Exploring highly deformed ground states involving the second intruder orbit in even-even nuclei
Phys. Rev. C 112, 064308 – Published 3 December, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/7dpg-xh32
Abstract
We present a systematic survey of even-even nuclei with to identify where a very large prolate configuration driven by the second intruder orbit emerges. Within the energy density functional theory framework, we find in representative cases a pronounced prolate minimum at quadrupole deformation 0.3–0.4. A characteristic feature of these minima is a local enhancement of the hexadecapole () component relative to nearby deformations, which is a clear fingerprint of the coupling expected for the second intruder orbit. Representative comparisons among three Skyrme interactions show a similar appearance of the highly deformed minimum and a local enhancement of at the prolate minimum, indicating qualitative robustness with respect to the interaction. The resulting maps highlight specific heavy nuclei where highly deformed ground states are anticipated.