Superdeformed Nuclei

Shell effects stabilize finite systems of fermions in non-spherical geometries with a two-to-one axis ratio, which are known as superdeformed. Our research focuses on the collective phenomenon of nuclear tunneling from a superdeformed configuration to a quasi-spherical isomer, a problem analogous to a two-level system coupled to a dissipative bath.

D. M. Cardamone, C. A. Stafford, and B. R. Barrett,
How to measure the spreading width for decay of superdeformed nuclei,
Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 102502 (2003).

B. R. Barrett and C. A. Stafford,
Two-Level Model for Decay Out of a Superdeformed Band,
in ``Capture Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy and Related Topics,''
S. Wender ed., AIP Conf. Proc. 529, 512-517 (2000).

C. A. Stafford and B. R. Barrett,
Simple model for decay of superdeformed nuclei,
Phys. Rev. C 60, R51305 (1999).