Octupole correlations in the N = Z+2=56 110Xe nucleus

Abstract

This letter reports on the first observation of an octupole band in the neutron-deficient (𝑁 = 𝑍 + 2) nucleus 110Xe. The 110Xe nuclei were produced via the 54Fe(58Ni,2n) fusion-evaporation reaction. The emitted 𝛾 rays were detected using the JUROGAM 3 𝛾-ray spectrometer, while the fusion-evaporation residues were separated with the MARA separator at the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. The experimental observation of the low-lying 3− and 5− states and inter-band E1 transitions between the ground-state band and the octupole band proves the importance of octupole correlations in this region. These new experimental data combined with theoretical calculations using the symmetry-conserving configuration-mixing method, based on a Gogny energy density functional, have been interpreted as an evidence of enhanced octupole correlations in neutron-deficient xenon isotopes.