On the stability of high- K isomers in the second well of actinide nuclei

Actinide nuclei are found to be good candidates for the formation of high angular momentum, broken-pair excitations in the second minimum of the potential-energy surface. Configuration-constrained calculations of the energy surfaces, including reflection asymmetry, give predictions of the properties of high-K states in the second well. In addition to excitation energies, spins and parities, the calculations indicate increased barriers towards fission, consistent with the extended half-lives observed experimentally.Physics, NuclearPhysics, Particles & FieldsSCI(E)9ARTICLE11null4