Universal correlations of nuclear observables and new signatures of structure in exotic nuclei: A review

Recently, several nearly universal correlations of nuclear observables, spanning nuclei from singly magic to rotor, have been discovered. The simple global behavior revealed by these correlations discloses new signatures of structure that require a knowledge only of the energies of the first two excited states in even-even nuclei and the B(E2 : 2{sub 1}{sup +} {yields} 0{sub 1}{sup +}) value. Since these are the simplest to-obtain data in new nuclei in unexplored regions, they should be especially valuable in radioactive beam studies of nuclei far from stability where the data will necessarily be sparse compared to that with which is accustomed. This report reviews some of these recent developments