclear reaction theory. The other arises from an analogy between the superdeformed decay and transport between coupled quantum dots. These models suggest conflicting values for the spreading width of the decaying superdeformed states. In this paper, the decay of superdeformed bands in the five even-even nuclei in which the SD excitation energies have been determined experimentally is considered in the framework of both approaches, and the significance of the difference in the resulting spreading widths is considered. The results of the two models are also compared to tunneling widths estimated from previous barrier height predictions and a parabolic approximation to the barrier shape

Matrix Elements of Random Operators and Discrete Symmetry Breaking in Nuclei

It is shown that several effects are responsible for deviations of the intensity distributions from the Porter-Thomas law. Among these are genuine symmetry breaking, such as isospin; the nature of the transition operator; truncation of the Hilbert space in shell model calculations and missing transitionsComment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Geometry of Borromean Halo Nuclei

We discuss the geometry of the highly quantal nuclear three-body systems composed of a core plus two loosely bound particles. These Borromean nuclei have no single bound two-body subsystem. Correlation plays a prominent role. From consideration of the $B(E1)$ value extracted from electromagnetic dissociation, in conjunction with HBT-type analysis of the two valence-halo particles correlation, we show that an estimate of the over-all geometry can be deduced. In particular we find that the opening angle between the two neutrons in $^{6}$He and $^{11}$Li are, respectively, $\theta_{nn} = {83^{\circ}}^{+20}_{-10}$ and ${66^{\circ}}^{+22}_{-18}$. These angles are reduced by about 12% to $\theta_{nn} = {78^{\circ}}^{+13}_{-18}$ and ${58^{\circ}}^{+10}_{-14}$ if the laser spectroscopy values of the rms charge radii are used to obtain the rms distance between the cores and the center of mass of the two neutrons. The opening angle in the case of $^{11}$Li is more than 20% larger than recently reported by Nakamura \cite{Nak06}. The analysis is extended to $^{14}$Be and the two-proton Borromean nucleus $^{17}$Ne where complete data is still not available. Using available experimental data and recent theoretical calculations we find, $\theta_{nn} = {64^{0}}^{+9}_{-10}$ and $\theta_{pp} = 110^{0}$, respectively.Comment: 5 pages, one figure, version to appear in PRC, Rapid Communication