Enhanced Sensitivity of Nuclear Binding Energies to Collective Structure

Abstract

We have studied calculated collective contributions to nuclear binding and separation energies and find that there is a deeper and much more sensitive link to nuclear structure than previously recognized or expected, especially near midshell in medium mass and heavy nuclei. As a consequence, measured masses may help understand the structure of well-deformed nuclei (e.g., intrinsic excitations). Conversely, future structure calculations must consider their implications for binding energies.