What is the response of the neutron drip-line nuclei, the large, diffused, and possibly superfluid many-body systems to rotation? Both the schematic and self-consistent calculations contained in this paper give interesting insights to this question. On the one hand, the variation of the neutron shell structure with neutron number, mainly influencing the position of the high-j unique-parity shell, is expected to modify the pattern of quasiparticle excitations in the rotating nucleus. On the other hand, since the Coriolis force mainly acts on the high-j orbitals which are strongly localized within the nuclear volume because of the large centrifugal barrier, no strong isovector effects (due to neutron halo or skin) are expected at high spins. For instance, our unpaired calculations indicate that proton and neutron deformations are very similar at high rotational frequencies. The fascinating question, which still remains to be answered, is what is the interplay between rotation, pairing, and extreme isospin. The recent impressive progress in theoretical modeling of high-spin nuclear states, as presented and discussed during this conference, makes us optimistic that this question will soon be answered.
An experimental excursion into uncharted territories of the chart of the nuclides, promised by the new-generation RNB facilities, gamma-ray tracking arrays, and mass/charge separators, will offer many excellent opportunities for nuclear structure research. What is most exciting, however, is that there are many unique features of neutron-rich nuclei that give prospects for entirely new phenomena likely to be different from anything we have observed to date.
This work was supported in part by
the U.S. Department of
Energy under Contract Nos. DE-FG02-96ER40963
(University
of Tennessee), DE-FG05-87ER40361 (Joint Institute for Heavy
Ion Research),
DE-AC05-00OR 22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC (Oak
Ridge National Laboratory),
and by the Polish Committee for Scientific
Research (KBN).