How to determine the shape of nuclear molecules with polarized gamma-rays

Abstract

A method has been recently proposed to establish the geometry of the alpha-cluster arrangement in ${}^{12}$C making use of polarized gamma-rays. The ratio of intensities of scattered radiation at 90 degrees along and perpendicular to the initial direction of the electric field vector, called depolarization ratio, is a key quantity that allows to underpin the nature of totally symmetric modes of vibrations. This allows to connect with the underlying point-group structure and therefore to the geometric shape of the nuclear molecule. This method is reviewed for ${}^{12}$C and extended to other configurations, such as three unequal clusters and four identical clusters (e.g. ${}^{16}$O).

Comments: Proceedings of the 24th edition of European Few Body Conference, Surrey, UK, 2-4 September 2019