A detailed investigation of the structural evolution of mercury (Hg) isotopes with mass numbers $A=174$–266 is carried out within the Skyrme Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (SHFB) framework using the UNEDF2 energy density functional. The study encompasses both bulk nuclear properties, such as binding energies, two-neutron separation energies, potential energy surfaces, root-mean-square radii, nuclear deformation parameters, and single-particle energy levels, as well as isospin-sensitive observables relevant to neutron-rich systems. To explore the isospin dependence, the coherent density fluctuation model (CDFM) is employed, using SHFB results as input to extract the symmetry energy and its volume and surface components. These quantities are particularly crucial for understanding the behavior of nuclei near the neutron drip line. The results reproduce the established shell closures at neutron numbers $N$ = 82 and 126 across both bulk and isospin-dependent observables. In addition, several calculated observables exhibit features consistent with a possible shell or subshell closure around $N$ = 184, although its presence remains model dependent and less robust than the traditional magic numbers. These findings suggest enhanced stability in extremely neutron-rich Hg isotopes and motivate further theoretical and experimental investigations in this region. The consistency between SHFB and CDFM predictions highlights the robustness of the combined theoretical framework in capturing both microscopic and macroscopic aspects of nuclear structure. The present work contributes to a deeper understanding of shell evolution, the role of the symmetry energy, and the stability of heavy isotopes far from the valley of stability.

Close

PrevNext

View figure in article

• Nuclear structure & decays
• 150 ≤ A ≤ 189
• 190 ≤ A ≤ 219
• Nuclear density functional theory