Nuclear Charge Radii of the Nickel Isotopes 58-68,70Ni

Collinear laser spectroscopy is performed on the nickel isotopes Ni-58-68,Ni-70, using a time-resolved photon counting system. From the measured isotope shifts, nuclear charge radii R-c are extracted and compared to theoretical results. Three ab initio approaches all employ, among others, the chiral interaction NNLOsat, which allows an assessment of their accuracy. We find agreement with experiment in differential radii delta < r(c)(2)> for all employed ab initio methods and interactions, while the absolute radii are consistent with data only for NNLOsat. Within nuclear density functional theory, the Skyrme functional SV-min matches experiment more closely than the Fayans functional Fy(Delta r, HFB).

Automated summary

Collinear laser spectroscopy was used to study the nuclear charge radii of nickel isotopes. Three ab initio methods were compared, with agreement in differential radii but only the NNLOsat method showing consistent absolute radii. The Skyrme functional SV-min was found to match experimental results more closely in nuclear density functional theory.